56 



GENESEE FARMER. 



Mab. 



A Le£if torn from an Unpublished Book. 



(• LOV Kit. 



There are 7.7 Ihs. of ash in 100 lbs. of drv 



cheese, to good advantage. In the states of Ohio 

 and Indiana where large herds of swine are rai- 

 sed by some farmers, much use is made of good 



clover. If this crop be taken from a field for a j clover pasture, to keep the growing animals, from 

 nunil)er ot years, without making restitution, it I the time they are weaned, till they are ready for 

 will be found quhe exhausting, notwithstanding! f^^Mening. Note the large per centage of the 

 the power of clover to draw its organic nourish- pliosphate of lime to form the bones of young 

 inent from the atmosphere. An acre of stout i^nimals, and t^'e earthy portion of tlieir membranes 

 clover, when perfectly drv, has been known to and muscles, and the liberal supply of organized 



weigh 3693 lbs., containing 284 Ibf-. of ash 

 This is some 80 lbs. more than is removed from 

 an acre in a fair crop of wheat. It is useful to 

 study the mineral elements of this plant in con- 

 nection with those of wheat. In 284 lbs. of the 

 ash of clover there aret)f 



Phosphoric .Acid, If!. 00 lbs. 



Sulphuric Acid, 7.00 



Chloiinp, 7.00 



Lime, - 70.00 



Magnesia, 18.00 



I'otasli and .Soda, — 77.00 



Silica, -- 15.00 



Oxide of Iron and Alumina,. 00.90 



Carbnnic Acid, 71.00— 283.9 lbs. 



Throwing out of the account the 71 lbs. of 

 carbonic acid, we have 213 lbs. of earthy mat- 

 ter. An acre of wheat needs, to form both seed 

 and straw, 17 lbs. of phosphoric acid. An acre 

 of good clover will furnish 18 lbs. That quan- 

 tity of wheat needs 2 lbs. of sulphuric acid. 

 An acre of clover will supply 7 lbs. The for- 

 mer needs 1 lb. of chlorine — a substance that 

 forms 60 per cent, in common salt. Clover will 

 furnish 7 lbs. Wheat (an.acre) needs 16 lbs. of 

 lime. Clover will supply 70 lbs. Wheat needs 

 13 lbs. of magnesia. Clover will supply 18 lbs. 

 Wheat needs 24 lbs. of potash and soda; (and 

 an excess.) Clover will furnish 77 lbs. Wheat 

 needs 121 lbs. of silica; of which Clover can 

 furnish only 15 lbs. Except silica, or sand, it 



will be seen that an acre of good clover yields 3^^^^^^^^^^ consisting of a contractile element 

 nil the several nnnerals needed by a crop oti„„,i„j £t.^^^^ ..j,,.^,Z /v,/ „.7^/;..., „ 1 ... 



nitrogen to build up all nitrogenous tissues, and 

 you will see the great value of this plant for the 

 nourishment of all gramnivorus animals. No 

 person in the habit of reasoning from cause to 

 eirect, would ever expect food like pure starch, 

 oil or sugar, (which do not contain a particle of 

 nitrogen,) to form muscles and membranes, that 

 always have some 14 or 15 per cent of their dry 

 weight, of this peculiar element. A hen cannot 

 form a hard shell to her egg without lime, nor 

 can a pig make bone without the j)hosphate of the 

 same mineral. 



A dog fed exclusively on starch, fat, or sugar, 

 or on any compound of the three, and water, in- 

 variably dies before many weeks, from starva- 

 tion. He can not change these compounds of 

 carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, into those por- 

 tions of his system which require nitrogen. 



The following analyses of lean meat, w^ool and 

 cheese, will show how admirably clover is adapt- 

 ed to the production of those articles. 



Physiologists distinguish three principal tissues 

 in the bodies of animals ; the Muscular, the 

 Nervous, and the Cellular. 



The muscular tissue was referred to by the com- 

 mon term, lean meat. It consists of an assem- 

 blage of contractile fibres, which acting on the 

 bones as cords, give locomotion to the animal 

 machine. Muscular flesh is always a compound 



wheat ; and some of the most valuable ones, in 

 large excess. In its organic elements, the sup- 

 ply is not less abundant. 



Corhon. Oxygen. Hydrogen. Nitrogen. 

 Clover has in SGO."^ lbs. HoO llSOti 18.5 78 



Wheat crop 3124 1487 1~'62 171 32 



It is particularly worthy of note that Clover 



yields more tiian twice as much nitrogcii as both 



the wheat and straw require. It is proper to state 



that to make 3693 lbs. of perfectly dry clover, 



one must have 4675 lbs. of common clover hay. 



But in jdowing in clover for wheat, we gain all 



the stubble and roots, in addition to what the 



.scythe clips in mowing. 



It is not enougli to apply gypsum to poor land 



to secure a largo yield of Clover. In addition to 



deep, and thorough tillage, on many soils the ap- 

 plication of wood ashes, lime and common salt 



will be found extremely useful. These are near- 

 ly identical in cliaracter with those found in the 

 ■sh of this plant. Instead of plowing clover in, 



and mixing it up with the soil as a fertilizer, ajent animals, and weighing them to learn the pre 

 portion of it can be made into multun, wool, andlcise gain for every 100 lbs. of hay, gra.ss or 



called Jihrine, ahumen, fat, geletine, an odorous, 

 extractive viatter, lactic acid, different salts, and 

 the coloring principle of the blood. Fibrine 

 geletine and abumen, all contain nitrogen. 100 

 parts contain of 



Carbon. Oxygen. Hydrogen. Nitrogen. 



Animal Fibre, 52.8 23.7 7.0 16.5 



Wool .50.65 24.61 7.03 17.71 



Casiene, (cheese,).-. .53.5 23.7 7.0 15.0 



DryOxBlood, 52.0 21.3 7.2 15.1 



Horn, 51.99 24.10 6.72 17.28 



There are about 2 lbs. of nitrogen in 100 lbs. 

 of dry clover. Hence, if all the nitrogen in this 

 plant went to repair the daily wear and tear of 

 muscle, in a sheep, calf, or horse, it would 

 require 825 lbs. of dry clover to make 16.5 lbs. 

 of dry muscular fibre ; or 100 lbs. to form 2. 

 But there is no reason to suppose, that the whole 

 of the nitrogen contained in food, goes to form 

 the nitrogenous tissues of the system. More or 

 less passes ofT without benefit to the animal. By 

 carefully weighing the food consumed by differ- 



