108 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



of lime and 100 lbs. of unleached wood ashes (400 

 lbs. per acre.) Two plots, one on each side, were 

 left without manure of any kind. The result was, 

 that we could see very little difference between any 

 of the plots. Those that had no manure of any kind 

 were nearly, if ftot quite as good as those which 

 were top-dressed with plaster, superphosphate, 

 ashes, etc. The land was an old meadow, that had 

 lain in grass for many years. It was underdrained 

 and broken up in 1860, and planted to corn, and 

 sown to wheat the next spring. The crop was 

 rather poor on the whole. The variety was the 

 Fife, the seed being obtained from Canada. "We 

 believe this variety one of the best, but it is per- 

 haps better adapted to dry upland than to soils of 

 a softer character. 



SOWING CLOVEB SEED. 



"Were we gifted with a poet's genius, we would 

 sing of Cloveb. Not of its beauty, not of its 

 fragrance merely, but of its utility. It is the grand 

 renovating plant of American agriculture. Its 

 roots bring up nutriment from the subsoil, and its 

 leaves sip fertility from the atmosphere. 



"Raise your own clover seed, and sow it with 

 an unsparing hand," is our standing advice to all 

 wheat growers. If land will produce a good crop 

 of clover, you may be sure it contains all the min- 

 eral plant-food required to produce a maximum 

 crop of wheat, or corn, or barley, or oats, or any 

 other cereal. 



Any thing which increases the growth of clo- 

 ver indirectly increases the growth of wheat and 

 other cereal crops. In this way plaster or gypsum 

 becomes a valuable fertilizer for the wheat grower. 

 It. has itself little direct elfect on wheat, but it 

 frequently increases the growth of clover to a con- 

 siderable extent. This clover when plowed in 

 for wheat, or if consumed on the farm either 

 in the green state, or made into hay, furnishes 

 manure of good quality. It may be said that the 

 same is true of the grasses, oats, corn, etc. But 

 there is this great difference between them. The 

 clover retains all the ammonia it gets from the 

 soil and the atmosphere, while the grasses and 

 grains do not. The growth of grains and grasses 

 always involves a certain loss of ammonia, but this 

 is not the case with clover, peas, beans, and other 

 legummous plants. 



Grow clover, then ; grow it as a renovator ; 

 grow it for its food and for its fertilizing power. 

 Grow it wherever it can be brought into the ro- 

 tation. Sow it with wheat, sow it with barley, 



so it with oats, sow it with corn. Sow it on a 

 sandy soil, even if you intend to plow up the land 

 the next spring. 



" When shall we sow, and how?" "We care not, 

 only scatter it with a liberal hand. Some like to 

 sow it on their winter wheat early in the spring, 

 when there is a little snow on the ground. Others 

 prefer to wait till the ground and weather are 

 warmer. Some few think it better lo harrow the 

 wheat after sowing the clover, thus covering the 

 seed and benefiting the wheat at the same time. 

 Others, again, and we think wisely, prefer to sow 

 on a frosty morning in April, after all danger of 

 severe weather is over. Sow in the morning till 

 the sun thaws the ground, and repeat the operation 

 the next frosty morning. 



If sown with barley or oats, let the ground be 

 made fine before sowing the clover seed, and then 

 run a light harrow on the ground, or roll it after 

 the barley is np. The shallower it is covered the 

 better. It will do very well on a moist soil if not 

 covered at all. 



"How much seed per acre?" "We think many 

 farmers err in being too sparing of seed. Four 

 quarts or eight pounds per acre is the usual quan- 

 tity. "We would never sow less, and unless the soil 

 is in excellent condition, would prefer to sow an- 

 other quart. The English farmers, especially on 

 light sandy soil, not unfrequently sow from 16 to 

 20 lbs. of mixed clover seed per acre. Our soil and 

 climate are so well adapted to the growth of red 

 clover, thatsuch.extreme thick seeding is not neces- 

 sary, but thin seediug is generally poor economy. 



Plastee fob Potatoes. — In this section, wo 

 think plaster or gypsum a profitable dressing for 

 potatoes. Sometimes it does little, if any, good; 

 but again the effect is quite beneficial, and as the 

 cost is slight, it is always worth while to sow a 

 bushel or so per acre at the time of planting, or 

 after the potatoes are up. In some experiments 

 of our own, not yet published, the effect of plaster 

 was quite beneficial, especially in arresting the 

 ravages of the disease. 



How to Sow. — Look at that field of wheat. 

 You can see every sweep of the sower's hand. 

 What is the reason? He let his hand fall down 

 after leaving the seed-bag or hopper, instead of 

 raising it before throwing the seed. It is the great 

 fault in sowing. Raise your hand up level with 

 your head, or nearly, before throwing the seed, and 

 then it will be scattered evenly. In sowing clover 

 or other small seeds, this is very important. 



