FARMERS' REGISTER— CLOVER MANURE FOR WHEAT. 



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the growing grain neither grass nor weeds must 

 interfere, and rob the earth of the sustenance which 

 has been prepared with so much expense, labor 

 and care. The crop nmst have tlie whole of" it ; 

 and to permit either grass or weeds to grow is 

 evidence of bad farming and consequently bad 

 policy. The best fields of wheat, and there are 

 many of them, which are now growing in this 

 vicinity, have been prepared in the manner before 

 stated, and their promising appearance is abun- 

 dant evidence that the course which has been j)ur- 

 sued is a correct one. It is but lately that it has 

 been adopted; and I have often been forcibly 

 struck with the very perceptible improvement, 

 not only in the quantity raised, but in the quality 

 which has followed the practice. It is demonstra- 

 tive proof that we have become better acquainted 

 with the appetences of the plant, and furnish bet- 

 ter supplies of the food it requires for its growth. 

 Another fact I have repeatedly noticed and have 

 frequently seen most strikingly exemplified ; and 

 that is, that once ploughing of a clover sod is bet- 

 ter than oftener. I have this year two lots by the 

 side of each other — the soil is the same — both were 

 in clover last year and pastured — one was only 

 once ploughed, the otiier twice, and both put down 

 to wheat. The difference now in the appearance 

 of them is nearly one half in favor of the lot 

 ploughed once. The same fact, under exactly 

 similar circumstances, occurred to me last year. 

 I was aware before that ploughing once was bet- 

 ter than oftener, but I thought I had particular 

 reasons for departing from the rule — the result 

 however was the same. The observant farmers 

 in this section of country, guided by experience, 

 endeavor as much as possible to conform to this 

 rule. But it is indispensable to a good crop of 

 wheat that your land should be clear of the couch 

 or quick grass, and likewise blue grass. It is the 

 same with corn ; but then what with ploughing 

 and hoeing between the plants, you have a better 

 opportunity to subdue it. I would ask our farm- 

 ers to point out the best method of destroying 

 quick grass. It is becoming very troublesome, 

 at the same time it is extremely detrimental to 

 the growth of wheat. I will only add that clo- 

 ver, besides insuring a good crop of wheat and 

 corn, is valuable for hay. For draught horses 

 and sheep it is superior to any other, as it keeps 

 them in finer condition. Of this I have an expe- 

 rience of at least fifteen years. But for feeding 

 cattle it is not so profitable as other hay. A. 



Clover Manure for Wltc.it. 



From the Hagerstown Torch Light. 



The wheat crop is the most important of all 

 crops to the farmer. A man who has one hundred 

 acres of cleared land, of common quality ought, 

 to raiseon an average one thousand bushels of mer- 

 chantable wheat, and rye, corn, oats and potatoes 

 sufficient to defray the expenses of carrying on 

 the farming. The wheat crop should always be 

 clear gain. 



Don't startle at this, farmer. A man who has a 

 farm of one hundred acres of cleared land, can year- 

 ly put forty acres of it in wheat .' and if the land 

 be in order as it should be, and as every farmer 

 may have it, every acre of the forty will give 

 twenty-five bushels, amounting altogether to one 

 thousand bushels. I shall now sliow how land must 



be farmed, in order to produce in this way. Never 

 break your land before harvest, and stir it after, as 

 is customary with many farmers. Much plough- 

 ing impoverishes land, and is productive of no 

 good effects. Your wheat ground must be heavi- 

 ly set in clover, and broken up after harvest with 

 three horses, when the seed in the clover is ripe. 

 By thus turning clover down after harvest, when 

 the seed is ripe, it will never miss coming up in 

 tlie spring, which is frequently the case wlien 

 sown in the spring with seed. You also save be- 

 tween forty and fifty dollars worth of seed annual- 

 ly, which it would take to sow your ground. When 

 the clover is ploughed down after harvest, be- 

 fore you seed the field, harrow it lightly the way 

 you have ploughed it, in order to level the ground, 

 and prevent seed from rolling between the furrows, 

 and coming up in rows. Never plough your seed 

 in with sliovels, nor harrow it across the ploughing, 

 when you have turned down clover after harvest, 

 lest you raise the clover, but always harrow it in 

 by twice harrowing with light harrows the way 

 you have broken up your ground. Many farmers 

 have ploughed dcwn clover once, and finding that 

 the crop was not bettered by it, but injured as 

 they believcd,havenever attempted it again. This 

 is almost invariably the case the first time clover 

 is ploughed down after harvest, especially if the 

 fall be dry and the v/inter frigid and close. In 

 turning clover down you must necessarily plough 

 the ground deep, and tlie first time you turn up the 

 clay, which being unmixed with manure of any 

 sort on the top, is in a bad slate to sow wheat on. 

 The wheat alter some time will sprout and come 

 up, but will look yellow and very spindling. Its 

 roots after some time v.ill get down among the un- 

 rotted clover, and there will choke, and for want 

 of moisture a great deal of wheat will dwindle 

 away and die. The unrotted clover below will 

 keep the ground wet and springy, so that the frost 

 will injure the wheat not a liltle. But when the 

 clover is twice ploughed down, the bad effects to 

 the wheat crop arising from unrotted clover are not 

 experienced. You then turn up the clover from 

 below, which was ploughed down before, and which 

 is a manure on the top. The seed sown on it now 

 springs up directly, and before winter sets in has 

 taken deep root. The clover now turned down rots 

 very soon, in consequence of the rotten clover turn- 

 ed up, v/hich as manure always keeps the ground 

 moist, however dry the fall. You may now goon 

 farming in this way : every time you turn up a 

 coat of clover turn down one, and your wheat crop 

 will never fail, until your land becomes so rich 

 that you will have to reduce it with corn, 



I was pleased \\ ith the above suggestion, and I 

 think it worthy the consideration of the fiirmer. We 

 all know the fertilizing properties of clover, and 

 that when mixed with the soil it is extremely con- 

 genial to the growth of wheat and corn. A good 

 coat of it well ploughed in, is better calculated to 

 give an ample yield than a covering of stable yard 

 manure. Its large, rank and thick growth is like- 

 wise extremely beneficial to a succeeding crop in 

 another point of view. It occupies the whole sur- 

 face of tlie ground, and prevents the grasses and 

 weeds from growing, so that clover well turned in 

 leaves the ground clear and unoccupied by the roots 

 of other plants which interfere with the growth of 

 wheat. In this respect wheat is a remarkable 



