566 



FARMERS' REGISTER— SOWING CLOVER SEED. 



For the Farmers' Register. 

 SOWING CLOVKK SEKD. 



There are few simple operations on a- flirni 

 which are more difficult to introduce, and to have 

 properly executed, th.nx the sowing- of clover seed. 

 There are not many farms on which more than one 

 laborer is a good sower of wheat — and even the 

 best o-rain sower will err greatly in his first at- 

 tempts to distribute clean clover seed with regu- 

 larity, and in proper quantity. Irregular sowing 

 cannot be detected until show n by the after growth 

 of the jdants — and therefore a careless or lazy 

 sower will seldom do any part of the work in pro- 

 per manner. But this is not the only difficulty. 

 It is necessary that the earth should neither be fro- 

 zen, nor too wet for rolling or harrowing (if such 

 means are used to cover the seed.) and that the 

 wind should not be high : and what with the cold 

 and Avet weather of winter, and the strong winds 

 that prevail in early spring, it is not easy to tind 

 suitable weather, at the proper time, for one man 

 to sow a few bushels of seed, even in an irregular 

 manner, wasteful of seed, and still more wasteful 

 of the crop and fertility to be derived from a pro- 

 per covering of clover. 



I propose a method of sowing, in which the most 

 inexperienced laborer can distribute clean seed far 

 better than I could ever have done by the best sow- 

 er in the usual manner. 



A convenient quantity of seed should be held 

 in an apron, one end of which is to be tied 

 around the sower's neck, and the other end held 

 gathered in the left hand. The finger and thumb 

 of the left hand also holds one end of a small light 

 board (say twelve inches long and six w ide) in front 

 of the lace, and the upper end sloping outward. 

 The sower walks at distances of four and a half or 

 five and a half feet apart, and at every second step 

 dips up as many seed as can be held between the 

 tips of the thund> and two fingers of the right 

 hand, Avhich are thrown against the board with 

 enough force to make them rebound and scatter 

 well. The distribution of the seed will be very 

 regular, and is not aiTected by the wind: and ii the 

 quantity of seed is found, by measure, to be too few 

 or too many, the remedy can easily be applied by 

 altering either the dip, or the width of the row, or 

 tlie length of the step of the sower. Young women, 

 or stout boys and girls, are the best to perform 

 this work — and as no skill, and but little care is 

 jvanting, as many as may be desired may be em- 

 j)loyed at once, and the sowing finished in a short 

 time. 



Now for regulating the width of rows, and co- 

 vering the seed. 



Many farmers, much more skilled and experi- 

 enced than I am, trust their clover seed on the 

 earth without any process to cover them: but I 

 have never made the trial, that the seed were not 

 found to be unequally distributed— and often, not 

 half would live. Wheat land, on which clover 

 seed are usually sown, by the proper time has 

 become settled, and with a sleek surface, though 

 contiimally varied by inequalities. As ihe seed 

 are thrown, they slide or rebound from the little 

 elevations, and are collected in the depressions of 

 the surface. Then ten or twenty seeds will often 

 be found in a spot of a few square inches, and as 

 many square feet adjoining may be without any. 

 If a light roller is used to cover seed so sown, its 

 pressure will generally be made only in the spots 



where few or no seed remain, as the hollows will 

 seldom be touched by it. I suppose the land to 

 have been ploughed level, or in wide beds. If in 

 narrow and rounded ridges, the objections would 

 be still more increased. 



The course that I prefer is this. When the sux*- 

 face of a sufficient part of the wheat field is dry 

 enough for a horse to walk on without injury, and 

 at any time from the middle of January to the 10th 

 of March, (but preferring the earlier time,) a 

 light square harrow having 20 teeth, and sweeping 

 about five feet, and drawn by one horse, is started 

 ahead of each sower. The teeth generally cut 

 very superficially, even on the elevated parts, and 

 do not touch the depressed surface, and these nu- 

 merous scratches, with the earth thrown up, serve 

 to furnish a proper receptacle for each seed at the 

 precise spot where it falls, or certainly within a 

 few inches distance. The higher spots will tiius 

 be as well supplied as the depressions, and the new- 

 ly loosened mould will not only retain, but will 

 cover the seed. A wooden roller however follow- 

 ing, will certainly and effectually cover them. 

 The row swept by the harrow, guides the course of 

 tJie sower who walks after it, and prevents any 

 difficulty in preserving the proper distance. But 

 few wheat plants are draw n up by the harrows, 

 and no perceptible injury is ever caused by their 

 being thus used. 



Those persons who are willing to dispense 

 with the use of the harrow, may find some dif- 

 ficulty in preserving equality of breadth in the 

 casts. The corn rows (if that crop preceded 

 the wheat) will generally remain plain enough 

 to guide the sower. When we sow on snow, 

 the tracks of the sowers serve as a sufficient 

 guide, both as to course and distance ; and in this 

 manner the seed are more equally distributed, and 

 better covered by the after thawing of the earth, 

 than if thrown on the earth without using the har- 

 row. AV'hen seed in the chaff are used, (as they 

 should be after the farm will yield them,) there is 

 a still more decided advantage in sowing on snow, 

 as in this case, the regular distribution is better se- 

 cured. R. N. 



PUEPARING FOOD FOR HORSES. 



From the New York Farmer. 



On the authority of Mr. Dick, it is stated that 

 eight ounces of saliva are discharged in a minute 

 from the salivary glands of the horse, when he is 

 eating his food. In masticating hay, dry and hard 

 as it generally is, these glands are kept discharg- 

 ing too long, often through the greater part of the 

 night, to satisfy the appetite of the horse. It seems 

 reasonable that this would exhaust his strength. 

 Hence the propriety of lessening the labor of eat- 

 ing, by cutting or softening the hay, for an animal 

 that so nobly and spiritedly tods for his master. 

 The effect of feeding horses on dry hay is to wear 

 away the teeth, and consequently, the labor is in- 

 creased as the animal advances in age. 



The use of potatoes for horses would be much 

 more general if they could be more easily preserved 

 through the winter and summer. The writer re- 

 commends to bury them five feet below the surface 

 of the ground, where they will keep until August, 

 Bean straw is said to be as nourishing to horses as 

 hay. If so, it should be an object with the Ameri- 

 can farmer to cure it properly. 



