FEBRUARY 1, 1916 



131 



Another remarkable merit of this new cover crop, 

 sweet clover, is that it is extremely effective in pre- 

 venting " plow-sole," or irrigation hardpan, an ail- 

 ment to which a large proportion of irrigated or- 

 chard soils in California are liable. Frequent cul- 

 tivatons of dry pulverized soils, together witJi fre- 

 quent irrigation, tend to wash down the tine clay 

 particles and deposit them in a dense, hard layer of 

 varying thickness just under the cultivated area, 

 and thus soils become impervious to water. Sweet 

 clover, however, though an annual plant, in six 

 months sends its roots deep down, often as much as 

 eight feet. This great root system is extremely use- 

 ful to the orchardist, keeping the deep layers of the 

 soil in good physical condition and opened up for 

 irrigation. 



The increased production of a crop up to 

 64 per cent is certainly wonderful if there 

 is not some mistake in the figures. It illus- 

 trates again how much there is to be dis- 

 covered all round about us if we go to 

 work with faith and enthusiasm to develop 

 God's gifts. 



SWEET CLOVER. 



From Cowley County, Kansas, comes an authentic 

 report of a man who pastured 35 head of cattle 

 weighing 500 pounds apiece; 6 sows and 33 suck- 

 ling pigs on nine acres of sweet clover from April 

 10 to May 6. The sweet clover had been seeded in 

 the spring of 1914, and was, therefore, but one 

 year old. On May 26, after the stock had been 

 removed for twenty days, the sweet clover was grow- 

 ing rapidly, and had reached the height of eight 

 inches. From Harvey County, Kansas, comes an 

 equally authentic report of a man who, up until 

 May 22, had been pasturing his milk cows on sweet 

 clover that was but one year old. So well had these 

 cows been doing on the sweet clover that the owner 

 was delighted with the results and the quantity of 



milk received, and quite likely those cows are still 

 in that same field. On that particular farm there 

 was plenty of alfalfa ; but owing to losses caused 

 from bloating, the owner was afraid to risk valuable 

 cows in an alfalfa field. 



We should like very much to hear from others 

 who have made this same observation, and should 

 like to have any other interesting facts for or 

 against sweet clover which will be of value to the 

 man who is thinking about seeding this crop. 



It seems absolutely certain that sweet clover will 

 tind a place on many grain-belt farms, which cannot 

 be filled by either red clover or alfalfa. It is, 

 therefore, important that we get as many facts 

 from one another as possible. — Farmer and Stock- 

 man. 



S\\EET CLOVER 35 ACRES, 



I am very much interested in the new sweet clover. 

 Will you kindly send me a few seeds when the crop 

 is harvested ? The farmers are just beginning to 

 seo the value of this wondei-ful plant in this part 

 of the state, and one friend of mine has put in 

 iliirty-five acres this year after trying three acres 

 last year with which he was so well pleased that 

 lie planted the larger field. 



Princeton, 111., July 21. G. S. Richardson. 



THE avocado pear IN JAMAICA. 



I am sending you under separate cover a seed of 

 the avocado pear. You mentioned the alligator pear 

 in Gleanings in the early part of the year. I 

 thought you would like a seed. This seed is not of 

 the alligator kind, but they grow here. The avocado 

 pear grows here without cultivation of any kind. 

 When there is a good crop a lot of the fruit is fed 

 to pigs when ripe. At present we can get two fair- 

 sized ones for one cent and a half. The alligator 

 pear is called so because of its shape. 



Herbert Holli. 



Brown's Town, Jamaica. 



TEMPERANCE 



god's kingdom COMING. 



I have been for some time past making 

 clippings from our exchange periodicals in 

 regard to the " temperance wave," and now 

 there are so many that I thought at the time 

 must have a place that they would pretty 

 nearly fill a single issue, and even if we did 

 so, there would be two troubles: First, be- 

 fore they would get to Medina and get in 

 print they would be out of date. Secondly, 

 many of you would find you had read the 

 same thing, or a later version of it, already. 



On the last day of 1915 we found in our 

 Bradentown daily the following: 



DRY territory TAKES IN SEVEN MORE STATES; 



OVER 3000 SALOONS AND MANY BREWERIES, 



DISTILLERIES, AND WHOLESALE HOUSES 



WILL CLOSE. 



WASHINGTON, Dec. 31. — Seven states become dry 

 at midnight tonight. Over three thousand saloons 

 and a large number of breweries, distilleries, and 

 wholesale liquor-houses will be closed. 



The states are South Carolina, Iowa, Colorado, 

 Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Arkansas. 



The Idaho laws are said to be the most drastic in 

 the country. It makes the possession of any kind 

 of liquor a crime. 



From the Plain Dealer of Jan. 1 I clip 

 as below : 



SEWER GOES ON DRUNK. 



Charleston, W. Va., Dec. 31. — Twenty-five 

 thousand pints of whisky, brandy, and rum confis- 

 cated by the State Prohibition Department, were 

 emptied into a sewer here yesterday. The process 

 required three hours' work by four men who worked 

 in relays to prevent being overcome by the fumes. 



And now comes one of my " happy sur- 

 prises." 



The Cleveland Plain Dealer has hereto- 

 fore favored license rather than prohibi- 

 tion ; and it has also carried " booze " ad- 

 vertisements, at least to some extent. In 

 the daily for Jan. 4 I could hardly believe 

 my eyes when I read the following: 



HOME MAP-MAKING. 



While belligerency is making over the map of 

 Europe, prohibition is making over that of the 

 United States. The first day of the new year de- 

 serves a high place in the annals of the drys. 



Seven states were added to prohibition territory 

 with the dawning of Satm-day, bringing the total 

 number to nineteen wherein the manufacture and 

 sale of intoxicants has been outlawed. From one 



