CULTIVATION OF PLANTS. 217 



following proportions twelve pounds red clover, four white 

 clover, two ribbon grass, and one bushel of rye grass. 



The after culture of clover and rye grass, consists chiefly 

 of picking off any stones or hard bodies which may appear on 

 the surface in the spring succeeding that in which it was sown, 

 and cutting out by the roots any thistles, docks, or other large 

 grown weeds.* A top dressing of lime, plaster of paris, marl, 

 ashes, &c., is found very beneficial. So congenial is calcareous 

 matters to clovers, that the mere strewing of lime on some 

 soils, will call into action clover-seeds, which it would appear 

 have lain dormant for ages. At least this appears the most 

 obvious way of accounting for the well known appearance of 

 white clover in such cases. But this great wonder is thus 

 satisfactorily disposed of by an intelligent writer in the Far- 

 mer's Cabinet. 



There are few plants more widely dispersed over the surface of the earth 

 than white clover; but where the soil is poor, or otherwise not well adapted to 

 its growth, it is often so small, and grows so flat among the lower leaves of the 

 herbage, that it is not perceptible unless a turf is cut and carefully examined 

 by dividing it; hence, on breaking up and iiKiriuring Mich soils, or simply 

 manuring by top-dressing, a spontaneous crop of white clover appears where 

 it was never observed before, and without any supply of seed: tnis has led to 

 strange conclusions respecting the propagation of this plant many erroneous- 

 ly supposing that it originated from asnes or marl without the original inter- 

 vention of seed. It has a perennial root, and the central root penetrates to a 

 considerable depth in the soil, and the plant is thereby better prepared to re- 

 sist the bad effect of severe dry weather, particularly on sandy soils. 



The branches that trail on the surface send down fibrous roots from the 

 joints which penetrate but a little way into the ground: hence it is, that the 

 white clover maintains itself in soils of opposite natures; for if the surface be 

 too dry to afford nourishment to the branches, the principal root preserves it; 

 and when the tenacity and retentiveness of the soil in a wet winter is great 

 enough to rot the tap-root, the fibres of the runners preserve the plant in safety. 

 From this habit of growth, top-dressings and a frequent use of the roller en- 

 courage the growth of this plant in an extraordinary degree. When the soil 

 is thin, or does not furnish food adapted to the nourishment of this universally 

 dispersed plant, it seldom rises to a head, and the very small leaves lay close 

 on the ground, so that its presence is not noticed, unless by a very minute and 

 careful examination; but when proper nutriment is furnished, it springs up, 

 flowers, and matures its seed so as to attract attention, and it excites surprise 

 in the minds of those who were ignorant of the previous existence of the roots 

 in the soil. Farmer's Cabinet, vol. iii. p. 284. 



The gathering of the clover and rye grass system is, either 

 by cutting green for soiling, by making into hay, or by pas- 

 turing. The system of soiling will be described elsewhere. 

 The general practice heretofore adopted and still practiced in the 

 United States, of curing clover hay, is decidedly bad, inasmuch 

 as it is injurious. The most approved method, and one to be 

 generally recommended, is given in detail by Judge BUEL, 

 who urges it with confidence, being sustained by a personal 



* Encyclopaedia Agr., 8974. 

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