62 TALKS ON MANURES. 



whole field was seeded down with timothy. No clover was sown 

 either then or in tne spring ; but after the wheat was sown, he put 

 on a slight dressing of manure on two portions of the field that 

 he thought were poor. He to.d the man to spread it out of the 

 wagon just as thin as he could distribute it evenly over the land. 

 It was a very light manuring, but the manure was rich, and thor- 

 oughly rotted. I do not recollect whether the effect of the manure 

 was particularly noticed on the wheat ; but on the grass, the f ol- 

 lowing spring, the effect was sufficiently striking. Those two por- 

 tions of the field where the manure was spread were covered with 

 a splendid crop of red clover. You could see the exact line, in both 

 cases, where the manure reached. It looked quite curious. No 

 clover-seed was sown, and yet there was as fine a crop of clover 

 as one could desire. 



On looking into the matter more closely, we found that there 

 was more or less clover all over the field, but where the manure 

 was not used, it could hardly be seen. Tli3 plants were small, 

 and the timothy hid them from view. But where the manure 

 was used, these plants of clover had been stimulated in their 

 growth until they covered the ground. The leaves were broad 

 and vigorous, while in the other case they were small, and almost 

 dried up. This is probably the right explanation. The manure 

 did not " bring in the clover ;" it simply increased the growth of 

 that already in the soil. It shows the value of manure for grass. 



This is what Mr. Johnston wanted to show me. " I. might have 

 written and told you, but you would not have got a, clear idea of 

 the matter." Tliis is true. One had to see the great luxuriance of 

 that piece of clover to fufly appreciate the effect of the manure. 

 Mr. J. said the manure on that grass was worth $30 an acre that 

 is, on the three crops of grass, before the field is again plowed. I 

 have no doubt that this is true, and that the future crops on the 

 land will also be benefited not directly from the manure, per- 

 haps, but from the clover-roots in the soil. And if the field were 

 pastured, the effect on future crops would be very decided. 



