(38) 



It appears from this table that clover hay has not quite one-half 

 the fat of Indian corn, but having more albuminoids it has nearly 

 three per cent more nitrogenous food. Both should be fed together, 

 the clover to give muscle and the corn to give fat. It also appears- 

 that the clover hay is richer in fat than meadow hay. 



EFFECTS OF CLOVER UPON SOILS MANURE FOR. 



Numerous facts have taught the farmers of every country where 

 agriculture has nourished, that in many cases the value of the after 

 crop depends upon the preceding crop. In other words, a proper 

 rotation is necessary antecedent to successful farming. The culti- 

 vation of some crop with extensive root ramifications will prepare 

 the soil for the subsequent growth of a cereal. But the farmer 

 should not deceive himself. Every crop takes away a part of the 

 available plant-food, and the field has not increased in fertility, but 

 the plant- food has been made more rigidly effective for the produc- 

 tion of a crop. " The physical and chemical condition of the fields 

 has been improved, but the chemical store has been reduced." "All 

 plants," says Liebig, " without exception, exhaust the soil, each of 

 them in its own way, of the conditions for their reproduction." 



A field, then, which produces more kindly after rotation, is not 

 necessarily more fertile, but is in better physical condition. It has 

 already been mentioned, that the mechanical effects of clover upon 

 soils is not the least among its valuable properties. The reaction 

 rendered possible by the penetration into the soil of the long tap- 

 roots, and the effect of the dense shade upon the land have a ten- 

 dency to increase the productiveness, but may not add to the 

 fertility of the soil. 



Guano is found on clayey soils, to largely increase the growth of 

 clover. When used on a wheat field seeded to clover in early 

 spring, a " catch " of clover will be secured on the thinnest spots, 

 and grow luxuriantly. The greatest benefits from an application of 

 guano upon wheat are often obtained in this way. A good stand of 

 clover, however secured, is the best possible preparation of land for 

 a succeeding crop of wheat. And this arises, not only from the 

 available nitrogen which a clover crop supplies, but from the deep 

 and thorough subsoiling which is effected by the deep, penetrating 

 tap-roots of the clover. They often descend to the depth of four 

 feet in search of food, while its broad leaves " absorb carbon from 



