92 How THE FARM PAYS. 



(Mr. H.) That is just the reason I asked the question, because, 

 from the nature of the roots of the plant, I should judge that it was 

 more fitted to the sandy soils of Florida and other Southern States, 

 than to most of the loamy or gravelly soils of our Northern States. 

 The appearance that it presented to me growing in luxuriance at 

 St. Augustine, indicated that on such a soil the roots must have 

 penetrated to a great depth, or such vigorous growth could not have 

 been shown. I should say that on such lands as at Vineland, N. J., 

 or, in fact, anywhere where the soil is loose enough that you could 

 push a walking stick down to the depth of two or three feet, would 

 be the soil for lucern. 



Q. Is there any peculiarity in the method of curing it for hay ? 



A. I think it is more easily cured than clover hay, for the reason 

 that the stems are less succulent than those of clover. 



Q. Is any preference given to it by cattle over clover, either in a 

 dry or green state ? 



A. Cattle prefer lucern to any other crop I have ever fed, and I 

 believe it to be as nutritious as any other ; the only reason I do not 

 use it exclusively is, that some portions of my land are not suited to 

 its growth as well as to that of clover. 



CLOVER AND GRASS. 



Q. What is your method of culture for clover and grass mixed? 



A. The ground is prepared in the fall of the year and sown to 

 wheat or rye. In the spring we sow two bushels of orchard grass 

 and twenty pounds of Mammoth Clover Seed, mixed, per acre. The 

 wheat or rye being first well rolled in the spring, the mixture of 

 clover and grass seed is then sown and the ground again rolled. In 

 the fall a light cutting is made, which should not be taken off, but left 

 on the ground to protect the roots from freezing through the winter. 



Q. Then I understand that it is your practice never to cut the crop 

 the first season of its growth, unless, as you say, a light cutting in 

 the fall ? What advantage is there in making that cutting in the fall ? 



A. It protects the roots of the grass and young clover through the 

 winter from freezing and thawing. If it were taken off the field, it 

 would leave the roots so exposed that the frost in some soils would 

 throw them out. 



Q. Would not the protection of the plant uncut be as good as the 

 protection given by its being cut and left on the ground? I can 

 understand where the advantage might be as a mulch if it could be 

 distributed by the mower as to cover the whole surface of the ground 

 evenly. 



