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SOWING CLOVER. 



Clover may be sown in the latitude of Tennessee upon 

 wheat, rye, or oat fields, or alone. Instances have been re- 

 ported to me where a splendid stand was obtained by sow- 

 ing after cultivators in the last working of corn in July. 

 This is unusual, however. So is fall sowing. The best 

 time to sow is from the first of January until the first of 

 April. If sown in January or February, the seed ought to 

 be sown upon snow. This is not only convenient in ena- 

 bling one to distribute the seed evenly over the land, but 

 the gradual melting of the snow, and the slight freezes, bury 

 the seed just deep enough to ensure rapid germination when 

 the warm days of March come on. For the same reason, 

 if sown in March, the seed ought to be sown when the 

 ground is slightly crusted by a freeze. If the sowing is de- 

 ferred until too late for frosty nights, the land should be 

 well harrowed and the seed sown immediately after the har- 

 row. It will hasten germination and cause a larger propor- 

 tion of seed to grow, to harrow the land after the seed is 

 sown. With oats, the seeds should be sown after the last 

 harrowing or brushing, with a slight after- brushing to cover 

 them. 



A better stand of clover, with less seed, may always be 

 secured by sowing upon land prepared for clover alone. I 

 have often obtained an excellent catch upon "galled?' 

 places by breaking the land well, and sowing the seed with- 

 out any previous or after harrowing. 



Upon good, iresh, rich soils, where clover has not pre- 

 viously grown, one bushel for eight acres will be sufficient. 

 If the soil is thin and unproductive, one bushel for six acres 

 ought to be sown. If the land has been regularly rotated 

 witli clover, one- half the quantity of seed mentioned above 

 will suffice, sometimes much less. 



The frequent failure to secure a good stand of clover ad- 

 monishes the farmers of the State to exercise more care in 



