130 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



the tubercles found on the roots of this family of plants to 

 which clover belongs, the agricultural value of these plants 

 is of great importance to us. There are no plants that I 

 know of in northern latitudes, such as ours, which will so 

 quickly and so eftectively improve both the mechanical and 

 phj^sical condition of the soil as will the clovers. A second 

 reason is, that clover furnishes a large amount of nitrog- 

 enous f(^ed for animals, — the element which farm rations most 

 usually lack. Whether or not in our animal feeding we are 

 "nitrogen mad," as some one has recently expressed it, will 

 be proven by future practices ; but, at any rate, at present 

 the mone}^ paid out for feeds is chiefly for cotton-seed, lin- 

 seed, gluten or some other feeds rich in protein, and which 

 are to be used in a so-called balanced ration. Geographical 

 location is such that we cannot grow the corn, cow peas, 

 soy beans and other crops indigenous to more tropical re- 

 gions, so that we must turn to the clovers, which are natu- 

 rally adapted to New England conditions, if we are to produce 

 a feed rich in nitrogen. 



If we are to be successful in the growing of clover as well 

 as of grass, we must recognize that there are several ways 

 in which clover diflers in its habits from the grasses. 



In speaking of grass growing I tried to emphasize the 

 necessity of good tillage ; in the case of clover I w^ould 

 doubly urge the need of this. Besides being necessary from 

 the standpoint of a good seed bed, in this case it has a defi- 

 nite relation to the action of nitrifying bacteria in the soil. 

 If we are to recognize these little fellows as our helpers, we 

 must at least give them a congenial place to live, — a home 

 in which they can carry on their operations. If these little 

 organisms are to extract nitrogen from the air, the air surely 

 must be allowed to circulate throughout the soil ; and I know 

 of no way by which this can be accomplished other than by 

 the frequent use of the plow, the cultivator and the harrow, 

 to open up the soil and properly aerate it. 



Again, most of the grasses by careful fertilization can be 

 made to grow fairly well on land in a depleted condition ; 

 not so with clover. In order to produce a good crop of 

 this, it is necessary to have soil in a fairly good state of fer- 



