326 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



ARPILIO, 1S4' 



AMI HDUTICULTURAL RIGISTER. 



Edited liy Joseph Breck.. 



Bosros, Wednesday, April 10, 1844. 



SOWING CLOVER WITH OTHER GRASS SEED. 



Mr Editor — As the season is at hand for sowing 



spnnif giaiii, and OS most farmers sow their grass seed 



at the same lime, 1 have thought 1 would offer a few re- 

 marks, anil point r.ut what I ihinii is a inislake in many 

 farmers, at least ill the section of the country where I 

 reside, in not sowing clover with other grass seeds. 



For some years past, many farmers have neglected 

 sowing clover seed. They siy the northern, on well 

 manured land, grows so rank that it lodges, and it is 

 difficult lo L'et il dry enough to be carried to the harn, 

 without shattering most of the heads and leaves, and 

 their stock will nut eat the coarse stalks. The soulhern 

 is loo early f'lr other grasses, and is liable, in makin;:, lo 

 lose its leaves, and produces a small crop when sown 

 alone. 



Some of thfi above objections are true. If, afler the 

 clover is mown, il is spread and turned in the middle of 

 the dav, and raUed into winrows and rolled into cocks — 

 and the next tltiy opened and turned and shook up seve- 

 ral times-, as practiced by some farmers, it is no wonder 

 that thiir laitle will not eal it, and that they will not 

 sow il. Hut there are eoiue good and observing farmers 

 who continue to sow it, believing their land is beni^filed 

 liy it, although they do not consider the first crop of so 

 much value, yet they think upon the whole they get as 

 great an amount of hay in the course, (afler the clover 

 has disappeared,) before again plowing up, as the d 

 caying roots of the clover afford food for the other grass- 

 es, and leave the ground open for the admission of air 

 and water. 



In securing my clover for several years past, I have 

 pursued the following method : When about half of the 

 heads have turned brown, in good bright hay weather, I 

 commence mowing afler the dew is off, — let it remain in 

 the swarih until 4 or 5 o'clock, P. M., ; then with the 

 fork commence at the end of a swarth, and lake up a 

 flake, and put it forward, and take up another, and so 

 on, till 1 get a forkfull ; this is placed on the warm dry 

 ground, between the swarths, and follow taking up 

 flake aftur flake, and forkfull after forkfull, till I judge 

 the cocks contain about fifty pounds j rake up the scat- 

 terings, and let it reuiain in these small heaps till about 

 the same lime next day, when I make them into large 

 heaps by putting two or three into one ; third day after 

 the dew is off, turn them boltom upward, and in a few 

 hours ihey are fit to carl in. I have always till last sea- 

 son, sprinkled a few quarts of salt to each load, but last 

 year I used no salt. 1 put some 12 or 15 tons of bay, 

 mostly clover, inio my barn, cured in this way, and am 

 now feeding it to my caLtli-, which ent it as dean and 

 freely as any hay 1 have given them. The leaves and 

 heads are all on, and as fresh and of as good color as 

 when mowed. But I am satisfied that tlie salt is bene- 

 ficial lo my stock, although not required to prevent the 

 hay from heating or becoming musiy, and shall in future 

 salt my clover hay. I can safely iccommend this method 

 to all who raise clover for hay. But in connexion with 

 tliis, there seems to be one or two important considera- 

 tions. Every person who has been familiar with the 

 agricultural papers lor the last fifieen years, must be 

 BWare ol the great advantage the farmers of the .Middle, 

 and the planters of ihe Southern fcilules have derived 

 from the cultivation of clover in connexion with lime 

 and plaster of Paris. The long taproot of the clover 



penetrates to a depth on their worn-out lands, below 

 where the fibrous roots of corn and wheat had ever 

 reached, and it finds in the unexliausteil subsoil, those 

 essential salts lliat have been exhausted in ihe lop soil 

 by long chopping ; and its abundant leaves extract from 

 the air Ihe necessary carbon; and by plowing in the 

 clover, it replenishes the soil wilh decaying ypgelable 

 matter, wliich is soon converted into humus. This 

 course gives them increasing crops of corn and wheat, 

 and, continued for a few years, restores 'heir exhausted 

 soils to their pristine fertility. Beside the above, there 

 seems to be another good reason why clover should be 

 more generally cultivated here at the North, where all 

 our hay crops are vyanted for winter forage. At page 

 24, of Dr. Dana's Prize Essay, he says, " Clover is twice 

 as rich in nitrogen as herdsg'ass, and that the kind of a 

 green crop lurried in, materially ati'ects the value of llie 

 process. While the straws of ihe grain bearing plants 

 afford for every ton of gieen crop turned in, about three- 

 fourths of a pound of ammonia, green cornstalks and 

 herdsgrass about five pounds of ammonia per Ion, red 

 clover affords about seventeen pounds per ton. The 

 very great value of clover in enriching land, is thus 

 made evident." 



Without doubt, the ratio of nitrogen is relatively the 

 same in the green and dry herdsgrass and clover, and 

 supposing the coarse stems of the clover hay are not all 

 eaten, if it goes into the compost heap as litter, it is 

 twice as valuable as herdsgrass, and ten times the value 

 of rye straw for manure, and the manure fiom what the 

 stock did eat, would be valuable in the same propor- 

 tion. 



In the N. E. Farmer, of March 20th, Mr Phinney re- 

 commends the practice of seeding down land to grass 

 after the grain crop is taken off, by plowing in the stub- 

 ble and sowing the seed in September, — and his opin- 

 ions on all matters pertaining to the farm, are of the 

 very highest authority. I would suggest that where 

 such a course is to be pursued, if it would not bo money 

 well expended, lo sow a few pounds of southern clover 

 seed per acre wilh the grain, for the npress purpose of 

 plowing in with the stubble for manure. By its decom- 

 position, il would afford heat, moisture and food, lo the 



I was about to publish bis opinion, that he might h 

 stated it more fully and satisfactorily to himself. 

 Respectfully, your ob't serv't, 



C. T. JACKSON 



P. S. — Having seen .)Ir T. since the above was w 



ten, I find he objects only to the word "■ prorcd" — ar 



agree with him that the extent of the experiments wo 



not warrant its unqualified application. 



ng and tender herdsgrass and redtop, and be a pre- 

 servative against drought. B. 



Boston, April 3d, 1844. 

 To the Editor of the New Encland Parmer : 



Dear Sir— I regret to find by Mr Teschemacher's let- 

 ter, inserted in your last paper, that he thinks I must 

 have misunderstood him in reference to his opinion on 

 my artificial guano. He evidently refers to asub,<equent 

 conversation ; for at the time he stated to me his opin- 

 ion respecting its agricultural value, nothing was said 

 about its cost, and but little on its composition. At the 

 Conservatory, where I saw the plants marked as treated 

 with my artificial guano, he remaiked that it was twice 

 the strength of the natural guano ; and subsequently at 

 my laboratory, that it was " twice as valuable as the 

 natural guano." This latter remark I communicated a 

 few moments alterwards to one of my pupils, who well 

 remembers the statement I do not suppose Mr Tes- 

 chemacher intended to withdraw his approval, this be- 

 ing evident from his letter; but I suppose he may proba- 

 bly have forgotten the conversation. As to the experi- 

 ments, I was not made aware of iheir extent, but mere- 

 ly learned that they were inteirupted by the fire al the 

 Conservatory. 



Entertaining the highest respect for that gentleman 

 and for his science and skill in horticulture, I may per- 

 haps have done him injustice in not no'.ifying him that 



PREPARING HOT-BEDS. 



The Western Farmer and Gardener gives the foil 

 ing directions fijr the preparation and managemen 

 hot-beds : 



"The situation should be on the southern side 

 board fence or building. Take out the earth to 

 depth of a fool, a fool wider than the frame, and i 

 clay, where water is likely to sland, cut a drain froi 

 Then with two loads of hot unrolled horse man 

 mixed, when it can be done, wilh leaves, corn-hu 

 or any such substances as ferment more slowly, il 

 be filled in, beating it a little wilh the back of the I 

 but never treading it, as il otherwise will settle 

 qually. Put on the frame and the glass f^r a da 

 two, covering them up with some malting or clol 

 night, to Stan the fermentation. Then put on abou 

 inches of good fine earth, and after letting this ata 

 day or two, till the heat begins to rise, sow tin seed 

 shallow drills, or broadc.tst. To Ihose who h.ive n 

 seen a hotbed prepared, it will not be amiss to say, 

 the frame is the four sides of a box, of a fool in hi 

 on the lower side, and a foot and three inches or 

 upper, upon which the glazed sash rests at a sligh 

 clination,to carry off the water; the sashes may I 

 any size, but the most convenient is five feet by foi 



jiflcr Management. — The ground, until the seeds 

 started, requires to be kepi well moistened, am 

 frames mostly closed, but if Ihe heat be too great 

 seeds may rot: from 50 to CO deg. Fahrenheit wi 

 the heat at which the bed should range. Afier 

 plants are up, then open the sashes in every pleasan 

 mild day ; at first only a few inches at a time, to h 

 the moisture, which might otherwise rot the jilants 

 to make them grow strong and healthy. If kept u 

 the glass with great heat and moisture, they grow \ 

 and spindling ; they will often require thinning a 

 spring advances; give more and more air on fine i 

 until the sashes can be taken off entirely during the 

 as ihe object is to gel the plants perfectly accustomM 

 the state of the atmosphere which exists about the 

 of May, al which time it is usual to transplant them 

 the open ground. The nearer the glass can be p 

 the surface of the ground, the better llio plants 

 grow, and as they increase in size, the frame rai 

 raised. If the weather should be cold afier the i 

 are put in, (resh and hot manure should ho put ar 

 the outside of the frame as high as Ihe top, coverin 

 glass al night, and sometimes during the day, if the 

 is intense. Cucumbers and other plants which d 

 hear transplanting well, may be started ii pots, or 

 square pieces of turf, and removed without disturbin 

 roots." 



MASS. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



EZHI81TI0H OF FLOWERS. 



Saturday, Jlpril 6, 16 



From Parker Barnes — a magnificent specimc 



Azalea indica hybrida, in full bloom This plant 



grown in a parlor, and has produced its flowers in 



profusion for a number of successive s.asons. 



JOSEPH BkECK 

 Chm'n Flower Commit i 



