1 6 CLOVERS 



gypsum has long been used in growing clover the 

 response to applications of the plaster is a waning 

 one, due doubtless to the too rapid depletion o.f the 

 potash in the soil. 



Potassic fertilizers give the best results when ap- 

 plied to clovers, but dressings of phosphoric acid 

 may also be helpful. Applications of muriate or 

 sulphate of potash or kainit may prove profitable, 

 but on many soils they are not necessary in growing 

 clover. Wood ashes are also excellent. They fur- 

 nish potash finely divided and soluble, especially 

 when applied in the unleached form. When applied 

 unleached at the rate of 50 bushels per acre and 

 leached at the rate of 200 bushels, the results are usu- 

 ally very marked in stimulating growth in clover. 



Seasons for Sowing. — Clovers are more com- 

 monly sown in the springtime in the Northern 

 States and Canada than at any other season and they 

 are usually sown early in the spring, rather than 

 late. On land producing a winter crop, as rye or 

 wheat, they can be sown in a majority of instances 

 as soon as the snow has melted. That condition of 

 soil known as honeycombed furnishes a peculiarly 

 opportune time for sowing these seeds, as it provides 

 a covering for them while the land is moist, and thus 

 puts them in a position to germinate as soon as 

 growth begins. Such a condition, caused by alter- 

 nate freezing and thawing, does not occur on sandy 

 soils. Where it does not so occur, sowing ought to 

 be deferred until the surface of the ground has be- 

 come dry enough to admit of covering with a har- 

 row. As in sowing the seeds of certain grasses good 



