BED CLOVER. 117 



stitute the shame and mark the shiftlessness of too many of 

 the farmers. It may be set down as an infallible rule in 

 the State of Tennessee, that good farming and abundant 

 clovering go together. 



SOWING CLOVEE. 

 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 deferred 

 until too late for frosty nights, the land should be well har- 

 rowed and the seed sown immediately after the harrow. 

 Upon land seeded to wheat, this harrowing will not only 

 serve to secure a good stand of clover, but will add greatly 

 to the yield of wheat. It will hasten germination 

 and cause a larger proportion 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. 



It often happens when clover seed is sown with wheat or 

 oats, especially if the land be much worn, that a " catch" 

 will not be obtained. The practice is so ,nniversal through- 

 out the State, of sowing clover with small grain, that many 

 farmers labor under the impression that this is the only way 

 of seeding land to clover. This idea is erroneous. A bet- 

 ter stand of clover with less seed, may always be secured 

 by sowing upon land prepared for clover alone. I have 



