VOL. LIII. No. 2329 
NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 15, 1894. 
$ 1.00 PER YEAR. 
clover. One lore white flowers with leaves smaller. 
This was later to form seeds. The other bore leaves 
much larger than the type and a pink-colored flower. 
These plants, too, were later in forming seeds. Still 
it might be well to select from these larger leaved 
plants and to propagate the strain. 
On June 14 this plot was cut. The 
stems were woody, the heads wholly 
out of bloom. But most of the seeds 
were still green. There were no seeds 
in the white flowered heads. 
On April 27 we prepared flve plots of 
our poor-soil experiment grounds for 
Crimson clover, and the seed was sown 
the same day at the rate of (i2M pounds 
to the acre. As we have before ex¬ 
plained, this portion of the fleld has 
never received any manure. Hoed 
crops (corn and potatoes) had been 
raised upon it for five years, receiving 
an average of perhaps 1,000 pounds per 
acre of high-grade potato fertilizer. 
The land is high, dry and poor. The 
soil by thorough cultivation had been 
kept free of weeds and we assumed 
that there were few, if any, weed seeds 
in the soil—a reasonable assumption, 
was it not ? The spring sown and fall- 
sown trials upon the garden plots 
showed that the seed was puie, and 
the seed sown on the five plots of pc or 
soil was from the same source. 
Plot No. 1 was sown to Crimsen clover 
without any fertilizer. 
Plot No. 2 received at the rate of SCO 
pounds to the acre of dissolved bone- 
black. 
Plot No. 3 received at the rate of 400 
pounds to the acre of sulphate of 
potash. 
Plot No. 4 received at the rate of 400 
pounds to the acre of nitrate of soda. 
Plot No. 5 received at the rate of 800 
pounds dissolved boneblack; 400 pounds 
of sulphate potash; 400 pounds of 
nitrate of soda. 
The interested reader will ask why 
we sowed 62 pounds of seed to the 
acre. We found that at the rate of 40 
pounds to the acre on the rich-soil 
garden plots gave the most perfect 
stand and the heaviest crop of clover 
we have ever seen. We determined, 
then, not to run the chance of failure 
on our high-land, poor-soil crop by 
thin seeding. We wanted to give the 
clover every chance to occupy every 
inch of soil. 
June 10 on plots Nos. 1, 2 and 3 the 
clover was feeble. On plot No. 4, which 
received 400 pounds of nitrate of soda. 
Pig-weed was growing everywhere and 
vigorously. The Pig-weed on Plot .5 
was less vigorous. The seeding (stand) 
of Pig-weed seemed the same on all the 
plots. “ Why should it grow so much 
stronger on the nitrate plot, than on 
the “complete” manure plot which 
received the same amount of nitrate of 
soda as well as potash and phosphate ? ” 
was the question noted at the time. 
The Pig-weed then concealed the clover 
on the nitrate plot and was growing so 
fast that it was thought that the clover 
would soon be killed. As will be seen 
further on, the weeds of the complete 
(Plot No. 5) manure began to gain on 
Notes from the Rural Grounds, 
cumbent and so entangled that it could not be mown. 
•Tune 10 the plants began to lose their fresh, green 
color and all the flower heads were well filled with 
seed. The stems were woody. There were a few 
plants distinctly different from the type of Crimson 
Plot No. 1. No Fertilizer. J^ig. 147 
CRIMSON CLOVER EXPERIMENTS. 
We have ended three experiments with Crimson 
clover and are now, from the faith in this plant which 
comes out of them, about to make a 
fourth upon a larger scale. 
The first experiment was begun May 
19, 1893, when we sowed one pound of 
seed on a fortieth of an acre of moder¬ 
ately rich garden soil. This was heavy 
seeding—40 pounds to the acre—but 
much of it was eaten by the sparrows. 
The seed sprouted May 24—that is, in 
five days. July 8, the plants were 10 
inches high. The first bloom was July 
16, that is, about .50 days from the date 
of seed-sowing. On August 4, the 
plants averaged 18 inches in height 
and about one-tenth were in bloom. 
One-third of the plot was cut in order 
to ascertain if the plants would make 
a second growth. August 12, the plants 
were still blooming freely, though 
many—perhaps most—had “gone to 
seed.” August 28, the part cut August 
4 was making a second growth, though 
parts were dead (perhaps from a 
drought that prevailed after cutting). 
The second growth was then six to 
eight inches high and some plants were 
in bloom. The plants of the other 
parts of the plot were, many of them, 
still blooming—height, 18 inches. 
There were no weeds to speak of in 
this plot. 
On the same day (August 28), one 
pound of seed was sown on a second 
plot (one-fortieth of an acre) adjacent 
to the first of the same or perhaps 
richer soil. No fertilizer or manure 
was used, as strawberries had been 
raised for several years upon it and 
turned under after fruiting. The soil 
was moist. The seed was raked in and 
at night rain fell. In the evening of 
August 31—three days—it was observed 
that apparently all the seed had 
sprouted. The next spring, March 14, 
it was noted that it had passed the 
winter without the least injury. The 
plants. May 21, were 18 inches high 
and just coming into bloom. Every 
inch of soil was covered and the height 
of the plants was uniformly as above 
stated. A beating rain occurred 10 
days previously and parts were pros¬ 
trated. But the next day’s sun brought 
them all upon their feet again as 
thrifty and nearly as upright as before 
the rain. May 27 the plants were fully 
2}^ feet high, or rather the stems were 
that length. Measuring from the 
ground, the plants stood uniformly 
about 18 inches. This was because of 
further heavy, beating rains which 
partly lodged them, and although the 
top portions recovered, the lower stems 
remained prostrate. The plants were 
in fullest bloom, so that as one looked 
at the brilliant plot he saw more crim¬ 
son than green. The hum of bees 
could have been heard 50 feet away. 
On J une 4 the lower part of the blos¬ 
som heads was out of bloom and freely 
seeding. The average height of stems 
was 2>^ feet. One foot of this was de¬ 
Plot No. 2. Eight Hundred Pounds Dissolved Bone Black, Fig. 148. 
