3io 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
May 4 
GOOD AND BAD FOR CRIMSON CLOVER. 
Here Are Some Bad Reports. 
Crimson clover sowed September 5 in corn, is all 
dead—winterkilled at 15 degrees below zero. The 
best way to get it through the winter, is to leave it in 
the sack. ' f. z. 
Moray, Kansas. 
I am afraid that Crimson clover will be a failure for 
the cotton lands of the Mississippi Valley. I have 
tried it in every way, and the outlook is poor. Hut 
there are still three weeks of grace, and I shall not 
condemn it yet. sam. h. .tames. 
Louisiana. 
Crimson clover is an uncertain factor in Long Island 
farming. 1 sowed some in corn last August; it came 
up, and made a fine growth, but this winter it has 
killed out entirely, while the Medium clover sowed 
at the same time has all lived. f. l. y. 
Orient, L. I. 
I sowed Crimson clover about August 15, on light 
shale ground which was in fine condition. It came up 
in about six days. When about entering the third 
and fourth leaf, it was attacked by some insect which 
utterly destroyed it in a few days. It may have been 
grasshoppers. I shall try it again, and expect better 
results. B. w. mca. 
Fannettsburg, Pa. 
I sowed September 18, about three acres of Crimson 
clover seed, 15 pounds to the acre, after beans. The 
ground was cultivated, not plowed ; no fertilizer on 
the clover. A gravelly soil, clay subsoil, exposed 
knoll. The beans produced 20 bushels to the acre. 
The clover made a small growth of top in the fall, 
some roots five to six inches long. Not one square 
rod left alive at the present time. H. c. n. 
South Greece, N. Y. 
I sowed one-half bushel of Crimson clover the last 
of July ; every seed came up ; it looked nice, and went 
into winter quarters all right. Snow covered the 
ground from December 26 until the middle of 
March. The mercury was 24 degrees below zero sev¬ 
eral times during the winter. When the ground be¬ 
came bare, the cold weather killed two-thiris of the 
plants, and the other third looks sick, and so do I. 
Philipsburg, Pa. j. o. A. 
Crimson clover sowed September 8, on oats stubble, 
plowed and harrowed in August, is clean gone out of 
sight. It kept alive and green under the snow until 
the last week in March, when it heaved out of the 
ground and died. 1 know of no best way to p-et it 
through the winter. I shall try again, and sow in 
August in corn. Some are sowing this spring, with 
the expectation of getting a crop of seed, The R. N.-Y. 
to the contrary, notwithstanding. E. A. b. 
Kittatinny, Pa. 
I sowed four quarts of Crimson clover seed about 
September 1, on land that had raised early potatoes. 
It came very well, and grew very well through the 
fall. I sprinkled manure on it before the ground froze. 
This spring it is about all dead. It lay covered with 
snow all winter. It seems to have died this spring. 
It seemed to look quite well when the snow first 
thawed off, but it has died since. It is all gone now. 
I don’t think it is adapted to this locality. I might a 
great deal better have sowed rye. franklin moore. 
Sullivan County, N. Y. 
,1 sowed two acres of Crimson clover August 15 in 
standing corn, cultivating the seed in lightly one way 
and brushing in the other. On one acre, a bushel of 
oats were sown to see w'hether they would furnish any 
winter protection. A moderate shower soon after, 
started both, but the ground was so dry that the 
clover made but small growth. Much of it appeared 
to have some life early in spring, but a dry spring 
with cold, drying winds, has been too much for it, 
and not a plant is left alive. So I do not know any 
better now. than before, whether it will stand Wis¬ 
consin winters. Much Red clover is killed, but not all. 
Monroe, Wis. w. 
Repeated Trials in Massachusetts. —In 1892, I 
sowed two pounds of Crimson clover seed among corn, 
late in August. It grew about two inches high, re¬ 
mained green nearly all winter, but died in early 
spring, except a few roots. In 1893, I sowed 150 
pounds ; mostly in corn, in July, and a peach orchard 
of about 2 14 acres. That sown in corn was a failure ; 
the summer heat and drought killed most of it while 
in seed leaf, and the little w hich lived made only a 
small growth, and nearly all died in winter. That 
sown in the peach orchard, was largely (probably 
three-quarters) killed by summer heat, while in the 
seed leaf. Some of that which survived, grew eight or 
nine inches high, and looked vigorous, but most of it 
died in winter. Where the fall growth was largest, it 
all died. That which survived the winter, started 
into vigorous growth in spring, and it tillered so much 
that in some places there was a fair crop of most 
excellent fodder. In 1894,1 made several sowings 
from about the middle of July, to early in September. 
I was looking at it yesterday, and I may say that it is 
all dead alike. Here and there a root still survives, 
but the living plants are few and far between. I have 
concluded that Crimson clover is not hardy enough 
for this locality. I am disappointed, for I had built 
hopes on the small success of last season, feeling sure 
of the great value of the crop, if it could survive our 
winters. m. morse. 
Norfolk County, Mass. 
Here We Have the Other Side. 
About July 1, I seeded my corn field with Crimson 
clover, after the last cultivation of the corn. The 
clover is now about five inches high, of strong growth, 
a beautiful green, and far ahead of the Red clover of 
last spring’s seeding. I doubt not, it will endure the 
climate of this State, and thrive well. h. c. 
Wescosville, Pa. 
I sowed Crimson clover where I raised a crop of 
onions. I gathered the onions, and sowed September 
1 without plowing the ground, and then went over it 
both ways, with an iron scratch-harrow. I got a 
good stand. The winter has been a severe one here, 
and I do not think a spire winterkilled. e. e. ii. 
Cumberland County, N. J. 
My Crimson clover was sown early in September on 
bottom land, clay loam. It looks quite well; only 
about five per cent winterkilled. From present ap¬ 
pearances, it is all that could be desired. I would ad¬ 
vise early sowing on good soil, so as to get a good 
growth for winter protection. I sowed some early in 
October, which almost entirely winterkilled, no doubt, 
from want of growth for protection. ii. m. engle. 
Marietta, Pa. 
At this time, April 20, my Crimson clover is four 
inches high, and is growing rapidly, being far in ad¬ 
vance of common clover. My neighbors sowed it in 
corn fields last August, and now have a solid mat of 
clover four inches high, which they are pasturing. 
They will plow the stubble down for cabbage or corn 
during the latter part of May. In our 200 acres of 
apples and pears, for the last four years we have 
sowed this valuable clover, some of which we saved fbr 
seed, and the rest was plowed under. This furnished 
all the humus and nitrogen required for the orchard. 
We had a few hillsides, which w^ere dug over for 
stoue, then leveled off, and sowed to Crimson clover, 
and to-day we have a perfect stand of clover growing 
where other grass would not start and grow. Crimson 
clover is one of the greatest fertilizers ever intro¬ 
duced. If repeatedly planted, it will make even a 
barren hillside farm, fertile. Arthur j. collins. 
Burlington County, N. J. 
Crimson Clover and Winter Oats a Success. —Last 
fall, I wrote The R. N.-Y. of sowing some rye, some 
Crimson clover, and some winter oats, each separately, 
and also a lot of winter oats and Crimson clover, 
mixed, all in the same field, for fall and winter graz¬ 
ing, and for early soiling if needed. They were sown in 
early September, and although the fall was very dry, 
they offered considerable pasture through November 
and December. From Christmas to February, it was so 
very wet that no grown animals were allowed on the 
field. The small ealves had the use of it all winter, 
as it adjoins the barnyard. During February, it was 
grazed hard, and March 4, it was as short as cows could 
bite it, at which time they were removed. It has since 
been allowed to grow to be cut, as soon as ready, and 
the ground planted to ensilage corn. 
I have reached one or two conclusions from this 
experiment. The oats and clover, singly or collect¬ 
ively, furnished more pasture, were eaten more 
readily by the cattle, and recuperated quicker after 
being bitten off, than the rye. Since they have been 
left to grow, either one of them is growing three 
times as many stalks to the stool as the rye. All 
through the fall and winter, it was a neck-and-neck 
race between the oats and the clover, and the two 
combined were better than either singly for grazing. 
Just now, the clover is forging ahead right sharply, 
with the oats not far behind, and the rye “ not in it.” 
The rye is, of course, taller than either of the others, 
what there is of it, but so thin that it doesn’t amount 
to anything, while both the others are as thick as 
need be. The two combined form a perfect mat on 
the ground, about six or eight inches, and are a ‘‘thing 
of beauty,” whether they will be a “joy forever” 
or not. 
Last winter was as hard on such crops as any win¬ 
ter we ever have had, and the fall was as unfavor¬ 
able. If the clover will stand them both, and the 
grazing to boot, it is all right, and I mean to sow 
every available acre this year. Where intended for 
grazing and to be cut for hay, I shall again sow a 
mixture of one bushel of oats and 10 pounds of clover 
seed per acre. I am done with rye. I think that I 
shall sow some clover alone to be cut for seed next 
year. What I wish to know is, will Crimson clover 
seed grow after it is more than a year old? That is, 
will last year’s seed grow if sown next fall ? The 
reason I ask is because I don’t know. If it will, I 
wish to buy about 10 bushels of seed now while it is 
cheap; if it will not, I wish some fellow to thrash 
early, so that I can sow the seed August 1 this year. 
The other day, we were rebuilding the fence along¬ 
side this clover field. My hired man kept looking at 
the clover, and finally said, “That stuff pays lots bet¬ 
ter than little Red clover. Why don't all the farmers 
around here raise it?” 1 told him I did not presume 
there were a dozen farmers in Loudon County who 
knew there was such a thing, simply because only 
about that many of them take any agricultural paper, 
or take the trouble to keep up with the procession. 
Loudon, Tenn. E. L. G. 
I asked a good many questions last summer in 
regard to Crimson clover, and followed The R. N.-Y.’s 
advice ; but if I had sowed the whole field with Crim¬ 
son clover I would have gained by it. The Medium 
clover came up well, but none is left this spring with 
the exception of the 1% acre of Crimson clover. The 
15 acres of corn stubble is bare, but what a contrast 
where the Crimson clover is. I don't think a plant of 
it winterkilled. I pulled up a plant last December 
before the ground froze, and the root measured four 
inches and was covered with rootlets, so that it would 
not have been possible for it to heave out. Snow 
came December 25, and the whole field was covered 
till the last of Mai-ch. The ground was very wet last 
November and December, with much freezing and 
thawing, which spoiled the Medium clover. As soon 
as the snow went off this spring, the Crimson clover 
was ready for business, and looked as though it had 
grown all winter under the snow. Since the snow 
w’ent off, the spring has been very favorable for all 
grass, but that plot of clover is ahead of anything 
seen in this locality in the line of clovers. I have 
great faith in it. E. b, 
La Hlume, Pa. 
ABANDONED FARMS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
SOME NEW FACTS ABOUT THEM. 
The articles in The R. N.-Y. of March 2, possessed 
a special interest to me, as I was buying such a prop¬ 
erty in Massachusetts at that time. When the 
“descriptive catalogue of farms in Massachusetts, 
abandoned or partially abandoned ” was issued, I 
secured a copy, carefully studied its contents, and 
looked into the subject as fully as my circumstances 
would warrant. The information available seemed 
to indicate that the chief defect in these properties 
was their isolation and remoteness from market, as 
based on an Eastern, not Western, standard. Cer¬ 
tainly, many of these languishing farms in the past 
had yielded remunerative crops, and been a good 
source of revenue. 
Had the young New Englander staid at home, we 
should have heard nothing of abandoned farms. In 
an Indiana or Illinois town, the young men in a large 
degree grow up to remain. In New England, it is 
different. I w r as educated in the Massachusetts Agri¬ 
cultural College. Thirty-one young men were grad¬ 
uated in my class. The last census of this class shows 
that its 29 members still alive, are located in Massa¬ 
chusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, California, Indiana, 
Michigan, Delaware, Illinois, New York, Montana, 
Minnesota, Ohio and Nebraska—scattered over 13 dif¬ 
ferent States, and all of them orig-inally New England 
boys. This is simply an illustration of how New Eng¬ 
land boys leave the old homestead. The isolation of 
the New England farmer is not a factor to be con¬ 
sidered, if we compare it with that of many of the 
settlers in the Far West, for he is settled within easy 
distance of the leading markets, and the most ad¬ 
vanced civilization in America. The boys simply left 
the farm, because, like ather boys, they thought there 
was something better elsewhere. But many have been 
mistaken. Will not the tide set back East? I be¬ 
lieve so, simply because especially desirable farming 
lands are expensive in the West, and farms were never 
so cheap in New England as now. To be sure, these 
farms are not specially adapted to extensive cereal 
culture, but for fruit growing, intensive farming, and 
sheep and poultry raising, they are eminently fitted. 
Last fall, I entered into correspondence with a 
Berkshire County, Mass., farmer, concerning a farm 
described in the catalogue issued by the Massachu¬ 
setts Board of Agriculture. In November, I visited 
the property and carefully examined it. It comprised 
361 acres, 225 of which were woodlands, and it was 
this that specially interested me. There were two 
houses and three barns, one nine-room house, and two 
barns being in fair condition, with an excellent frame 
work in each. The location was most beautiful, being 
on the summit of a smooth-topped hill, with large 
meadows and pastures all about the house. Twenty- 
five acres of grass land can easily be cut with a mow¬ 
ing machine, and a large load of hay can be drawn by 
two horses from any part of the hay field without 
