1903 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
6i I 
MORE EXPERIENCE WITH ^'CLARK" CRASS 
/I Report From Long Island. 
When The R. N.-Y. published the first account of 
Mr. Clark’s system eight or nine years ago, I thought 
I would like to try what I could do along the same 
lines. I had a five-acre field, which usually gave 
more weeds than any other crop, and thought it 
would be a pretty stiff test for the Clark system of 
growing grass, especially as one-half of the field was 
fitter for a gravel pit than for growing grass. I 
could not give it the thorough preparation Mr. Clark 
recommends, but did the best I could for it. I did not 
get it seeded till October 2; put 14 quarts Timothy 
and 14 quarts Red-top per acre with 300 pounds 
ground bone and 200 pounds muriate of potash as 
fertilizer: harrowed both ways and on angles thor¬ 
oughly with weeder, rolled and picked stones, and 
got jeered and laughed at by neighbors who wanted 
to know if I was “making garden” or “making a 
lawn.” We had a fine Fall, and I think every seed 
germinated. In Spring I put 250 pounds nitrate of 
soda on per acre and by the middle of June I guess 
most of my neighbors would like to have my lawn on 
their farms. It was as pretty a field of grass as I 
ever saw, and was admired by all who passed it. I 
cut it July 2, and had over five tons first-class hay per 
acre. I cut four large team loads again in September, 
so that I got as near as I could figure six tons per 
acre. I have not the records of the crops I took off 
that field at hand now, but a year ago I cut the sev¬ 
enth crop of grass, and had easily five tons per acre 
of good hay. Of course there was far more Red-top 
in it, but that does not hurt it any. 
I seeded another eight-acre lot the same way, and 
though rather light soil, and three acres almost pure 
sand and gravel (on a knoll), I got 40 
tons of first-class hay the first year, and 
it had no nitrate. I was again late in 
seeding, October 3, as I was busy filling 
silos, and could not attend to the grass 
land, neither did the land get the thor¬ 
ough preparation I would like to have 
given it. The next field I seeded was an 
odd experience to me. I got it in good 
shape to seed early in September, when 
a wet spell caught us and I could not put 
a team on the land for six weeks. I did 
not know what to do; it was the end of 
October, so late that I hesitated risking 
it. I had seed and fertilizer all ready, 
so at last decided to try it. The field 
(10^/4 acres) was seeded October 31 and 
November 1, harrowed with weeder and 
treated in every way same as first field, 
only we did not manage to pick stones 
as clean, owing to wet weather, neither 
was it rolled so thoroughly. There was 
no sign of a seed germinating until 
Spring, and a few of my neighbors 
thought they had the laugh on me that 
time, but with Spring came the grass as 
thick as hair on a dog, and in some 
places weeds also, and they kept ahead of the 
grass all season. I cut 38 tons of good hay off the lot 
in July. Just now I am preparing 13 acres to seed. I 
plowed it very shallow, and keep it stirred as often 
as weather permits with a riding spring-tooth harrow 
(wheeled), and it stirs the old sod and weeds well. 
I believe you want thoroughly to aerate the soil, as 
well as kill out the old sod and weeds, and I^am not 
afraid any of us will overdo the preparation part of 
the “Clark” system. The annual feeding of the grass 
is also of the greatest importance. Surely no farmer 
will try to take such heavy crops of grass off his land 
every year without feeding in proportion. As well 
expect good results at pail and churn from a half- 
starved cow. Where I am now we require a great 
deal of rye straw; we use two tons per month in the 
carriage stables, and we have eight farm horses also 
to keep in bedding. I shall grow the rye alone, :,nd 
as soon as it is cut will commence preparing the 
ground for grass. I will get a crop of hay just as 
soon and avoid the robber rye crop, and so have more 
grass which will far more than pay for the extra 
labor, if there is really any extra labor by this 
method. I cannot understand how it is farmers are 
so loath to give up this myth of a shelter crop being 
required for grass. A. m. 
Long Island. 
A Fertilizer for Grass. 
I have about 1^4 ton of raw bone left from trees. I 
would like to sow Timothy seed now, and when would 
it be the best time to put the bone on, this Fall or next 
Spring? What is the best gniss fertilizer? c. w r 
H addonfleld. N. J. 
We should use the ground bone this Fall, and if 
possible use at least 600 pounds of muriate of potash 
with it. Next Spring we should want to use 250 
pounds pf nitrate of soda per acre, As for '‘best’s 
fertilizer for grass it would be hard to find a much 
better mixture than the following: Four hundred 
pounds nitrate of soda, 800 pounds acid phosphate, 
400 pounds fine ground bone and 400 pounds muriate 
of potash. A simpler combination but more expen¬ 
sive would be to leave out the acid phosphate and use 
1,200 pounds of bone. We would use the bone and 
potash when seeding down and the nitrate of soda in 
the Spring. Grass needs to make a rapid growth in 
Spring, and the soluble nitrate will push it along. 
During the Fall soils contain more soluble nitrogen 
than at any other time. During the hot weather in 
August and early September, much of the organic ni¬ 
trogen in the soil is changed to the soluble nitrates. 
Thus the young grass is provided for if we use bone 
and potash freely, while in the Spring the nitrate of 
soda will force the grass even though the soil be cold. 
Mr. Clark Explains His Method. 
I notice that you have not quite the right hoid of my 
method of work. I recommend the use of a plow, but not 
until after the field has been cut to pieces. What I be¬ 
lieve is best to do is to take the double action Cutaway 
harrow and cut the sod all to pieces, and then take the 
sulky disk plow or some disk plow and turn the whole 
over, grass roots and dirt all together. At that time it 
will be mixed with a llttlfe' more harrowing and imme¬ 
diately made into plant food. Of course it takes time to rot, 
but you will never have any plow crust with this kind of 
cultivation, and never have any sod underneath to create 
a premature drought. After this process has been adopt¬ 
ed, harrow It occasionally and turn over with the plow. 
Higganum, Conn. g. m. c. 
When Mr. Clark speaks of "plowing” the soil he 
does not mean what most farmers understand.the 
word to mean. His “plow” is a large disk with edges 
cut out, which tosses the soil up and throws it over. 
It is like kicking the soil over with the boot, while 
to the average farmer “plowing” is more like turning 
RAPE IN AN OLD ORCHARD. Fio. 331. 
the soil over with the hand and patting it down. We 
have tried to make it clear that Mr. Clark’s plan is 
to toss the soil up with a small or a large disk, while 
the old plan is to turn the furrow over, so as to get 
the old sod out of sight, and fine the under surface 
of it. When Mr. Clark speaks of plowing the soil he 
gives the Impression that he uses what he calls the 
“drag plow,” when what he means is a large revolv¬ 
ing disk. 
/I PATCH OF RAPE. 
Fig. 231 shows a patch of rape sown in an old or¬ 
chard that has been for several years partly utilized 
for pasture. The rape was sown July 2 on newly 
plowed soil that had been well worked down to a 
firm bottom with two or three inches of fine moist 
mulch on the surface for the seed bed. Mostly to the 
well-worked condition of the soil do I attribute the 
greatest credit for the growth the rape plant has 
made. The crop, as near as I was able to measure, 
stands anywhere from 10 to 16 inches in height, or a 
fair average of a foot at four weeks of age. No doubt 
the rape has made a little more than average growth 
in this length of time, but as the soil has for some 
time lain dormant in pasture, and weather conditions 
having been exceptionally favorable for growing 
plants the picture shows what can be expected of rape 
sown at this season of the year. At this writing (Au¬ 
gust 6), 20 last Spring’s pigs have been feeding upon 
the rape for almost a week, and so delighted are they 
with the change from grass to rape that middlings 
and milk well stirred together takes so far second 
place in their dairy ration. This lot, something like 
2^ acres, will furnish, if the weather stays anywhere 
favorable for growing plants, all the green feed this 
pumber of hogs will require till snow falls. 
Shlaw^see ,Co,, Mic]), ueo p, psynolps, 
PROTEIN CROPS FOR NEW ENGLAND. 
A Satisfactory Rotation. 
I have been reading F. G. Tice’s instructive article 
on clover on page 563. The development of the pro¬ 
tein crop is the most promising solution of the east¬ 
ern problem of self-renovation of worn-out soil. The 
increasing attention being given to the growing of 
protein crops both on dairy farms and on fruit and 
vegetable farms is a promise of improved conditions. 
For a number of years I have been working to find 
a simple and feasible crop rotation for dairy farming 
that should have for its leading features corn and 
clover so combined as to work a gain in humus from 
year to year. Detailing our practice I will ask for 
assistance. 
About 10 or 11 years ago we began a corn and rye 
rotation which was a distinct advance upon corn and 
bare ground. It increased the coarse fodder possi¬ 
bilities of the farm per acre, keeping the ground cov¬ 
ered and the soil active. But it did not increase the 
protein content of the soil or of the fodder pile. In 
1900 we made a departure from our previous practice, 
and at the last cultivation of the corn sowed 10 to 12 
pounds of common Red clover seed per acre, finishing 
with a narrow weeder. The result in 1901 was satis¬ 
factory. June 13 we cut a good crop of clover (40 to 
50 cocks per acre), and on June 19 planted corn, 
which matured fit for good silage the last week In 
September. We need to remember that a medium 
corn planted late when it is warm and on an active 
clover so combined as to work again in humus from 
in May. However, there will not be quite as heavy a 
yield one year with another as if planted in May. 
July 31, 1901, common Red clover and turnip seed 
were sown in this corn and made a good stafnd for 
the Winter. June 18, 1902, this clover 
was cut and corn could have been again 
planted. This system of corn and clover 
is feasible with the ordinary luck of 
weather. Our first clover in this rotation 
withstood a very severe autumnal 
drought in 1900. But at this point I felt 
that the clover plant was not allowed to 
reach its maturity, and perhaps not do its 
perfect work in soil renovation. Has an 
old clover root more ability to gather 
nitrogen than a young one? Therefore, 
in 1902, instead of planting corn after the 
the first cut of clover, we left the field in 
clover and cut an excellent second crop 
August 5. We also cut a late third crop, 
which did not amount to much in the 
barn and would probably have been worth 
moi’e if left on the field. Having got so 
much I wanted more, and planned to cut 
a good crop in the Spring of 1903 and 
then plant corn. But in the Spring of 
1903 the clover had gone out of business 
and the corn was planted on a practic¬ 
ally bare field. Each Winter manure was 
spread on the field as made. Up to and 
including the cutting of the second crop 
of clover this plan has worked well. After that we 
purpose to do another way upon other fields, follow¬ 
ing under the same system. In September there will 
be a good third growth, which we shall plow under 
and sow rye, two or 2% bushels per acre. We will 
hay this from May 15 to to 20, and plant corn. In the 
corn we can sow clover again, and so complete a two- 
year rotation of two crops each year; that is, rye and 
corn one year, two crops of clover the next. This 
calls for a heavy Winter dressing of stable manure 
upon the rye. Just what fertilization the clover will 
need is still a question. By combining the three crops 
—rye, corn and clover—in a two-year rotation we 
have a combination that will work along naturally, 
avoiding undue crowding and interference with the 
maturity of any of the crops. Mr. Tice’s article has 
induced me to write this about a year at least sooner 
than I intended in order to give the “Job’s comfort¬ 
ers” a hearing, for 1 imagine their criticisms may be 
useful. E. C. BIRGE. 
Connecticut. 
A Strawberry Report.— This year I have kept a record 
of the number of quarts of strawberries picked from a 
small patch. The rows were nine rods long, 3^ feet apart, 
and each row represented near one-eightieth of an acre 
There were seven varieties included in the te.st, and I 
think the crop with most varieties was a fair average 
with other years. 'Phe May frost damaged all varieties 
some, but the Brandywine and Seaford seemed to suffer 
the most. Later the wet weather at fruiting time 
caused some kinds to rot badly, especially the Sample 
Dunlap and Gibson. Such varieties as Ridgeway and 
Gandy, due to being late, escaped with but little inlurv 
from either frost or flood. The following is the number 
of quarts picked from each variety: Dunlap, 73; Seaford 
73; Gibson, 43; Sample, 86; Brandywine. 73; Ridgeway 95’ 
Gandy, 73 The four kinds picking 73 quarts each 
made a yield running close to 6,000 quarts per acre 
Ridgeway almost reached 8,non. The Gibsons were largest 
in size of any in the test. Of newer varieties fruited this 
year. Hero and Downing’s Bride both made good showing 
ITncle Jim spoiled badly during the wet weather The 
Presidents were the largest and the Marie about the most 
productive. Kxcelslor was a week earlier than anything 
Sf"'’t 
Indinnf, ’ 
