23o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
March 18, 
CLOVER IN EASTERN MARYLAND. 
Reader, Eastern Maryland .—Red clover 
does not seem to do well on the land in this 
vicinity. It frequently fails to catch, and 
when it does get a start does not last more 
than one year, and after that gradually dies 
out. What ought we to do, and what do you 
think of our sowing Alsike clover for pas¬ 
ture and mowing instead? Will it last bet¬ 
ter and stand the dry weather? 
Peas, Patience and Perseverance. 
A few years ago, any soil good enough 
to grow 30 to 40 bushels of corn to the 
acre would with an application of 30 
bushels of lime, grow abundant crops of 
Red clover. Now this is the exception, 
and not the rule. Liming does not an¬ 
swer any more in this part of the State, as 
it used to do, and the only assurance 
now is to broadcast land intended to be 
seeded with clover, with barnyard manure, 
so the young plants will have the mulch 
and nourishment sufficient to carry them 
though the hot suns, and dry days of May 
and June. Whether it is the inferior qual¬ 
ity of the lime that is on the market now, 
I cannot say. Liberal quantities of potash 
seems to correct the trouble, but only in 
such large applications that the average 
farmer cannot succeed along those lines. 
I would advise the use of Alsike clover as 
an experiment at least, as this seems to 
thrive better than the Red, and with this 
rotation together with cow peas, patience 
and perseverence, I am sure there will be 
better results. Any newly-cleared land, or 
old wornout farms, where clover has not 
been grown for many years, will with even 
small applications of low-grade commer¬ 
cial fertilizers grow Red clover still; so it 
is plain enough that our -soils must be 
deficient in potash after continued cron- 
ping, with the plant that feeds so heavily 
upon this particular element of fertility. 
ROBERT W. ADAMS. 
Princess Anne Co., Md. 
Lime and Clover Bacteria. 
In some sections land has become “clo¬ 
ver-sick,” or “clover-killed,” due to condi¬ 
tions, generally of acidity, which have 
killed the bacteria necessary to the growth 
of this crop. When this is the case, the 
first thing requisite is to overcome the 
acidity by the application of lime. The 
next step is to inoculate the soil with 
the clover bacteria, which can be done 
with soil from some field that is producing 
a healthy growth of clover, or with the 
bacteria to be obtained from the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture. As the clover 
crop is of such vast value to every farmer, 
no means of obtaining it should be regard¬ 
ed as too much trouble. .When the land 
is again made to produce a good crop, 
avoid the use of all fertilizers containing 
any appreciable amount of free acid. 
Common Red clover seems easily crowded 
out by indigenous grasses, but Alsike will 
last longer, inheriting much of the stay¬ 
ing power of its White Dutch clover an¬ 
cestor. Alsike clover is much better for 
mixing with Timothy than the common 
Red clover, as it matures at the same 
time as the Timothy. It might be added 
that the Alsike clover has much the same 
drought resisting power as the White 
clover. w. G. DAWSON. 
Dorchester Co., Md. 
Experience in a Peach Orchard. 
I find that a catch of Red clover in an 
old peach orchard, where the land has had 
a long rest, is reasonably sure, and if not 
pastured too hard will last for several 
years. Assuming that our friend’s land 
has become clover-sick, experiments in the 
line of the new nitro-culture might help 
him. Cow peas and lime would also 
bring things around right in time. Per¬ 
sonally I have had very little trouble to 
grow plenty of hay here in Maryland, but 
1 have used bone basis fertilizers very 
heavily for berries, etc., 1,000 to 1,500 
pounds or more per acre. I don’t think 
Alsike would do the inquirer any good 
except for pasture. My experience with 
it leads me to think it likes good ground 
as well as Red clover. 
J. SPENCER LAPHAN. 
Caroline Co., Md. 
Opinion of a Scientist. 
Failure to get good stands of clover on 
much of the land in Maryland is due to a 
slightly acid condition of the soil; small 
applications of lime, 10 to 20 bushels per 
acre, have frequently been found to cor¬ 
rect this trouble, and good stands of 
clover have been secured after its applica¬ 
tion. In most parts of the State Alsike 
clover is proving to be more satisfactory 
than the common Red clover. Many farm¬ 
ers have found that the Alsike will give 
good stands where Red clover has failed 
entirely. The Alsike seems to do better 
than Red on both the wet and the very 
dry lands. We have found the Alsike to 
give us much better satisfaction on the 
Station farm, than Red. I believe that, 
frequently, the failure to get good stands 
of clover is due to the moisture condi¬ 
tions of the soil, and in substantiation of 
this opinion would say that we have been 
able to get much more satisfactory stands 
of clover by seeding it in the Fall between 
August 15 and September 1, seeding by 
itself without any nurse crop. Several 
farmers in different parts of the State 
who have followed this same method have 
reported very good results. 
H. J. PATTERSON. 
Maryland Exp. Station. 
Better Fertilizer and More Lime. 
Red clover is not nearly so much of a 
weed as it once was in this State. It 
now requires some brain effort as well as 
brawn, to produce a good crop of it. Fif¬ 
ty years back, the yellows, curculio and 
scale, were not disturbing the thoughts 
of the easy-going peach growers. How 
about the lands where this “clover does 
not seem to do well?” Has not acid 
phosphate largely superseded the better 
grades of fertilizers? How about the use 
of lime? True, a severe drought early in 
the season, before the young clover plants 
have made much growth, is likely to kill 
it out. On lands deficient in lime, I have 
always had trouble to get even a moderate 
stand of clover. Two years in succession 
after using 800 pounds per acre of dis¬ 
solved animal bone, each year, clover re¬ 
fused to “show up” on a piece of land 
where I was anxious to have it. If I had 
known then of this wonderful bacteria, 
by the use of which legumes are made to 
grow where legumes died before, how 
eagerly would I have sought it! I know 
little of the bacteria now, and even less 
than my knowledge of it, is my belief in 
the necessity for its use. Clover is prac¬ 
tically a biennial, though botanically dif¬ 
ferent. It reaches its best the second 
year, and with the average preparation 
and care of land on which it is grown, is 
unprofitable for either hay or pasture after 
that when grown alone. When I gave 
the land above referred to a good dress¬ 
ing of lime, a fine stand of clover resulted 
from next seeding. Soils deficient in lime 
will not produce clover or grass satisfac¬ 
torily. Use more lime and less of the 
cheap brands of fertilizers. Alsike clover 
is all right after well started, but requires 
specially thorough preparation of the seed 
bed. When well established it will resist 
drought well and last much longer than 
Red clover, and is well worth an experi¬ 
ment by farmers who need a full stand. 
Caroline Co., Md. j. w. kerr. 
Bradley’s is Best 
For all Green, Succulent Growth which Matures Rapidly 
* 
Nowadays farmers require quick-acting fertilizers because they are raising quick-growing 
crops. The plant food not only must be in forms best suited to the crop, but it must be im¬ 
mediately available and ready to act at once, so as to keep the crop growing day and night. 
Bradley’s Fertilizers HAVE FURNISHED THIS KIND OF PLANT FOOD FOR 
ALMOST HALF A CENTURY. The photograph shows a typical lot of Bradley asparagus 
Why Experiment, when Bradley’s Fertilizers Produce Results Like This? 
BRADLEY FERTILIZER WORKS (The American Agricultural Chemical Co.) 
92 State Street, Boston, Mass. 
