Vol. LXVIII No. 4009. 
NEW YORK, AUGUST 28, 1909. 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR. 
CLIP OR PASTURE THE CLOVER. 
Advice From Ohio Farmers. 
The young clover in my wheat field is beginning to 
head : would it be of any damage to the clover to turn 
the cows in it, or would it be best to mow it, as the 
ground is apt to freeze the clover in early Spring? 
Ohio. j. w- 
The clover crop is our fertilizing crop, and in gen¬ 
eral it is wise to handle it so as to secure the largest 
fertilizing value. This would unquestionably be to 
clip it and allow the clippings to remain on the 
mulch are a great benefit, both to the young clover 
plants and to the soil. Last Spring we plowed a 
heavy clover sod, part of which had been mowed 
for hay the previous Summer, and a part left un¬ 
touched throughout the season. The part of the field 
left bare by the removal of the hay plowed heavy 
and stiff. The part that was not mowed, and thus 
shaded and mulched throughout the season, crumbled 
from the moldboard, and was very loose and mel¬ 
low. It was a remarkable demonstration of the value 
of mulch as affecting physical condition of the soil. 
the clippings to remain. In our own practice, no stock 
is ever allowed on our' cultivated fields. 
Trumbull Co., O. f. l. allen. 
From the brief data given it is rather difficult to 
decide what would be the best for this young clover. 
Presuming that the soil is strong, and that clover 
usually is successful with the inquirer, I would ad¬ 
vise him to pasture lightly, if he does not fear bloat¬ 
ing, and then to clip some time during the latter part 
of August. There is usually enough growing weather 
during September and October for clover to make suf- 
USING THE ROLLER ON A NEW ENGLAND FIELD. Fig. 437. 
ground as a mulch and protection for the young 
plants. There are several things to be gained by 
clipping clover at this* stage of its growth. It pre¬ 
vents seeding the first year, which is desirable, be¬ 
cause when clover has formed its seed it has ful¬ 
filled its mission as a plant, and either dies or is so 
weakened that the next year’s crop is uncertain. It 
induces a new and more vigorous growth of the 
plants, producing larger crowns and heavier foliage, 
with corresponding root development and fertilizing 
power. It kills the weeds before they mature seed, 
and if persistently followed helps greatly in cleaning 
the land. The clippings left on the ground for a 
If pasture is very badly needed, the field might be 
pastured for a short time without serious injury. But 
close pasturing is rarely, if ever, justifiable. Anyway, 
there will be a loss in fertility and in mulching effect, 
for the fertility left by the cattle is so badly dis¬ 
tributed as to be of little immediate and practical 
value. If hay is scarce, the young clover could be 
made into valuable hay, and less injury done to the 
field than by pasturing, this, of course, if the hay¬ 
ing is done early enough to permit of a good second 
growth for Winter protection. Unless pasture or 
hay are very badly needed, you will probably be the 
gainer in the end if you clip the clover and allow 
cient growth before checked by cold weather to 
Winter safely. I have about 10 acres of young clover, 
somewhat weedy, that I expect to clip before Sep¬ 
tember. I prefer clipping to pasturing. 
Highland Co., Ohio. w. e. duckwall. 
- I do not like to advise, as so much depends upon 
the soil, season and how the pasturing is done. If 
the land be fairly well underdrained and the season 
favorable, pasturing neither too late nor too early 
will ordinarily do little harm. Last Spring being 
unusually hard on young clover, our own, which was 
pastured last Fall, was nearly all killed. That this 
is a difficult question to decide one has only to 
