Sweet Clover as a Soil Builder 
Part II. 
E FFECT ON SOIL.—One very desirable feature 
of Sweet clover as an improver of farm land is 
its effect upon the physical condition of the soil. It 
sends down a central root to considerable depth, two 
feet not being an excessive growth in five or six 
months when the subsoil is not too ‘•tight.” When 
this central root goes down two feet it throws out a 
whorl of roots near the ground surface and others 
lower down, the writer having seen a whorl down 
20 inches. If there is a liardpan the roots lose their 
tendency to deep penetration of a single stem, and 
many short, stocky branches are the result. In 
either case there is a mass of roots which loosen up 
the soil to plow depth much more than does the Red 
clover, the roots of which scarcely get below plow 
depth the first season of growth, as the illustration 
aply shows in two small plants on page 354. The writ¬ 
er is very sanguine in the belief that Sweet clover with 
deep root penetration assists drainage in no small 
degree. This is because of the large root formation, 
which, when it decays, leaves little channels down 
into the subsoil as deeply as the roots penetrated, 
and these channels furnish passages through which 
excessive water passes readily down toward tile 
drains or toward a porous subsoil if 
there be one. In addition to the im¬ 
provement of run-down farm land and 
the keeping up of good land Sweet 
clover has the power to put otherwise 
barren soil in condition for other and 
perhaps more desirable plants. It has 
a great affinity for newly excavated 
soils, and voluntarily takes possession . 
of grades in all sections of the country 
where it grows naturally. One peculiar 
feature in this connection is that when 
it has put the soil in condition for 
other grasses it ceases to be aggressive 
and eventually disappears as myster¬ 
iously as it came, possibly never show¬ 
ing again in that particular place un- 
less an excavation is made there 
again. 
DESTROYING AS WEEDS.—When 
Sweet clover becomes a “weed” in in¬ 
stances other than those mentioned 
above, it is well to remember the char¬ 
acteristics peculiar to it. Remember 
that cutting the first year after the 
seed germinates will positively not kill 
the plant, but that cutting below the 
laterals after the top has made good 
top growth and nearly ready to blos¬ 
som usually will kill it the second year 
after seeding. As all new plants must 
come from seed it is reasonable to sup¬ 
pose that if no plants are allowed to 
go to seed there will be no new plants 
unless they are introduced from out¬ 
side sources. It is quite possible, in 
extreme cases, that the top growth 
may be cut and the plant not killed. 
In this case the plant becomes a per¬ 
ennial, to a certain degree, and lives 
beyond the second year in its endeavor to reproduce 
itself. 
REQUIREMENTS FOR GROWTH.—Should a 
farmer conclude to try out Sweet clover as a soil 
improver it is well to keep in mind the fact that it 
positively will not thrive unless the soil is in a basic 
condition suitable for its growth and development. 
It requires lime in goodly amounts, and a so-called 
“acid” soil is not conducive to its best development. 
This is proved by its affinity for newly excavated 
soils, which are more likely to have a supply of car¬ 
bonate of lime than older farm land. A dressing 
of two tons of ground limestone will usually put 
any soil in a proper basic condition for Sweet clover, 
and it should he applied, to get best results, if the 
soil is of a sandstone or shale formation and lime 
has not been applied previously. Inoculation may 
or may not be necessary, but a safe plan is to inocu¬ 
late, using either inoculated soil or commercial cul¬ 
tures as per directions frequently given for Alfalfa, 
the bacteria for both plants being the same. 
TIME OF SEEDING.—After experimenting with 
date of seeding the writer prefers for a plow-down 
crop early Spring sowing with a nurse crop, which 
may be Winter wheat or rye and any of the Spring- 
sown cereal crops. Sown in this way the plant has 
the full season in which to develop top and root 
growth. If sown with Fall-sown crops as a nurse 
crop, sow early when the ground is honeycombed 
or somewhat later if an Alfalfa drill is available. 
The RURAL NEW.YORKER 
If sown with Spring-sown crops sow when these 
Crops are drilled, using the grass seeding attachment 
of the grain drill when possible. A good stand may 
be had by seeding without nurse crop between July 
first and August first, the former date being prefer¬ 
able. Tf seeded this way the ground should be 
plowed early and the weeds kept down the same as 
for Alfalfa seeding. With regard to rate of seeding 
the writer has found that 10 pounds per acre is 
sufficient if scarified, hulled seed is used, and this 
is always advisable, especially if the seed is sown 
after freezing weather has passed, as is the usual 
case when seeding is made with the Spring crops 
noted. The writer is quite partial to a mixed seed¬ 
ing of Sweet and Red clover for a plow-down crop, 
as it is more sure. Should there be a partial failure 
of either one or the other there will be enough for 
something to turn under and both seldom make a 
complete failure. In this case use five pounds of 
Sweet and five pounds of Red, or Mammoth may be 
used if preferred. 
LEARN ITS HABITS.—A word of precaution to 
the beginner in growing Sweet clover, whether it be 
for pasture, hay or a plow-down crop, is to start in 
a small way and learn the character and habits of 
the plant. It is well to observe the conditions best 
adapted to its growth upon a particular kind of 
415 
vious to sowing the last clover seeding, although 
Sweet clover grows quite well in the locality without 
lime applications. The land has been under culti¬ 
vation for about 90 years. f. m. lutts. 
Huron County, Ohio. 
Side View of Ditcher, Showing Caterpillar Construction. Fig. 112. 
Tile Drainage by Machinery 
p^OUR of us farmers bought a power ditcher one 
a year ago last September, and we have dug and 
laid about 100,000 tile, some S-in. for mains, where 
there was a large volume of water. We have used 
6-in. tile for most of the mains, a few 5-in. on short 
mains, 4-in. for laterals. The machine cuts a ditch 
11 inches wide and can dig up to 4% feet. deep. 
Theie is a casing that is long enough to hold three 
tiles, so the man laying the tile, by working rapidly, 
can place the tile inside of the casing. The casing 
prevents the soil from caving in. Eight-inch tile 
have to be laid behind the casing. 
When digging not to exceed three feet deep, and 
soil is not stony, we can dig 10 feet per minute. 
When digging deeper, or in very hard soil, we dig 7y 2 
feet per minute. When digging full depth we can dig 
five feet per minute. We dug and laid 1,040 rods on 
my farm during November and December. 1918, and 
a\evag'd about 90 rods per day, of an average depth 
of 37 inches. Days were about seven 
_ to nine hours. The operator and the 
man who laid the tile took the levels 
and set the-targets. One day last 
Spring, in favorable digging, they dug 
and laid 175 rods. The tile must be 
laid as fast as dug, or in sandy land 
the ditch will cave in. When we laid 
our tile there was considerable rain, 
and the ground was soft in a good 
many places, so we had to use rails 
under the wheels, and that hindered 
considerably. The machine is of the 
caterpillar type and weighs 10 tons 
This is the first machine in the country, 
and there lias been but very little tile 
laid. Most of our heavy land needs 
tiling. o. F. MARVIN. 
Muskegon Co., Mich. 
The Power Ditcher at Work. Fig. 113. 
soil, as its growth varies with different kinds of 
soils. Study root growth and learn how it takes to 
the subsoil in comparison with other and shallower 
rooted clovers, remembering that the roots penetrate 
deeper in a dry season than in a wet one, the nature 
of the plant being such that it sends the roots down 
to moisture, or rather follows the water table as it 
lowers with the advancing season. 
COMPARISON WITH RED CLOVER.—The illus¬ 
tration on page 354 is from samples of Sweet and Red 
clover dug May 1, each set being from different parts 
of the field, yet grown close together. They were 
grown from mixed seed sown with wheelbarrow 
seeder in wheat the previous Spring. It was plowed 
down about this time, and it will be noted that the 
top growth of the Sweet clover, shown by the two 
center plants, was eight to ten inches, while the 
roots were broken off at about 12 inches below the 
surface, as shown by the two-foot rule in the center. 
Compare these with the Red clover shown on the 
outside and the difference in growth at the same 
age. grown under like soil and climatic conditions, 
is readily seen. The soil was a silty loam with 
rather loose yellow subsoil and located near latitude 
41. Northern Ohio. It was sown for a plow-down 
ciop in a two-acre experimental field where a two- 
crop rotation of corn followed by wheat is practiced, 
several crops of each having been removed from the 
laud and no manure applied, commercial fertilizer 
being used abundantly. Limestone was applied pre- 
What to Do for Com Smut 
ERY year we have many ques¬ 
tions about corn smut. This dis¬ 
ease seems to be gaining in some sec¬ 
tions. particularly where sweet corn is 
largely grown. The picture at Fig. 114, 
taken from a circular from the New 
Jersey Experiment Station, shows the 
appearance of this disease, and most 
farmers are familiar with the black, 
uasty bunches which gather on the 
corn. This disease cannot be handled 
like the smut of oats, by sprinkling or 
spraying the seed. In the oat smut the 
disease germs are in the seed, and the 
use of formalin will destroy the germs 
before the seed is planted. The germs 
of corn smut are not wintered over in 
the seed, but are carried over in the 
manure, in cornstalks or in the feed. They develop 
in the field and float through the air. When they 
reach a corn ear they settle and begin their work. 
Thus it will be no help to soak the seed corn. All 
smutty ears or stalks should be burned and kept off 
the manure pile. When the disease becomes very 
bad the field should be put into other crops for sev¬ 
eral years. As this smut does not attack potatoes 
or grass or garden truck, a few years of these crops 
will “starve” out the smut. 
M 
Sale of Army Material 
ANY readers have asked us about the army 
trucks, which they understand are being of¬ 
fered for sale at great bargains. The only way to 
find out is to go to headquarters. We did so, and are 
told by the Quartermaster’s representatives: 
I liore is a widespread rumor that has been circulated, 
to the effect that the War Department has for sale a 
large number of army trucks. This rumor is erroneous 
and without foundation, for the reason that the War 
Department has not authorized anv sales of motor 
vehicles. 
They say all army material is being counted and 
classified. When this is done, everything in excess 
of Government needs will be offered for sale. From 
what we have seen of the army trucks, we doubt if 
they would be very serviceable for most farm work 
