State Convention—Renovation of Soils. 313 
clover, however, with the idea that he is going to get a seed-crop 
each year for three years, will be mistaken nine times out of ten. 
Mr. Whiting: I have taken a great deal of interest in this paper. 
Mr. Allen’s farm adjoins mine, and his mode of procedure in farm¬ 
ing I have watched pretty closely, and although he is termed an 
enthusiast, and by some a fanatic, I must say his enthusiasm, in the 
neighborhood and town where he lives, has caused a desire and in¬ 
clination to follow in his footsteps, and I believe his neighbors pret¬ 
ty generally admit that Mr. Allen comes out ahead in wheat- and 
clover-raising, But it was not on this point I arose to speak. I 
came here to learn, to receive light; and I have listened with much 
attention to the remarks from others. With regard to clover’s be- 
% 
ing a biennial plant, I am glad that the question has arisen. I read, 
a few years ago, in the New York Tribune, an article, from the 
Hon. Geo. Geddes, who has, for a few years, been the agricultural- 
editor of that paper, that clover was a biennial plant. I supposed 
that was a settled point. I concluded that was authority. I am 
aware that although rye is an annual plant, and dies the first year, 
under ordinary circumstances, yet it may live for an indefinite num¬ 
ber of years. The general law is that such plants die when they 
have produced their seed—when they have reproduced themselves. 
I suppose that is the law of biennials. If they are not allowed to 
produce seed they will live for an indefinite number of years. There 
are some circumstances by which people are deceived as to biennial 
plants. I raised, last year, an excellent crop of clover on land 
where it had been for three years. I raised an extraordinary crop 
of clover. It didn’t prove to me that clover was not a biennial 
plant. The facts were, the seed scattered the previous year took 
root, and grew, and matured, and made excellent pasture. The 
land, the previous year, was used for pasturage, and a few heads 
grew up, and raised seed sufficient to seed the land thoroughly and 
effectually for a new crop. That is no unusual circumstance. 
Mr. Clark: In the cases I mentioned, I dug up the roots and 
found the old stubs of the year before, so it could not have been 
a new root. 
Mr. Whiting: That is an important thing; it was a wonder to me 
how that could be; it seemed to me a contradiction. The remark 
you made was that that crop was late. Had that crop produced a 
full growth of seed; had the plant become fully developed and pro- 
