314 Wisconsin State Agricultural Society. 
duced itself effectually, I have no doubt it would have been the 
end of it. 
Mr. Benton: I have observed two things in regard to the life of 
the clover-plant. I saw something, several years ago, that might 
explain some of these seeming strange phenomena. I wish others 
would make observations in the same direction. The clover-plant, 
I observed, had been partially destroyed by haying, the roots broken 
off. The conditions in the spring were favorable. I found the 
crown of the plant had sprouted, and there was the old root and 
the old stubble, and a new plant sprouted from the broken spot, 
same as we cut a cutting of the grape, or anything of that kind, 
the and we find a new plant developed. I did not observe closely; 
I didn’t think at that time of its importance. I saw the new plant 
growing there upon that old root where it was broken off. It was 
wet at the time, favorable for germination, and the new plant grew 
out of the crown, whereas if it had been dry it might not have 
been so. Clover has grown as long as I wanted it, but then I have 
not raised any seed. A case occurred on the farm of a neighbor of 
mine last year, which is one of the clearest cases of the effect of 
plaster on clover that could occur. A fortj^-acre piece was selected. 
Quite late in the spring about forty pounds, to the acre, of plaster 
was sown on about half of that grass-land. The plaster gave out 
and the man bought no more. He mowed the clover, and the 
product on the plastered portion was more than double that on the 
unplastered portion. The soil was very even, and fine for the ex¬ 
periment. • 
Question: What kind of soil? 
Mr. Benton: It is what we call openings, a white soil; fine clay 
and loam; poplar and oak formerly being the prevailing timber. 
After the crop of grass was cut, the ground was ploughed in the 
fall, the sod turned over with a common crossing plow, about two 
or three inches deep; the whole forty plowed in that way. The 
plaster had been sowed east and west, and it was plowed north and 
south, and sowed to grain last year. There was at least a double 
3 ’ield of wheat upon that portion of the clover-ground that was 
plastered. The quality was superior and there was a double growth 
of straw. This is simply an estimate by the eye. There was at 
least double the yield of wheat, and more than double the yield of 
