GROWING RED CLOVER SEED.

Hot Lakes Chronicle, Issue 116, 20 February 1895, Page 4

GROWING RED CLOVER SEED.

A Tuapeka farmer who has just returned from a trip through Canterbury has written to the Tuapeka Times an account of the country and crops, etc. Amongst other things he refers to the growing of red clover seed, regarding which he writes as follows :

'Should say some of the finest land in the colouy is to be seen in the Leestou and Southbriiige districts, and is at present fetching as much as from £l7 to £25 an acre in the market. The farmers iu these places have been turning their attention a good deal during the last couple of years tu growing red clover seed. I was informed by some of the farmers that they have taken as much as four bags of clover seed from an acre of land. Each bag would weigh abcut 3001b, and in the Tuapeka district this would fetch from 10d to Is per lb. If my farming readers calculate this, they will be able to understand what a profitable Hue it is, and will admit that it is worth a trial here. They informed me that a small paddock of red clover seed will marly always turn out well ; but that a large paddock seldom does. The explanation of this is that the humble bees aio not r umeroua enough. To illustrate this, I was told that it often happened that when a largo paddock is sown the centre part may yield nothing or next to nothing, while around by the fences there may bo a splendid crop. The bees, it seems, are not yet numerous enough. The method employed is to cut the grass (the red clover is sown with ryegrass) early in the summer for hay, the second growth being reserved for seed purposes. White clover is also sown for seed purposos, but the alsyke clovti hrts been tried but has always been a failure in Onuterbury.'