CLOVERS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXII, Issue 15511, 11 January 1911, Page 12

CLOVERS.

CBy PROFESSOR W. P. BROOKS, Director Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station.) Most farmers who keep stock appreciate the fact that the clovers are among the most valuable of all the iorago crops that can he produced, Tho reasons why tho clovers arc so important aro not always clearly understood. In this article tho writer will attempt to make the.se reasons clear. Not infrequently, in personal interviews or by letter, the writer’s attention is called to the fact that in some localities fanners arc meeting with poor success in their efforts to produce this valuable class of forage crops. I'he reasons for comparative failure in efforts to produce clover doubtless vary in different localities, and it may not be possible for one unfamiliar with conditions to give directions which will always lead to success. Certain conditions, however, which tire well established, must lie provided, or failure will he the result'. An effort will be made to make a clear statement as to what these conditions arc. for it is in many cases at least true that comparative failure in tho effort to produce clovers is due to a failure to observe some one or more of these conditions. REASONS WHY CLOVERS ARE ESPECIALLY VALUABLE ON THE FARM. It is the writer’s opinion that on farms where stock is kept it will usually not lie profitable to use clovers as green manures. They can bo better utilised on such farms by cutting and feeding to stock, or by pasturing. On the other hand, where but little stock is kept, and especially where the production of apples, peaches, or other tree fruits is an important part of the farm business, the clovcrs_ are among the most valuable crops which can be used for cover, to supply humus, and to enrich the soils in nitrogen. It is now generally understood that under right conditions clovers aro capable of taking the nitrogen which they need from the air. In this respect the clovers and the other plants of tho clover family are superior to any ot.hci’ crops which can be used for similar purposes. It is, then, this single fact, that tho clovers can take the nitrogen they need from the air, while crops of other fatnilies cannot do this, which renders them h j much more valuable than most other crops for cover and green manuring. It is the purpose of this article to consider especially clovers as forage crops. A brief statement of the principal reasons for their great value as such may he useful.

1. Tho cost of manures and fertilisers needed to produce them© is low. As has just- been stated, the clovers under the right conditions take their nitrogen from the air. They draw upon the soil simply for the mineral constituents of plant food, such as lime, phosphoric acid, potash and magnesia. These mineral elements of plant food are relatively abundant, and can be purchased at comparatively low prices. Nitrogen. on the other hand, if pin-chased in the form of cither manure or fertilisers, will usually,cost, from Brl to 9d per lb. Phosphoric acid and potash cost only lid to 2id per lb, the price varying according to the material selected. Lime and magnesia cost still less. The latter, indeed, need seldom bo purchased, for it. as well as the other mineral constituents found in plants, is almost invariably sufficiently abundant in all soils. Striking evidence that the manurinl cost of producing clovers i.s low is afforded by the results in one of the fields of the Hatch Experiment- Station. A plot in this field was manured annually for fifteen years at tho following rates per acre: Dissolved bone-black, 3201 b. and muriate of potash, IGOl'o. Tho crops raised on this field, in tho order of their production. were- as. follow: —Maize, maize, oats, hay. bay, maize, rye, soy beans, white mustard, n:ai:'<*. maize. liny, and corn. The hay crops have consisted in all cases of mixed grass and clovers. During the fifteen years referred to, the entire field lias received two applications of lime, at tho rate in each case of one ton to the acre. The annual cost of the dissolved bone-black and muriate of potash applied to this plot has been at the rate of about £1 3s per acre, while llie cost of the two applications of lime has been sufficient, spread over the fifteen years, to amount to about 4s Gd per acre annually. The total cost of manuring this land, then, lias been at the rate of about £1 7s per acre annually. This plot lir.s invariably produced good crops. Its fertility does not appear to have decreased. In 1002 it produced shelled maize at the rate of fiftysix bushels to tho acre. Clover lias always predominated in the hay crops. The vield of hay (two crops) in 1901 was at the rate of 31001 h to the acre. That portion of this field which has not been manured during tho fifteen years will at present yield maize at the rate of about seven bushels of .shelled maize per aero, and liny at the rate of about i j 001 b.

2. Clovers are of especial value upon the farm ns stock feed, on account of I heir exceptional richness in protein. Protein, as i.s well understood, is the most, valuable of the food constituents, being essential to tho formation of flesh, and undoubtedly influencing milk production to a greater degree than any. other food constituent. Hay made from grasses is likely to contain only 0 to 8 per cent of protein : bay made from clovers, oil the other hand, is likely to contain from 12 to 1 1 tier cent. Every farmer, however, who has had experience knows the superior results which can he obtained in feeding when good clover bay i.s available. This point, therefore, needs no further discussion.

Tho production of clovers under tho right conditions enriches the soil. This is true even when the crops produced are cut and removed. Clover, as has Keen pointed out. i.s capable of taking its nitrogen from the air. Not only does it take from the air under tho right conditions a large proportion of tho nitrogen which becomes a part, of its stems, leaves and flowers, but it takes also largo amounts of nitrogen which become a part of its roots. Tho three tons of clover hay which an acre of good clover land will produce in a year will contain about 1201 b of nitrogen ; and yet after the production of this crop the soil will contain more nitrogen than it did at tho start, if conditions have been right, for tho roots and the stubble of the clover aro very rich in this element, and when these decay the nitrogen they contain becomes a part of the capital of the soil, and this nitrogen has been taken from the air, and thus brought within the reach of subsequent crops through tiie agency of the growing clover. In one other direction the growth of Clovers is likely to result, in soil improvement. Most of them are very deep-rooted plants. They have long, thick tap-roots, which run doyn into the soil. As a consequence, the millsoil is opened up and mellowed. In© availability of the stores of plant food in it. as well ns tn the surface soil. i« increased. Crops which follow clovers are likely to send their root-3 deeper into the soil than when following grasses, which are more shallow-rooted. Under these conditions crops a,re less likely to suffer from drought. They gather food from u wider soil area, and are, consequently, more certain and loss dependent upon applied fertility. The fact that other crops almost ire . variable do well when following a good crop of clover is generally understood among fanners of experience, and these points, therefore, do not appear to need further discussion. 4. Tho fact that when a clover sod i.s broken up the following crops do exceptionally well, has jo.'L- been pointed j out, and is generally understood, j That tho grasses growing in the field with clovers in per-

manent mowings will ultimately derive great benefit from the eioveC- which have grown with them is not so generally understood. That such is file cast, howevor, cannot bo doubted. European experience has demonstrated it. and many observations in America confirm the results of European experience. It will be of interest to consider how this effect is produced.

As lias been pointed out, a suitable selection of fertilisers will maintain a large proportion of clovers in permanent mowings. It must be remembered, however, that tho individual clover plants are not long lived. Most of our clovers are short-lived perennials. The single plant will not, as a rule, live move than two or three, years. Clover i.s permanent in tho mowing simply because some of tho seed almost, invariably ripens prior to the cutting of the crop. Considerable numbers of individual plants undoubtedly die every year. Tt, is tho decay of the roots and stubble of these plants which account** for the benefit to the grasses. Grasses thrive where nitrogen in available forms is abundant in tho soil. The decay of the roots and stubble of clovers brings this element within tho reach of the. grasses, and thus the clovers, which first help themselves by drawing nitrogen from the air, in their death nnd decay help the grasses ns well. Any permanent mowing which at the outset is brought into good condition to produce clovers in a few years will also he in a condition to produce a strong growth of. grasses as well as clovers. For four important reasons, then, the clovers are among the most valuable of forage-plants: first., the manurial cost of their production is exceptionally low: second, thev are richer in protein than most of the forage crops—far richer than the grasses; third, they enrich the soil in nitrogen, as well as sub-soil it. so that the following crops are almost invariably good : fourth, in permanent mowings they uilfcmately so enrich the soil in nitrogen that the grasses, as well as the clovers, make vigorous growth. THE KINDS OF CLOVER. Crimson Clover (Trifolium Incarnate mu), —Crimson Clover is an a.nmial or a winter annual. [Those plants are designated winter annuals which,' when sown in late summer or autumn, make a moderate growth, hut do not blossom that season; hut which will pa3S through the winter successfully, blossom and form seed the following spring, and then die. Winter rye is an example.] Whenever crimson clover can be grown as a winter annual it is of much value, but the peculiarity of our winters and especially of our springs are such that Crimson clover is not generally successful as a winter annual. Tn localities where it is hardy its special value is due principally to the fact tlint it starts into growth the following season much earlier than the other clovers. Crimson clover may be grown in Massachusetts as a spring-sown crop, but. if it must he sown in the spring it- will noth'* earlier than the other clovers, and it is not likely to yield as heavily as they. It does not appear likely, therefore. that crimson clover will prove of much value in our agriculture.

MEDIUM OR COMMON RED CLOVER, AND MAMMOTH RED CLOVER. Theso two kinds of clover are best described together, as the peculiarities of each are best brought out when studied in contrast with those oi the other. These two kinds of clover resemble each other very closely. Typical specimens of the two show well-defined differences, but these two types of clover seem to run together, and there are many forms intermediate between the types. The product of commercial samples of seed sold under the two names is often indistinguishable, oven by experts. 'Typical specimens show the following differences: The leaflet of the red clover is nearly round, comparatively smooth, with a whitish, approximately crescont,shaped mark oil the upper surface; the mammoth clover lias a leaflet relatively narrow, elliptical, more hairy than that of th»* common red clover, and without the whitish mark. The more importantpractical differences are that the mammoth clover is somewhat coarser r.nd taller than the common, and n little later. It is therefore somewhat bettor suited for sewing in mixture with timothy and red top than the common reel clover. fo r the latter is usually overripe before The timothy and redtop are sufficiently mature to cut. Both of these clovers are rather sort-lived perennials: hut it is nevertheless possible, as lias been indicated, to produce hay for a. long series of years in permanent mowings in which those clovers will be fairly prominent, This is possible even without sowing (lie seed, for when the rowen crop is usually harvested a portion of the heads are commonly ripe- The seeds are scattered from these heads, and from these seeds each year come new plants. Accordingly, though the older plants die. their place in the mowing is taken by the plants which grow from these accidentally scattered seeds. ALSIKE CLOVER,

Alsike clover was once supposed to be n hvhrid between common red clover and white clover. Tt is now known that this is not, the case; it is a distinct species. In characteristics, however, it is intermediate between the common red and tho white, showing a wonderful blending oi the qualities of tho two. It has the upright habit of growth of the red clover, though it is not so coarse. The head is shaped like the head of the white clover, while the colour oi tho flowers is pink. Alsike clover is of much value in mowings, and seems to be specially adapted to the moistcr and stronger soils, where it dees bettor than the common red. Being finer, it cures more easily than either the common red or the mammoth clover, producing hay of very superior quality. It is. moreover. of great value as a honey crop, for the honey hoc can reach the nectar in its flowers, which it. can seldom do in the case o! llie red and mammoth clovers In a few respects alsike clover appears to he somewhat inferior to the red and mammoth varieties. In many cases it does not persist so long, nor does it appear to yield so heavy a second growth. 'Hie variety, however, is of such value that it should always bo included in mixtures of seeds for the stronger and nioister soils, where hay including clover is desired. WHITE CLOVER.

This plant is too well known to need description-' Unlike the other clovers, it is perennial. Its ability to persist is dno to the fact that its stems Creep upon the ground, rooting at the joints whereevor they come in contact with the soil. This clover is, therefore, constantly renewed, ns a result, of this habit of growth. This same habit, renders this clover less valuable in mowings than the others which have been spoken of. In all permanent mowings, however', white clover will contribute greatly to tho yield and. to the nutritive value of the product. In such mowings it appears invariably to come in naturally if the soils are adapted for it. and if the necessary mineral elements of plant food are abundantly supplied. White clover is of great value in past-urea. A turf in which white clover is abundant is most highly relished by all classes of stock, and the feed is highly nutritious. The white clover, moreover, is by far the most valuable of ell the clovers for bees. It secrets nectar abundantly, and the honey mode from it stands highest in our markets, being, indeed, almost everywhere looked upon as the standard of excellence among the different grades of boner. VARIETIES OF TfTE DIFFERENT SPECIES. Critical examination of either grasses or clovers in the field will reveal the fact tiiat the different, plants exhibit considerable variation. In the- United States., while no have countless varieties of vegetables, grains and fruit*, we have thus fm made little effort to produce select, and more perfect- varieties of our different, species of forage crops. We have boen satisfied to go on year

after rear sowing a mixed or average seed. The tendency to vary among tile different species of clovers is apparently not- loss than it is in many other species of cultivator] plants. It cannot he doubted that bv intelligent effort greatly improved types, or types suitor] to widely different purposes, may be produced. Foreign countries are ahead of ns in this direction ; and on the experiment station farm at Amherst there is now a considerable collection of varieties of clovers—of the red, alsike and white species respectively. The different varieties exhibit wide differences one? from the other, and some of them have- great apparent promise. These varieties of clovers have not been under trial sufficiently long to justify sending out any of them, hut it is among the possibilities of the near future that wo shall have highly improved types of the different- leading species of clover—types which are suited to varying conditions nr to different purposes. Meanwhile, in conclusion upon this topic, the intelligent clover grower is urged to keep his eyes open for promising plants, and, finding thorn, either to propagate from them himself or to send them to the experiment station, whe.ro they will be given careful trial.

THE CONDITION'S ESSENTIAL FOR THE MOST SUCCESSFUL AND PROFITABLE GROWTH OF THE CLOVERS. 1. Soil Conditions. --Successful clover is impossible unless the soil conditions arc right. These plants will thrive upon a considerable variety of soils as regards texture and composition, but for the best results a deep, mellow and fairly retentive soil which is well drained is. essential. Clovers will absolutely fail if there is any considerable proportion of free acid in the soil, or, in farmers" language, if the soil bo ’’ sour.T If blue litmus paper in contact with moderately moist soil turns red as it absorbs the moisture, this is an indication that- the soil is sour; but the farmer will be wise if, before incurring any considerable expense for the correction. of acidity, he makes a carefm test for himself. One of the best farmer’s tests can bo carried out as follows:—Take two small plots of land in a field supposed to possess “sour'’ soil, and plough them both. Plots containing about one square rod each will bo sufficient-. They should, of course, be located in a. representative portion of the field. After ploughing, spread about 201 b of build-ers T lime or R-R agricultural lime on one of flic plots. Work this limo in. deeply with the wheel harrow, uhen manure or fertilise both plots alike and heavily, and plant table beets. If the soil is sour, these beets will grow much better on the plot- to which the lime bus been applied than on the other, and it is safe to conclude that a heavy application of limo will be essential before clovers will flourish. If the experiment indicates that limo is essential, it- will probably he needed: at al>out the rate of one ton to the acre; the weight referred to to bo taken before slacking. If air-slacked limo is used, 1A tons to the acre will not be too much. The best- ■season for applying lime is autumn or early spring. As a rule, itshould he spread upon the ploughed land and deeply worked in with the disc harrow. 2. The Use of Much Manure Inexpedient.—The writer is aware that splendid clover is often grown where the land is heavily dressed with manure. Ho is not disposed to deny the possibility of producing fine- crops of clover on manure alone. He would, cannot be- depended upon as a ra&ana of be not depended! upon as a impns of enriching clover land. The leading and most valuable element of plant food in manures is nitrogen. The application of this for clovers in any considerable amounts is unnecessary. If clovers are grown on manures they will feed upon the nitrogen in the manure; they will not draw from the air for that element. Growing clover upon manures, therefore, is not tho best economy. Moreover, it is important' to point out grasses with which clover is most generally grown are greatly invigorated by heavy dressings of manure. A strong, rank growth of tho timothy and rodtop will tend to crowd out- the clover. Fine crops of hay may be produced, but it will not be clover hay, nor rich in clover. Tho writer would not he understood as urging that manure should never bo used on land which is being prepared for clover, although lie would strongly advise against top-dressing clover with manure. On soil which is naturally poor in nitrogen, manure may wisely ho used in moderate amounts for crops preceding clover. Heavy dressings would be a mistake. It is far better to use the manure in only moderate or small amounts, and to use it in connection with materials which will supply lime, phosphates and potash. 3. The Supply of tho Mineral Elements of Plant i'oed should be Liberal. —We should not forget in considering the best means of growing clover that the stock of nitrogen in the air from I which it is capable of drawing is practically unlimited. The more of this nitrogen wo can gather in the crop and in its roots and stubble the better. In a certain sense, this trapped atmospheric nitrogen is so much doar gain. In considering this point, it must bo remembered that- the clover -plant, like other plants, must take the differentfood elements in a certain balanced proportion. Though the nitrogen, the clovers need, is practically unlimited in amount, they cannot make a heavy growth unless provided with a greatabundance of the elements which they must take from the soil. It is clearly unwise to lessen our chances for gathering the valuable element nitrogen from the air through failure to supply the soil elements in adequate amounts. Tho rule, then, in preparing for clover or in top-dressing for clover should be to supply the phosphates, potash salts, lime and possibly magnesia in great abundance. With these present in abundance, and with a soil of such a character that it will furnish suitable conditions and supply the needed moisture at critical times, enormous crops of clover may bo produced. 4. Tho Co-operation of Bacteria is Essential.—One of the most importantdiscoveries of recent times is the now generally known fact that the presence of certain bacteria living in symbiotic relations with the clovers and other members of tho clover taniily, and found in nodules on their roots,'is essential in order that these plants may draw upon the air for nitrogen. The nodules which in the case of clovers indicate- the presence of suitable bacteria, are whitish, more or Jess elliptical bodies, of about the size of the head of a small pin. These grow singly or in small clusters, mainly on tho smaller roots. They can be readily found by taking up clover plants grown under proper conditions, with care not to break off too many of the small roots. Bacteria, as is generally understood, are plants. They are very minute. The bacteria themselves are the veriest dust- of the dust. As might be supposed, therefore, they appear to bo verv widely and freely disseminated, and probably through the air. The slightest currents of air must- carry them. The dust from a freshly turned clover sod must contain countless millions of them, in certain quarters ithas been urged that failures to produce good clover are frequently due to the absence of suitable bacteria, or to their presence in insufficient numbers. Certain experiments with sterilised soils in Amherst indicate to Hie writer that- clover bacteria are everywhere; and it- is not hir belief that failures to produce satisfactory crops of clover in this Stale can often, if indeed they : can ever, be attributed to tho cause under consideration. The writer has novor seen a case whore, if a soil ho brought into proper condition as to '

drainage and freedom from acidity, and well stocked with pko* phates and potash, clovers have failed to grow: and he ba* never observed clover plants in any locality and failed to find abundance df nodules on their roots. Jt is, however, of course a possibility that there may bo localities where it will pay to in* oculate tho soil designed for clove* with suitable bacteria. This inocula* tion may be carried out in either of two ways. First, soil lrom a locality where clover thrives and where th« nodules are known t,o bo abundant mat bo scattered over the field where t-h* clover is to bo sown, and immediately harrowed in. Five or six hundred pounds of such soil per acre will bfl sufficient. Second, a culture of t'nfl proper species of bacteria may be nsea in accordance with directions which will bo furnished with it. Such culHires may now bo procured cither from tho United States Department of Agriculture in Washington, or from private dealers. These cultures are known by the name ol" nitre-cultures-; but, as each species of the clover family must have its own species of bacteria , it- is necessary in ordering to natn,e the plant for which the nitreculture is needed, as well as the area. The United States Department of Agriculture first sent, out cultures in dry form, in small packages, containing dried cotton and chemicals, to be dissolved in water in which the cultures were to be started. In very many cases the use of these cultures resulted in absolute failure. The dessioatioa to which the bacteria had been cubjeered appeared to have destroyed their vitality. So far as the writer knows, all private companies which are now offering commercial nitro-culturea prepare them in accordance with th« system first used by tho Government, and the presumption is that in many cases these cultures will ho found valueless, and for the reason above indicated. The United States Government at the present time is preparing cultures in semi-fluid form. These are sent out in sealed glass rials. They have not been sufficiently tried to warrant an expression of opinion concerning their value, but the. method, at least judged from a scientific point of view, appears better calculated to yield successful results than the earlier method.

It lias been urged that the bacteria scut out in culture form are selected and especially vigorous forms, and that accordingly, even in cases where the soils contain the right- species of bacteria, the clover crop may he increased, or ina3 r bn onabled to draw nitrogen ill larger quantity from the air through suitable inoculation with those improved cultures. It does not appear to the writer that this point has boon, as yet proved, and in conclusion he would go cm record as most emphatically advising against the use of cultures for clover unless, indeed, it- is found on experiment that clovers do not develop in any given locality the characteristic nodules. , FERTILISERS FOR CLOVER. 11l considering this topic, we shall do well to consider separately clovers grown in rotation with other crops and clovers in permanent mowing. FOR CLOVERS IN ROTATION. Where clovers are grown in rotation with other crops they will occupy the land at most but two or threo years. In such cases practically all manure or fertiliser used will be applied previous to seeding. On most farms where stock is kept, manure _ in lnrger or smaller quantity will be used, for the crops which precede the clovers. It lias been pointed out that it is a mistake to use manure too freely for the crops which precede the clover. Application at the rate of four or five cords to the aero only is desirable. In connection with such applications of manure, materials which supply phosphates, potash, and perhaps also iinie. should be employed. During the past- few y-oars large quantities of phosphatic or basic slag meal have been employed on the college farm at Amherst,’ and with results which are eminently satisfactory. This elag meal should contain about 16 to 20 per cent of actual phosphoric acid. This acid is not in so highly available a form as ut acid phosphate or dissolved bone black. On the other hand, it appears to be more available than the phosphoric acid in any of the phosphatic rooks, or even in most of the forms of bone. Besides* phosphoric acid, the sla-g meal oontains a large amount of lime, and this, while less effective iu correcting the fault* of a sour toil than quicklime, must prove valuable in helping to prevent soils which have once been brought into proper condition from becoming sour again. On such soils as those at Am- 1 herst tho application of slag meal at the rate of some 500 or 6001 b per acre in connection with such dressings of manure as have been indicated appears to bo sufficient. In addition to the slag .meal, there will be needed on most soils to bring thorn into suitable condition, for producing clovers a- fairly liberal application of potash in some form, for this element the four or five loads of manure will not supply in sufficiently largo quantities for the best results with clover. Wood aslies furnish potash in very desirable form, but they are becoming increasingly source, and are held at prices which make them a relatively expensive source of that element. It is the practice on the college farms to depend mainly upon soma of tho German potash salts; and, an has been pointed out in earlier articles on the hay crop, sulphates of potash are found in the long run to give much hotter results with clover than muriate of potash or kainit. Experiments now in progress in Amherst are furnishing an interesting basis of comparison between tho low-grade sulphate of jxjta-sh and the high grade. The writer is not yet prepared to recommend the low grade as superior to the high grade; and, since the latter furnishes actual potash at the lower cost, it Is his belief that it should usually be selected., Comparative observations, however, on crops grown on the two pot-ash salts this rear lead him to wonder whether the magnesia of the low-grade sulphate may not ultimately prove valuable. Certainly better clover is seldom seen than that produced on certain of the fields of the college farm during the past year, which have been during the past few seasons top-dressed with basic slag meal and low-grade sulphate of potash. If the high-grade sulphate or potash, however, is selected for use. in connection with manure in preparing for clover, it- is believed, tliat* an annual application at the rate of about 1501 b to 1751 b per acre will supply the element potash in sufficient quantities for clovers on most- soils. Hies© material© (basic slag meal and sulphate of potash) should be mixed alter the land has been ploughed, spread broadcast and harrowed in.

FERTILISERS WITHOUT MANURES. In sonic eases the farmer will desire io bring his soil into suitable condition for clovers in rotation by application of fertilisers alone to preceding crops. In such cases the materials which have just- been considered should- constitute the main reliance, but they should be used in connection with materials which will furnish nitrogen in sufficient qtian* titfes for the preceding crops. Both th* slag and pot-asli, however, may be used in somewhat larger quantities; end the writer would suggest as suitable for most cases basic ring meal 8001 b and high-grade sulphate of potash 2001 b, though these amounts may, of course, wisely hr* varied to some extent according to the crop which precedes the elevens. What materials it- will bo best to use for the purpose of supplying the needed nitrogen for the preceding crop, and in what quantities, it. is impossible to say without knowledge as to what that preceding crop is to be. If com, only moderate quantities of nitrogen

rould be required, and this may wisely e furnished in materials furnishing this lenient in -forms varying in availbility. As a rule, the needed nitrogen lay wisely be obtained by a eombinaiom of nitrate of soda, tankage, and lossibly. raw bone meal; and for maize, n the proportion of about one part of titrate to three of bone meal. The total uantities of these materials which it will >e profitable to use for maize in collection with slag and potash must vary ridely with the condition of the soil, iix hundred pounds of a mixture with he different materials in the proporiona indicated will ordinary be suffiient. All these materials, nitrate, ankage; bone meal, slag meal and Kitash. may be mixed after the land s ploughed, spread broadcast and barowed in. FERTILISERS FOR CLOVERS IN PERMANENT MOWINGS. To get permanent mowings to proluce hay composed largely of clovers, t will be wise to depend chiefly upon he fertilisers which have been under pnsideration. Basic slag meal or bone neal should be mainly depended upon is sources of phosphoric acid, and lirao ind either the high-grade sulphate or o\v-grade sulphate of potash as the oufco of potash. Excellent crops can >e produced by a combination in suitable amounts of these materials alono, md the clover will comprise a larger iroportiou of the product if they be lsed without materials which will supply nitrogen. On the college farm at Vmherst crops of hay rich in clover lave been produced year after year by in annual top-dressing composed of a nixture of basic slag meal 5001 b, and other high-grade sulphate of potash oOlb or low-grad© sulphate of potash 1001 b per acre. The product under this kiuiual system of top-dressing show's airly good grass, with a bottom full of vhite clover' which grows with remnrktble luxuriance and attains unusual size.. The fields thus top-dressed conlain also many plants of the red clov>rs. These in the crop of the past year leem to be more abundant where the ligh-grnd© sulphate of potash was used ;han where the low-grade had been ipplied. Basic slag meal is not yet xmnnon in our markets. If it bo found lifficult or impossible to obtain it, bon© neal may be substituted for it; but t is not likely that it will permanently lold the land in a condition so favourable for clover as the slag meal, for it does not contain lime in so largo pro-

jortkm. The bone meal, however, furlishee a small amount of nitrogen, and his fact may render it somewhat more : avourable for grass than is the slag neal.

It aoems probable that in most coses omewhat more profitable crops of hay will be obtained if in connection with either the slag and hone meal or th© >otash salts a moderate amount of titrate of soda is employed ; and ©x►eriments in Amherst indicate that rom 1601 b to 2001 b per acre of this salt n connection with th© other materials seem to be as large an amount as in eascrns with abundant rainfall may n-ofitably be used on strong and retentive soils. In the lighter soils the titrate may without doubt be more argely employed with profit.