VOL. LXV
INDIANAPOLIS, MARCH  19, 1910.
NO. 12
SEEDING TO CLOVER.
By W. H. Underwood.
One of the most important crops
raised on the farm is the clover crop.
It serves a double purpose. It furnishes
an abundance of feed for the animals
kept on the farm, is relished by all
from the horse to the chickens, and at
the same time the roots permeate the
soil, putting it in better physical condition than it was before, and gathering'
the elements from down deep in the
ground, as well as the nitrogen from the
atmosphere, make them available for
the subsequent crops which follow in
the regular rotation.
The flrst essential is good seed. With-
,,ut good seed no manner of after treatment can make a good crop of clover;
therefore, it is a matter of flrst importance to select only such seed as is best
aadapted to the locality in which one
lives, and then testing the same in order to know what percentage of the
seed can be depended upon to germinate. In selecting seed from different
localities, that grown near where it is to
lae sown will be much hardier, and give
better results than that grown very
much farther south. Seed grown north
of locality where it is to be sown will
ailso do better than that grown very far
south.
The old-fashioned method of throwing the seed on the surface and trusting to the subsequent freezing and
thawing, and the rains to cover the
seed will not work as well as when the
land was new and contained a large
amount of vegetable mold, which encouraged a rapid root growth as soon
as the seed began to grow and seek a
foothold. This method can only be
trusted on loamy soils, that are fertile,
and inclined to be porous in the spring
of the year.
On gravelly and sandy soils, when
seeding with winter wheat or rye, it is
by far safer to sow the seed on the surface, and then go over the ground with
a spike-tooth harrow and stir it well.
One can follow with a roller to make
the surface smooth and compact the
soil, after which it will hold the moisture, better than when left loose.
If the surface of the ground is not
well supplied with vegetable mold, a
moderate amount of commercial fertilizer that is rich in nitrogen, to start
root growth, will help very materially.
I would put the fertilizer on the ground
before the harrow is started. I have
obtained excellent results by applying
a light coat of compost made of equal
parts of stable manure and swamp
muck. The compost can be applied in
the early spring. The beneficial effects of this application will be noticed
for two or three years. It works well
on hard clay knolls, where much difficulty is experienced in getting a catch
of clover.
I am aware that this method of seeding is more expensive, in point of labor,
than the old slip shod plan too often
followed, but it insures a good catch,
and increases the subsequent yield of
olover. The amount of good seed required per acre is around four quarts
on loamy soils, and five quarts on gravelly and sandy soils.
As to time of sowing, it depends on
the locality and condition of soil. If
It Is to be sown and left for the rains
to cover the seed, from March 16th to
April lst is a good time, generally.
When one is going to harrow the
ground to cover the seed it is always
best to wait until the ground is settled
and in fine condition for working.
When sown with winter wheat the
working loosens the soil, lets the air in,
and benefits the wheat by encouraging
an early growth more than enough to
repay the labor of harrowing. When
clover is sown with spring crops, it can
be thrown on the surface while the land
is loose from being prepared for the
grain crop, soon after the grain is
sown, and worked in with a light
spike-tooth harrow.
Illinois.
count there were twenty-six present,
twenty of this number being women.
So the conditions are about the same in
towns and cities as they are in the
country in regard to non-attendance at
church.
As G. E. E. wants to hear from other
readers of the Farmer in regard to
their views on non-attendance at
church, I will say there are various reasons, but space will not permit us to
write a full detail of all. Since the
universal Introduction of organs and
other musical instruments in the
churches and a select few to do the
singing, church attendance has gradually been dropping off.    The old mem-
On the Farm of James Downen,  Gallatin County, Illinois.
WHY    THEY    DO    NOT    ATTEND
CHURCH.
Editors  Indiana  Farmer*.
In a recent issue of the Farmer was
an article written by G. E. E., which
stated in part that on a recent Sabbath,
instead of going to church and Sabbah
school, he took a drive over the surrounding country. Being the appointed hour for people to be either on their
way or ready to start to church, he
was surprised to see so many farmers
roaming over fields with old clothes on,
possibly a clean shirt but with no intention of worshiping the Lord.
It so happened that recently, instead
of going to church and Sabbath school,
we took a drive to our home city, it
being the county seat of Spencer county
and were there during the time people
were on their way and at church, and
for every 1 man we saw on his way to
church we saw ten who were loafing
around the postoffice, hotels and various other places. Instead of having
on their old clothes as did the men in
the country they had on their good
clothes, but you cannot judge a man
by the clothes he wears,—God made
one and the tailor made the other. We
have known people who, on account of
buying fine clothes which they were not
able to pay for, in order that they
might appear at church, as others did
who were able to afford costly apparel,
are today homeless and In some Instances penniless.
While at Indianapolis last winter we
attended the closing service of a protracted meeting of several weeks' duration at an M. E. Church and by actual
bers who were sincere in their devotion to their church and who, when assembled at the church, would mingle
their voices together in singing the old
time soul stirring songs, until they
would in many instances shout the
praises of their Saviour, do not approve of the modern mode of worship,
so they remain at home. A majority
of those who do approve of it prefer
the office instead of the church. Another reason why a great many remain
away from church is on account of so
many church members whose lives are
not in harmony with their profession;
thus the influence of the church is not
what it should be and when you destroy the influence or confidence of any
organization it .is bound to retrograde.
The time has been when church membership meant something; about all the
security a man needed was to know
that he was a church member and a
professed Christian, but that time is
past., We hope the time will come
when the question will not be asked:
Are you a church member, or to what
church do you belong? But the question will be: What kind of a life are
you living? Are you honest, are you
truthful, "are you temperate, do you
meet your obligations, do you pay your
debts, one hundred cents on the dollar?
If your life is not in harmony with the
above question you are not a Christian
I care not what church you belong to,
nor how sweetly you may sing, nor how
loud you may pray, and your influence
for good will not amount to much.
Don Seay.
Spencer  Co.
ANOTHER     DREAD     DISEASE     OF
THE POTATO.
Editors  Indiana  Farmer:
Canadian authorities are giving
warning of the appearance of the
Black scab or potato canker in Newfoundland, with reasons for fearing
that it may have by this time found a
foothold in the Dominion or in our
States. The disease is of such a
character as to cause much apprehension, for when once it has a footing it
spreads with great rapidity and no well
defined method of fighting it is known.
This disease is known by the name of
Black scab or by some naturalists as
the Cauliflower scab. It was first discovered in Hungary in 1896, but no
great attention was paid to it till in
1898. It had gained such a foothold
and was so destructive that the disease
was classified in the list of diseases and
laws were enacted to check its inroads.
In 1901 it appeared in the British Isles
and has since spread over all that
section as well as all over Europe. By
some means it has reached Newfoundland and the proximity to the Ottawa
division and Nova Scotia as well as our
states make it possible that the disease
may have a hold in these sections.
The difficulty lies in the nature of the
malady. No signs of its presence is
discernible on the growing plant. Not
until digging time will one be aware of
its presence, and this is known then
by finding the entire crop ruined. So
far no means of fighting it successfully
has been found and preventing its introduction is all that can be guarded
against at this time. This can be done
by not planting imported seed unless it
has been very carefully inspected, and
even then it would be well to treat such
imported seed to a sprinkling of pow-
dred sulfur for some days before
planting.
Seedsmen who import potato seed
should be made to inspect all such
stock, and forced to destroy it if found
to exist. The disease  begins at the
potato eye. It has the appearance under the microscope of a mass of coral
excrescences of a rusty brown color
covering the eye; this spreads out over
the surface of the potato producing unsightly warty growths, sometimes
larger than the tuber and its fibers permeate the entire potato destroying it
wholly. Soil once inoculated with the
germs is unfit for potato culture for
several years after, as the germs hold
their vitality for seven years as demonstrated by tests in Europe, while in
our immediate section there may be
no cause for alarm, yet we must remember that all pests and diseases
coming from Europe that spread over
our country are hard to combat and it
requires years of skill and toil to eradicate them. Forewarned is to be forearmed, so let us be on the lookout for
this newcomer. Inspect the potato eye;
if unnatural in appearance destroy it.
J. H. Haynes.
Editors  Indiana  Farmer:
Can any of the many readers of the
Farmer give the best spray preparation
for cherry trees, to prevent worms in
the fruit. T. C. H.
Answer: Probably you mean the
worms from the cherry curculio. If
so it should be treated with Paris green
or the arsenites. We hope to have
something more to say of this pest later.