VOL. LXIX
INDIANAPOLIS, FEB. 28, 1914
NO. 9
The Value of Clover and How to Grow It
It takes real pluck to sow clover
when the seed costs from $11 to $13 per
bushel, especially after several years
of failure in getting' a .stand, but no
higher praise haa been pronounced
upon the value of the clover plant than
the fact that in many sections farmers
continue to sow high-priced seed year
after year, knowing that one good
stand will repay the cost of a dozen
failures.    And  this is the  only way  to
Why Indiana Should Grow More Clover
By W. F. Purdue
be restored in part by applying manure and commercial fertilizers. But
these latter are expensive, and lt is not
easy to retain the balance of soil fertility under cropping by returning to
the   land   the   manure  alone   produced
reached by the roots of other farm
crops. Clover sod is fllled with roots
winch extend many feet into the subsoils, and through these roots lost fertility which has leached down from
the  upper  layer of soil   is  pumped  up
the profits can be doubled when they
are grown in a three or four-year rotation with other crops, one of which
may include corn. It must be understood, however, that the clover and
corn shall be  fed out on  the  farm.
**-***—_• a  Good  Stand.
it Is very discouraging to sow expensive seed and fall to get a stand. This
has  been   done   in   other     years     and,
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win out;   that is, sow clover each  year.
Clover is a good crop to grow, in the
flrst place, because of its feeding value.
No other plant will take the place of
clover as an all-around stock feed. Alfalfa may be better tn a few sections
of the country, but there are many
sections where the common clovers
must and always will remain the best
feeding crops that can be produced.
Clover hay and pasture contain double
the feeding values of other grasses,
with  the possible  exception  of  alfalfa.
The greatest value derived from the
clovers, however, is the fertility which
they bring to the soil. In fact, as a
rule they are seeded primarily for the
improvement of the soil. Profitable
crop yields depend upon various operations and practices, but the basis of
all large yields lies first of all with the
fertility of the soil. Whatever may
have been the soil's virgin condition,
or however great its richness, successive cropping without adding to the
land an equivalent of what has been
removed in the crops will eventually
bankrupt lt.   This used-up fertility can
on the farm. On account of the limited amount of manure made on the
average farm, the quantity available is
usually distributed to the poorer parts
of the fields and, as long as the more
fertile portions give fair crops, they
get but little of the manure or perhaps
none at all.
Clover as a  Soil  Builder.
Thus it comes about that nature
must be relied upon to supply the deficiency of fertilizing elements. Among
the many plants of the "legume" order, all of which are more or less soil
builders, the most valuable one in the
hands of the farmer ls clover. Clover
is sometimes said to feed on the air
because of Its peculiar power to extract nitrogen from the air and to
store this element of fertility on its
roots in the form of nodules, which are
more or less distributed throughout the
root system of the clover plants. But
It is only a half truth to state that
clover plants feed on the air, because a
large part of their sustenance comes
from   the   sub-soils   which   cannot   be
from the lower depths and deposited
in the plants, along with the nitrogen
gathered from the air, during the entire growing season. Eventually the
decaying of the roots sets at liberty all
this united plant food and at the same
time the sun and air are let into the
soil. Humus is also added to the soil
when the plants and roots decay.
It would take many pages to describe
j fully all the benefits which the clovers
I render,   hence   it   will   have   to   suffice
I to mention  briefly    only    a few other
'. than the one discussed above,  namely,
that of bringing plant food to the upper strata of soil where all farm crops
can utilize  It.    In reality, all the  benefits rendered by the clovers result Indirectly In an Improvement  of impoverished  soils.    For instance,  the  dense
shade  which  a  good     stand  of clover
furnishes conserves moisture as well as
choking out weeds.    Then    the    clover
roots hold the soil from blowing where
the latter Is light and they prevent lt
from   washing  where    the     ground   ls
hilly.    Altogether    the    services    rendered by the clovers are so great that
without doubt, the same misfortune
will occur again ln the futures— Most
ol' the failures in getting a catch come
from unwise methods of seeding or
from faulty conditions of the soil,
though unfavorable weather conditions
often ruin a promising stand. Late
sharp freezes in the spring sometimes
do considerable damage to the sprouting seed, or a spell of drought while
the plants are young will generally
destroy the majority of them. But
faulty soil conditions are responsible
for as many failures as are unfavorable
weather conditions, and the former
can be remedied. More than anything
else Is clover intolerant of acidity In
the soil. Such a condition ls usually
indicated by a rank growth of sorrel.
The accepted way of correcting acidity
is by the application of lime and potash. Both are corrective of the acidulous condition and the potash also
serves as a food for the clover.
Soils lacking in humus,  moisture or
fertility,  one  or all  of them  together,
are also very unfavorable for the pro-
Continued on page 4.