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Show GOOD CLOVER STAND Difference of Opinion a3 to Advisability Ad-visability of Nurse Crop. Good Plsn to Sow It With Grain Crop on Prulrlo Soils to Provlds Summtr Paaturo for Cattle Cat-tle or Sheep. A difference of opinion obtains as to whether Clover should or should not be sown with a nurse crop. Aa a rule, It Is sown with a nurse crop. In but few 'instances Is It ever sown In any other way. The object In sowing it thus is not because the nurse crop Is any aid in getting a stand, but because be-cause a stand is thus obtained while another crop occupies the ground and usually without any Injury to the nurse crop from the clover. Thus far it is a distinctive gain sowing It thus, writes Prof. Thomas Shaw in Dakota Farmer. This method of sowing is likely to continue in favor in the future fu-ture as in the past, but there may be some instances when it would be better bet-ter to sow the clover without a nurse crop. These will include conditions where it is difficult to get a stand of clover when it is being introduced into areas where it has not been grown heretofore. Professor Porter, who is in charge of the demonstration farms in North Dakota, and wLo, by the way, is doing excellent work, has found that under dry conditions, as in western North Dakota, a stand of clover may be more easily obtained when the seed is sown without a nurse crop. To encourage the future growth of the plants, it may, therefore, be wise under those dry conditions to sow the seed alone. It has been found that growing clover tends to bring inoculation inocula-tion to the land. But if in order to grow clover years following it must be sown in that way then I question very much if it will pay to sow clover, notwithstanding its great value. That would mean that the land would have to be cared for one season without giving any returns. The crop would be obtained the year following. There would thus be but one year's crop obtained ob-tained from growing the clover on the land for two years. There is the further objection to fowing it alone. Unless sown on clean soil, weeds would come up and shade the crop about as effectively as the grain. This difficulty could be met, however, by clipping the clover back, just as alfalfa is clipped back, where alfalfa is sown alone. The clipping is done with the mower and early enough to render it unnecessary to remove from the ground what has been cut off. It should be allowed to lie there as a mulch. It may be asked why should it not answer to sow clover thus as well as alfalfa? For the reason mainly that alfalfa remains for years in the soil when once established, but clover does not. If the clover crop remained in the soil so that it would furnish good crops for even two seasons in succession, it might be a judicious plan to sow it alone, if that were nec essary in order to secure a stand. It may be a good plan, however, to sow clover on some prairie soils with a grain crop grown to provide summer sum-mer pasture for sheep or cattle. The pasturing of the grain should begin as soon as it will furnish good pasture. At first thought one would imagine that the treading of the cattle or even of the sheep would destroy many of the clover plants. Experience has shown, however, that this does not follow on many soils of the prairie. On those that are light, moderate treading tread-ing would seem to be helpful rather than harmful. This method has some advantages and among these are the following: First, a stand will be secured without with-out losing a crop for the season. Second, Sec-ond, in some instances the treading is helpful, as it firms the ground, and in this way prevents the escape of mois- ture. Third, the griir-li;a r. -i - - u.o nlmcle .from the c'.ovi r. r.nd this ;-;in--a etrength of growth to U;o ph'.ntn. Fourth, the pnnturlng of t'.o grpln pro-vpiUr pro-vpiUr It from unduly robMos tho clo-vor clo-vor of molnturo. Ona hh 1 dl!!iculty in tho way of Rtttlns a oti'nd of clover thus at the present tlms In n lack o fencing. A eooond obstaclo Is tho laclt of live etock on tho averago farm. |