d not tell me what it
was, and when I got there, he took me to a field of grass that was to be
mown for hay. The field had been in winter wheat the year before. At the
time of sowing the wheat, the whole field was seeded down with timothy.
No clover was sown, either then or in the spring; but after the wheat
was sown, he put on a slight dressing of manure on two portions of the
field that he thought were poor. He told the man to spread it out of the
wagon just as thin as he could distribute it evenly over the land. It
was a very light manuring, but the manure was rich, and thoroughly
rotted. I do not recollect whether the effect of the manure was
particularly noticed on the wheat; but on the grass, the following
spring, the effect was sufficiently striking. Those two portions of the
field where the manure was spread were _covered with a splendid crop of
red clover_. You could see the exact line, in both cases, where the
manure reached. It looked quite curious. No clover-seed was sown, and
yet there was as fine a crop of clover as one could desire.

On looking into the matter more closely, we found that there was more or
less clover all over the field, but where the manure was not used, it
could hardly be seen. The plants were small, and the timothy hid them
from view. But where the manure was used, these plants of clover had
been stimulated in their growth until they covered the ground. The
leaves were broad and vigorous, while in the other case they were small,
and almost dried up. This is probably the right explanation. The manure
did not "bring in the clover;" it simply increased the growth of that
already in the soil. It shows the value of manure for grass.

This is what Mr. Johnston wanted to show me. "I might have written and
told you, but you would not have got a clear idea of the matter." This
is true. One had to see the great luxuriance of that piece of clover to
fully appreciate the effect of the manure. Mr. J. said the manure on
that grass was worth $30 an acre--that is, on the three crops of grass,
before the field is again plowed. I have no doubt that this is true, and
that the future crops on the land will also be benefited--not directly
from the manure, perhaps, but from the clover-roots in the soil. And if
the field were pastured, the effect on future crops would be very
decided.

CHAPTER XX.

MY OWN PLAN OF MANAGING MANURE.

One of the charms and the advantages of agriculture is that a farm