The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-02-06

anu III cOllu DC grown III lcSh expense
than any other l know of. Rye straw
in bundles is always quoted.in the Gin
cinnati market higher than sheaf oats.
The quotations at present are: For sheaf
oats, 81 to $l3 per ton; rye straw III
bundles, $l2 to $li per ton. The cost
of growing IN acre Of straw, and putting
it i'll shock, would not exceed $3. 1t
may he sown any time III September or
October. after the corn is cut off and
narrowed in, and, unless the land is in
bad condition, il will not cost fifty cents
M acre in labor TO put il III. 1t will take
three pecks Of seed, and the harvesting
be cut as soon NJ it blossoms, which, in
can be done for 81. 50 per acre. Its hould
the latitude of southern Ohio, will be
from May 20 to June 8.
In the spring Of rs cut my crop May
-. As | have been growing this crop
only on small scale, and have sold my
surplus by tho bundle to the farmers for
tying fodder, | do not know how much
could be grown to tho acre, but ! esti-
mate on good soil two tons rs Il fair crop,
and think that it could be grown. ! do
not think that crop of rye cut in bios
som would take much from the soil that
was valuable, M it is the grain that
makes the heaviest draughts on the soil;
and as this would be removed before the
grain formed, il would not be IN exhaust
i've crop. In an analysis of wheat, which
l have before me, / find about seven
times IN much phosphoric acid removed
in given weight of grain us there liz i'll
the same weight of straw, and about
three times us much potash, and this s,ls-
tains the theory that Il crop OF straw
would not greatly impoverish the soil.
| have not tested the value of this early
cut rye for feed, but it is my opinion
that it would be as valuable rs average
quality hay for stock.
With n crop Of rye off the ground by
the lat of june, we have number of
crops to choose from to follow it. If We
wish to put the land in wheat, the best
crop know of is navy beans, as they, if
well tended, leave the land i'll excellent
condition for drilling in wheat by simply
narrowing. My crop of beans this year
was planted June 8 and harvested the
last week in September; but if we had
not had SO much cold, cloudy weather in
September, they would have been two
weeks earlier.
PeachblOw potatoes is n good crop
with which to follow rye, as they will on
an average do rs well or better planted
in June us if planted earlier. Fodder
corn or even regular crop of corn Gun
be grown on the field, for even if it is
not quite mature Mt frost, it can be cut
up and cured in the shock. A crop of
millet for hay, or of buckwheat, can be
grown where these crops are found
profitable, and l think that by using
few dollars worth of bone meal to the
acre these two crops could be grown for
q series of years and the land greatly I'M
proved thereby and large profit
realized, rs my experience with bone
shows it to be specific for buckwheat.
Clover think may be treated the same
way as is recommended for rye at
profit, rs it will enable farmers to get
the benefit of it both for feed and the
land without forcing. Sow your clover
with small grain and do not pasture it
either fall or spring, and by the last
week in May it may be cut and crop of
hay made, and then the stubble plough
ed for corn, beans or potatoes. | have
m;t,lo Al crop Of clover hay and lot tho
second growth of clover get Il start of
several inches before turning it under.
| have planted dent corn as late us June
-, and had good yield from it. Beans
or potatoes can be grown Oh clover land
managed i'll this way with less labor
than III any other way, as the land is
both clean and mellow, and the decaying
clover furnishes Just the plant food
needed.
OF course these methods recommended
would not always be best. 1t would be
better often to plough under the rye or
pasture the clover, and on much land one
crop i'll two years wonld be better than
two crops i'll one year. / think, how
ever, that these hints may prove valuable
to many farmers who have not rs much
land as they think they can profitably
cultivate. | think the true plan of man
aging land is to keep it always at work,
growing either something to sell or en-
rich it, and if can be grown as / have
shown that rye can after corn, and, as We
all know, clover can after wheat, it is rs
foolish and wasteful for the farmer to neg
lect to thus occupy his land as it
would be to go back to summer fallow
system which would give but one crop
in two years Such management of
land ns this is in the line of quick re-
turns, and will often give large profit.
Before leaving this subject of the "pos-
sibIlities of an acre." [ want TO add n
chapter on soiling, and tell just how
would manage all acre to feed two COWS
from it all summer, and l will devote my
next paper to that IEatdo, IN ohio
IarUifr.