Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1880-02-05
DOupIe Cropping.

SetSOu uSpGIlllS SOIucWuHl vi LIS uiuIhSt
and the condition of his soil. 1t would
not be advisable to attempt it if it was
likely to result in impoverishing the soil,
but if we can grow such crops as take
but little from the soil, or can make our
crops 50 profitable rs to Justify us in
purchasing fertilizers to replace the
waste, we shall be justified in cropping
our lands to their utmost extent. There
are two purposes for which we may grow
extra crops, one of which is, to be
plouehed under to enrich the land, and
the other, to dispose of by sale or feed
ing on the farm. The first crop, and l
believe the best one to be grown between
other crops, is rye straw. When | say
straw, that is what l mean, and not
grain. l have little doubt that those
living convenient enough to city mar
ket, so that they could wagon their
straw and market it themselves, could
make handsome profit from this crop,
and it could be grown at less expense
than any other 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, $ll to S13 per ton; rye straw IN
bundles, So to Sl4 per ton. The cost
of growing an acre of straw, and putting
it in shock, would not exceed So. 1t
may be sown any time IN September or
October. after the corn is cut Oft and
narrowed in, and, unless the land is in
bad condition, it will not cost fifty cents
an acre in labor to put it In. 1t will take
three pecks of seed, and the harvesting
be cut as soon as it blossoms, which, in
can be done for 81. so per acre. It's hould
the latitude of southern Ohio, will be
from May 20 to June s.
In the spring of rs l cut my crop May
%. AS l have been growing this crop
only on small scale, and have sold my
surplus by the bundle to the farmers for
tying fodder, / do not know how much
could be grown to the acre, but esti-
mate on good soil two tons as a fair crop,
and think that it could be grown. l do
not think that a crop of rye cut in bios
som would take much from the soil that
was valuable, as it is the grain that
makes the heaviest draughts on the soil;
and as this would be removed before the
grain formed, it would not be an exhaust
i've crop. In an analysis Of wheat, which
l have before me, / find about seven
times as much phosphoric acid removed
in given weight of grain as there is III
the same weight of straw, and about
three times as much potash, and this sus-
tains the theory that a crop Of straw
would not greatly impoverish the soil.
I 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 crop of rye off the ground by
the 1st 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 in excellent
condition for drilling in wheat by simply
narrowing. My crop of beans this year
was planted June 3 and harvested the
last week in September; but ii we had
not had SO much cold, cloudy weather in
September, they would have been two
weeks earlier.
Peachblow potatoes is good crop
with which to follow rye, as they vii Oh
AN average do as well or better planted
in June as if planted earlier. Fodder
! corn or even a regular crop of corn can
be grown on the field, for even If it is
not quite mature at frost, it can be cut
up and cured i'll 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
a series of years and the land greatly i'm
proved thereby and large profit
realized, as my experience with bone
shows it to be specific for buckwheat.
! Clover | think may be treated the same
way as is recommended for rye ri
profit, as it will enable tanners to get
/ the benefit of it both for feed and the
! land without forcing Sow your clover
with small grain and do not pasture 1T
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. l have
made crop of clover hay and let the
second growth of clover get start OF
several inches before turning 1t under.
| / have planted dent corn as late as June
| %. and had good yield from it. Beans
or potatoes can be grown on clover land
managed in this way with less labor
I than in any other way, as the land IS
! both clean and mellow, and the decaylng
clover furnishes just the plant food
needed.
Of course these methods recommended
would not always be best. II would be
better often to plough under the rye or
pasture the clover, and on much land one
crop in two years wonld be better than
/ two crops in one year. | think, how
ever, that these hints may prove valuable
/ 70 MANY farmers who have not as much