The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-01-14
Crop Rotation for Vvisconsin.

Frank L. Stanton.
Crop Rotation for Wisconain.
The farmer who does not employ some
system of crop rotation upon his farm
is not working toward the best results to
be obtained. writes G. H. Everett IN the
Prairie Farmer. The benefits to be de-
rived from proper rotation are many,
and cannot be ignored without loss of fer
tility and moisture, which means II de-
spending loss of profit. The main ele-
ments Of plant life-nitrogen, phospnOric
acid and potash-enter into all plant life
to greater or lesser degree. There are
other elements Of plant life in the soil and
perhaps in such quantities that some of
them are inexhaustible. but the three
principal elements above named do ex-
haust, and soil lacking in these Gle
ments is depleted and will not-cannot-
produce ut profit. Now, let us see how
we can fully maintain and keep rich the
soil Of the farm by proper crop rotation.
No rotation will be prepared that does
not contain clover. manure and a hood
crop.
We will divide the farm into four fields.
On field No. we will have clover, field
AVA - 10 AJc VI " lltcI " ueut VI Nelu
No. 3 oats, and field No. corn. All of
the manure made upon the farm should
be applied to the clover field mo. II in
such d way that It will cover the entire
field, no matter If it Is but five loads
to the acre. The thuhure Is best if APP
piled direct from the stables, through
out the fall and winter, and spread even
" upon the clover. This should be har-
rowed early in the spring with slaating
tooth harrow drawn by lively walking
team. This will thoroughly scatter and
pulverize all lumpy manure. A crop of
hay should be taken from this field after
the application Of the manure. We do
not want, to plow down manure when we
chi. avoid it. The tendency of moisture
and plant food is d6Wnward, and it is
an unwise man who aids id this work by
turning it down six inches or more with
pillow. Plants feed in the surface soil
and the farmer should apply and keep
the fertility as near the surface as pos
sible.
After getting a crop of clover hay we
should follow with corn, and why? Corn
is gross feeder of nitrogen, this the
clover has supplied to the soil literally,
next, corn thriyes best in a warm soil,
and clover sod is several degrees warmer
in the spring than in any other soil upon
the farm. We aid in this warming of the
soil by blowing in the spring. turning I'M
gether with whatever of the manure that
may not have disappeared. We plow
shallow so that the action of the elements
Will work on the green clover and start
fermentation and heating. A corn soil
should contain plenty Of humus. This is
supplied by the clover roots and manure.
and again, such soil will contain less
md l.,Lo
The corn we follow with oats or barley
without blowing, using the disc to work
up the soil and prepare Il fine seed bed.
This crop we follow with rye and Win
ter wheat, with which we again seed to
clover, sowing the seed in March on the
frozen ground. This gives us a four-year
rotation and carries the clover and ma
nure over the farm once in four years.
This rotation gives us best results, as it
places corn on the richest soil, and oats
as far away from clover and manure as
possible, while the winter grains are best
to seed with and insure us a stand of clo-
yer. The corn is the hoed crop and gives
us the benefits to be derived from good
cultivation, In liberating fertility, eradi-
eating weeds, and conserving moisture.
Oats do best upon this clean corn land
without blowing, but If weeds are allowed
to grow in abundance in the corn, then
plow the ground for oats. else the crop
will be weeds. Better results will be OBJ
tanned by applying the manure thinly and
covering the farm every four years than
by manuring heavy once in eight years.
When more manure is applied than the
growing crop can Use there is loss of fer
tility. Some Of it will be washed down
beyond the reach of plants, and much, no
doubt, becomes again insoluble and is lost.
Manure is always best applied to grass,
where there are roots and vegetation to
absorb and retain the valuable teachings
1t is poor farming to spread manure on
stubble land and plow it under deep.
Where a rotation is not followed all
kinds of INSECT pests multiply rapidly, as
they breed in certain crops better than
others; for instance, chintz bugs breed in
wheat and barley fields, but not in clover.
Corn smut, potato rot, etc, are diseases,
the spores of which are found in the soil
of the infested field The trouble, is Grad
icatcd when the field is sown to some
other crop. Weeds are kept in check by
the hoed crop that goes over the farm
once in four years. Where pasture is in
cluded longer rotation must be followed
and some timothy sown with the clover
to be cut the first year for hay and then
pastured one or two years. A three-year
rotation is followed by some and is, no
doubt, good when it can be carried out,
but it necessitates seeding to clover with
oats. and that is very uncertain. Crop
rotation is very important subject for
tho fo fo oOnciAor