Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1912-12-03

Vaioe OF Ueftn1t0 k0tott0os
SOIL FKRKILITY EAsIKR coNsERvED,
WORK BKTTER DISTRIBUTED.
While rotation of crops does not ad
. large amount of fertilisiug material t
the soil, It 10 great aid to good farmin
In several ways. As no two crops tax
exactly the same elements from the soil
. rotation will prevent any ono elemen
from being exhausted for longer tim
than where the Same crop u grown 10
years.
The farm work IL better divided thai
where only ono product 10 grown. Thi
enables the farmer to do moro Of hi
own work. In some parts OF the coun
try good farm hands are scarce, and thi
advantage IL an important ono wher
this is the case.
Some Of tho insect pest1 do more dam
age where the same crop II grown severa
years In succession. Other pests, lik'
the Hessioa fly, will travel for some dis
tapce In season, but even With thi
class Of insects good rotation OF crop
10 some help, a. It 10 an aid in giving th'
young plants . thrifty growth and tho!
are better able to resist the attack OF th'
fly.
A Three Year Rotatiou.-Every farm
er should plan his own rotation. h
knows his farm and his needs better
than any one else. Most rotations have
their weak points, and often what ID thu
best rotation on one farm 10 very pool
one for another farm in the Same neigh
bOrho0d.
Perhaps the most common rotation In
this part Of Indiana is the three-yesr 70
tationIo of!corn, wheat and clover. The
good points of this rotation are that one
ploughing answers for the three crops
When the clover sod Is ploughed fol
corn In the spring the ground breaks
much more easily than when this work
is done In the fall. There 10 no better
place for q corn crop than q clover sod
The cultivation Of the corn crop makes
good seed bed for the wheat crop. II
there are not many beating rains after
the corn is laid by the ground needs
little work for the wheat.
Good on Rolling Land.-This ID . good
rotation where land is rolling and In
clined TO wash. Theground is always
occupied with growing crop and the
roots hold the soil In place. Tho only
time there 10 danger OF washing much
with this rotation is the summer, when
the ground 10 in corn. Even then the
clover roots In the ploughed ground help
hold the soil better than where q wheat
or oats stubble is ploughed for corn.
Itis . good rotation for the stock rails
or or dairy farmer. The corn furnishes
the material to fill tho silo and the clo-
YER hay Is suited to balance the ration OF
corn and corn fodder. The wheat straw
makes good bedding and absorbs the liq-
uid manure. The wheat can be ex-
changed for bran and oilmeal. When
this is done the stock 10 provided with q
good variety of nutritious foods.
Some Weak POints.-The weak points
Of this rotation are that the wheat crop
is not a. good after corn crop, as rule,
as it is after clover or oats. While the
farm work 10 fairly we'll divided by this
rotation, it sometimes happens In this
latitude that the clover and wheat are
both harvested In June. As this is the
month when the corn crop needs the
most work, q wet June causes too much
work for all of 1t to be done at the right
time.
A Year Added for Pasture.-On farms
where there is no permanent pasture
this rotation can be heightened . year
by adding some timothy and slsike clo-
YER seed to the common red clover when
It 10 sown on the wheat. The first crop
can be cut for hay and the field can be
used the second year for pasture. This
requires four fields instead Of three.
When used In this way the pasture field
10 always ready to receive any manure
that can be obtained.
In some sections oats are moro prof.
table crop than wheat. Then oats are
sowed instead Of wheat. This adds
another good grain for feeding, and the
Dat straw is much better for feeding than
wheat straw. A the oats ripen after
The corn 10 laid by and the clover is har-
vested it does not crowd the work In
June. The drawbacks to this rotation
are that 1t 10 more difficult to get q good
catch of clover with oats than with
wheat. II wet spring the oat sowing
nterfsres with the breaking Of the corn
and the ground is left bare
the winter after the corn crop
10 harvested.
A very good four-year rotation is corn,
oats, wheat and clover. This rotation
requires breaking the ground twice or
disking the oat stubble for wheat. The
wheat is often better crop after oats
than corn, and the clover ia sowed In tho
wheat.
Don't Pasture Glover in Spring.-The
only fertllizing material added to the
,oil In these rotations 10 the nitrogen
gathered by the clover roots from the
air. A Alargs amount Of stable manure
can be made of the crops grown and re-
turned to the fields. II the spring is
sarly . good growth Of clover can be
turned under by not pasturing the sod
very late In the fall and not at al in the
spring. It 10 poor economy to try to get
iii the feeding value of the clover crop
by pasturing the sod the spring II Ia
turned under for the corn crop. The
gain of the corn and other crops where
rood quantity of humus making material
s turned under will much moro than re-
pay the value of the lost pasture.-C. h.
Herr, Indiana, In Tribune Farmer.