Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1909-1915, 1913-01-03

Yield Of wheat and all other grains
may be doubled with very little effort.
Bulletin 100 N. D. A.. G. recently is
sued, shows that ...any old rotation"
will produce good results. The aver
age of all the rotations apparently that
could be thought Of in 1882, yielded
SO per cent more than wheat alone.
The results of one year corn and three
years wheat show that more wheat
was grown in this rotation in three
crops than would have been produced
in four crops of wheat. One-fourth of
the land Of North Dakota could be
planted to corn in rotation, and there
still be more bushels Of wheat pro-
duced. .sl 5.sS
cit costs just as much to prepare
the land, plant and harvest yield Of
twelve bushels per acre as it does
twenty-four bushels per acre. / If r.
bushels per acre will pay the expenses
of farming, every bushel above twelve
will profit. Corn alone in rotation
will not maintain the productivity Of
the soil, but it will clean the land so
that profitable crop Of small grain
can be grown, and at the same time
furnish feed for some live stock that
in turn will call for the growing of
clover and alfalfa hay. ,s
The Northwest is permanently a
grain producing section, and only such
systems of farming should be consid-
cred as will continue the production
of small grain. Wheat will continue
to be in greater demand and at a high
er price. The wheat producing area
is already restricted, and will have to
be extended back into the live stock
and corn producing area to maintain
the proper equilibrium in production
There are sections that are too exclu
sively corn and live stock, just as the
northwest is too exclusively small
grain now. l.. l,i
CAS- many farmers are equipped fol
handling small grain only, and do not
care to engage in live stock farming
some system of rotation must be de
vised that will make it possible tt
keep up the yields.
It has been figured out that it is
possible by growing corn, oats, wheat
and clover in rotation, blowing under
all the stalks and straw-cutting the
clover and leaving the hay on the
land-the seed may be threshed out
that it would require only about 20(
pounds of steamed bone meal as fer
tilizer per acre every three years tt
maintain the soil fertility permanent
ly, which should be the ideal of .agri
culture It would doubtless not BIZ
considered practicable to carry ou1
just such rotation, 'but an attempt
should be made to approach it az
nearly as possible. II.
There is one thing certain-som
system of rotation must be put into
practice. Corn is the only cultivated
crop that may, be grown on an exten
sive scale for cleaning the land. Glover
is the only crop that cant be extensive
ly sown for the purpose Of adding nit
rogen and organic matter to the sol
in short rotations. Corn then, should
be grown to clean the land, follow
this with wheat, seeding 10 lbs. o.
medium red clover per acre. If goot
stand is secured and it comes through
the winter in good shape, leave it ant
cut just as the first blossoms are wei
out, leaving the growth on the land
If the second growth has favorable
conditions good seed crop may BIZ
secured. Spring plow and seed tx
wheat. Wheat should not follow Glow
Ter unless the land was very thin, al
there would be a probability Of i
lodging if the season was favorable
Corn is the logical crop to follow clio
yer, but is not apt to be as profitable
as wheat The logical four year rota
ton would be corn, oats or barley
/ wheat clover. If the corn is properi,
handled suitable variety planted
the crop should be profitable, and i
is probable that in some sections the
clover would also produce profitable
yield of seed. However, the profit
from these crops must be largely ex
pected in the additional wheat yields
4