Valdez daily prospector., 1914-05-25
CROP ROTATION
 SUCCESS SECRET
Diversity Makes Majority Of
 Farms Pay We'll
IMPORTANCE POINTED OUT.


 Agricultural Expert Warns Against
 Specializing and Makes Known His
 Reasons-Every Farmer Should Grow
 Everything That is Needed on His
 Place and Not Buy Supplies.
 New York.-How shall man make farming pay, how make it return be- sides interest on investment reason able country salary of $1,0OO, how manage it so as to use ones time, energy and capital to best advantage? These were some of the considerations in lecture by John H. Barron of the state department of agriculture.
 "Wide studies show that usually the most profitable farms follow diversl fed type of agriculture" he said. "In the state of New York forty-nine farms have been studied on which labor incomes of $2.50e or more are being made. That is, on these farms enough is made to pay all expenses and interest on the investment at per cent and leave the farmer a salary of $2,5OO or more. These farms sell from one to six major items. amount ing to $500 or more each and in addi- ton several minor products. The figures show that on the average there were three major and four minor sale pro- ducts and besides usually some feed for farm animals. Generally then di- versified farming is likely to be more profitable than specialized farming.
 Specialized farming has some ad- vantages. It may allow the develop ment of considerable skill in the pro- duction of one or two things. A small amount of capital may be sufficient to develop one enterprise quite efficiently, whereas it would not develop several. In specialized farming large fields can be laid out and buildings so planned as to facilitate labor greatly.
 Diversified farming has many ad- vantages which outweigh the advan- tages of specialized farming, for the majority of farmers find it Is better to have several important products as sources of income rather than one prod uct. Diversifcation allows of a rota- ton of crops which is all but absolute iy necessary for the permanence of any agricultural scheme; it usually fore stalls total failure. for in no season is 1t likely that all crops will be poor; it distributes the income over the year; it stands for economy and efficiency and provides work for man, machinery and horses greater portion of the year than does most specialized farm ing.
 "In the establishment of a plan for diversified farming the rotation of crops must first be given attention. Most farming will get it's profits from animal products and crops. The main- tenance of soil fertility is of para mount importance. for without it any farm scheme is ultimately doomed to failure. It follows. then. that a good rotation will meet at least three gen. eral requirements: First. it must main tain and increase fertility; second, it will produce feeds which will nourish animals as economically as possible; third. it will furnish cash crops for sale.
 '"To feed animals as economically as possible a good quality of roughage must be produced. For this purpose some succulence is desirable and also the products of leguminous plants. like nO4 nlf nd
 "In much of the dairy section of the state a good rotation is corn. oats, clo- yer. timothy. The corn. oats and clover are fed on the farm and the timothy sold. Where the farm is not heavily stocked part of the area otherwise de voted to corn can be used for potatoes and then oats and hay follow the pota- toes or corn in the regular fashion. This combination is usually better than the one first given. because it pro vides for two cash crops instead of one. but 1t cannot be developed too far. be cause corn and potatoes are competi- tive crops as to time of planting, culti- yating and to an extent in harvesting. Tn the planning of crop schemes it is necessary to keep good work balance, or there may be poor distribution Of work, too much at one time and not enough at another. Noncompettive en- terprises should be chosen and at the same time enterprises which have some interdependence and relation to each other. A good scheme of farming will generally have several sources of in- come In a word. 1t may be said to nonsist of a well chosen line of ane-