Tombstone epitaph., 1917-04-22

(Prepared by the United States Depart
 ment of Agriculture)
 In the corn and cotton sections of the South legumes should be grown to fill In between the principal money crops, to furnish hay and pasture for the farm stock, to prevent washing by covering the soil during the rainy sea son, snd to make the farm more fer tile and productive. When the grow Ing of corn or cotton one year follow ing another on the same field cannot be avoided, crimson clover or bur clover should be sown al the last cultivation of these crops to serve as a cover crop and to furnish green manure for the next regular crop. In the bOll-weevil sections where early planting of the cotton is necessary, crimson or bur clover will not make large growth before the ground must be plowed for another crop of cotton. but even In this case It Is well worth while 10 pro- q money crop Is continuous. instead of planting in the usual way and follow ing with cover crop, the distance be- tween the rows may be widened and rows of cowpeas, peanuts. soy beans, or velvet beans may be sown at the proper time alternately with rows of corn. After the corn Is harvested the legumes may be hogged down, where upon cover of winter vetch and rye may still follow.
 A two-year rotation of cotton and corn as the basic crops is much bet ter than continuous culture of either of these crops alone. In this rotation, cotton should always be followed with crimson clover, bur clover. or winter vetch and rye as cover and green manure crop; the rows of corn should be alternated, when desirable, with suitable legume to he hogged off, but in all cases should be followed with clover, vetch, or vetch and rye cover crop. This cropping system affords considerable winter pasture from the fields regularly cropped and at the same time maintains store of nitro gen and humus in the soil.
 A still better cropping system than the one just outlined is a rotation of cotton, corn and winter oats in the order given. In this cropping plan, q cover crop as heretofore given should follow the cotton crop. The oats should be sown following the corn. Lespedeza may be seeded with oats and will fur nish pasture or hay after the oats are harvested or, following the oats, cow peas or soy beans may be put In as catch crop.
 When a field of alfalfa or other per manent meadow or pasture is wanted where any regular cropping system Is carried out, any suitable field of the farm may be used for this purpose and later the field may be worked into the regular rotation by planting 1t first to corn and following in regular order with the other crops.
 Utilization of Leouminous Crops.
 Unquestionably the best way to dis pose of forage crops is 10 feed them to live stock. Legumes are rich in ni- trogen compounds, or protein, and fur nish exceptionally good feeds for all kinds of live stock. Alfalfa has been successfully substituted, in part, for
 
 such concentrates as wheat bran and cottonseed meal for feeding both dairy and beef cattle. Good cowpea or soy bean hay Is about equal in feeding value to alfalfa. Alsike clover, bur clover, lespedeza and sweet clover are not quite equal to alfalfa for feeding. but are all much more valuable for milk production or growing young stock than nre timothy, redtop, Bermuda grass, or other nonlegumes.
 There should always be a good mix ture of legumlnous plants in every per manent pasture. This Is essential in order that the stock pastured may give the best possible returns, and also that the fertility of the soil may be conserved. Some of the best legumes