The Question Box. 119 



Question. — Is a rotation of crops advisable in order to keep up 

 the fertility of the land, using, say, corn, peas and clover ? 



Mr. Mann. — It certainly is. If I have clover I turn it under 

 and plant corn. I have followed a rotation during several years, 

 and find that my land is improving. 



A Farmer. — My farm is at least twice as productive as 20 years 

 ago, but I cannot say that it is wholly due to a rotation of crops, 

 because I have not practiced any fixed rule. 



Question. — What is the cause of the blight on cabbage ? 



Mr. Rice. — No remedy has as yet been found, although ex- 

 periments have been tried at the Geneva Station. Write to Prof. 

 Stewart at the station. He will give you the results so far as he 

 knows. 



Question. — How should peas be sown? How much seed per 

 acre? 



Mr. Cook. — What is your opinion, farmers? 



A Voice. — Drill them in, going both ways. 



Another Voice. — The best crop I ever grew was plowed in four 

 inches deep. 



Mr. Cook. — I have succeeded fully as well by drilling them in. 

 as by plowing them under. We grow the small Canada peas, but 

 we drill them in. If the soil is very mellow and nice, there is no 

 difficulty in getting them in at a uniform depth. 



A Farmer. — A common drill will not sow them thick enough, 

 unless we go both ways, and sow four bushels to the acre. 



Question. — What about cow peas? 



Mr. Cook. — I have never grown them, but will try them next 

 season. 



A Farmer. — How can we grow them on quack grounds? 



Mr. Cook. — It takes considerable work. We put four horses 

 on a disc harrow last spring every day for nearly four weeks, on 

 a field where we planted ensilage corn, but we conquered it 

 — the quack, I mean. To kill quack, stop it from growing 

 above ground. Good cultivation will kill any plant, but I be- 

 lieve that quack is a good thing in one way, at least, because, 

 through its root growth it furnishes vegetable matter for the soil, 

 and quack root is as good as any, except that it does not furnish 

 nitrogen as does clover. 



Question. — Does it pay to plow potato or corn ground in the 

 spring, for oats ? 



Mr. Gould. — No. I have got through plowing ground in the 

 spring, for oats. 



