363 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



2 GEORGE V., A. 1912 



genial to growing plants. The incursions of weeds of various kinds not easily des- 

 troyed by summer-fallowing have also had the effect of directing attention to a more 

 diversified system of farming. 



The effect of continuous grain growing with little or nothing being returned to 

 the soil must become more marked from year to year. The length of time that it can 

 be continued profitably depends on various factors, chief among which are the nature 

 of the soil, its virgin store of plant food and the thoroughness of cultivation from 

 year to year. 



A rich clay soil is capable of producing, when handled to best advantage, many 

 more crops than a light soil, but the most productive must ultimately fail to be pro- 

 fitable when no return is made to it to counterbalance the constant drain of fertility 

 through the removal of grain crops. 



A solution of the problem lies in the adoption of a system of. crop rotation, that 

 will gradually year by year make the land more productive and at the same time enable 

 the margin of profit to be increased. 



A crop rotation is simply an arrangement of the various farm crops which repeats 

 itself each time the course is run. A rotation may be of any duration, two, three, 

 four, five, up to ten years or more. Most rotations however are of less than ten years. 



The kind of rotation that should be adopted on any given farm will depend on the 

 class of fanning followed, and the nature of the soil. In arranging a rotation a know- 

 ledge of the food requirements of the various kinds of crops is essential in order that 

 they may succeed one another to the best advantage. For example such crops as corn, 

 roots and hay require an abundance of nitrates for building stem and leaf and can 

 therefore make excellent use of manure, whereas cereal crops can do with less nitrates 

 and may follow a corn or root crop. The planning of the rotation resolves itself into 

 arranging the three classes of crops, cereals, grass and hay crops, and cultivated crops 

 to the best advantage for the system of farming followed, and to suit the particular 

 farm. 



Since cereal farming is bound to be the chief branch of farming in Manitoba for 

 many years yet, it follows that rotations suitable for adoption here must provide for a 

 considerable acreage in grains. The proportion of pasture, hay and cultivated crops 

 will depend upon the amount of stock to be provided for. On some farms there is 

 sufficient rough land for pasture, and on such a farm no provision requires to be made 

 in the regular rotation for a pasture crop. 



Just what rotations are suitable for conditions in this province is as yet an unset- 

 tled question, but one which is deserving of close study. In order to get some definite 

 information a start was made some years ago in putting a number of rotations into 

 practice on parts of this Farm and now most of the cultivated land has been put under 

 one or other of a number of test rotations. An outline follows of each of the rotations 

 on trial — 



ROTATION A. 



Six years, wheat, oats, hay, pasture, corn and roots. An area of 38 acres divided 

 into six fields is devoted to this rotation. 



1st year. — Wheat sown on corn stubble that has been harrowed thoroughly, land 

 fall ploughed after harvest. 



2nd year. — Wheat, land ploughed in the fall if in good condition or left until 

 spring. 



3rd year. — Oats, sown with 8 lbs. Red clover and 4 lbs. Timothy per acre. 



4th year. — Clove?- hay. 



5th year. — Pasture, manured in summer and ploughed as soon after July 1 as pos- 

 sible, worked at intervals during the summer and fall to destroy weeds and conserve 

 aoisture. 



