The Rotation of Farm Crops 



1619 



start before winter and the manure and sod will be partly decayed before 

 plowing for potatoes the following spring. This is ideal preparation for 

 the potato crop. With the aid of some commercial fertilizers, maximum 

 cr(3ps should be grown. This rotation is well adapted where wheat is an 

 uncertain crop and potatoes are depended on for a cash income. 



A four-years rotation for a potato and bean farm 



1. Potatoes, followed by rye cover crop and manure 



2. Beans, removed in time to sow winter wheat without plowing 



3. Wheat, seeded with clovers 



Fig. 256. — A very heavy crop of oats and peas followed the corn crop shown in 

 P^i- ^55 • The rotation used on this field has been very successful 



4. Clover hay, sod to be plowed for potatoes the following spring 

 This rotation produces three cash crops in four years and requires 

 plowing twice. Although rye, manure, and clover sod are plowed under, 

 the drain on soil fertility from removing wheat, beans, and potatoes will 

 make the judicious use of commercial fertilizers profitable. The bean 

 crop gets the first benefit of the application of manure. If the potato 

 crop needs it more than the beans do, it may be applied on the clover sod 

 soon after the hay is cut. The latter will involve some waste, as the 

 maniire will usually have to accumulate during a season of the year 

 when losses in the manure pile are heaviest. The clean cultivation of a 

 potato and a bean crop should free the land of many weeds. 



