CHdPJMNG SYSTEMS FOR TliK BLACK LANDS OF TEXAS. 



13 



to coriL which yiehled 55 bushels per acre, an increase of 205.5 

 |)oi- cent.' 



Many of the farmers visited know from experience that the fer- 

 tihty of the soil is better conserved if a new meadow is planted in 

 another field whenever it becomes necessary to ])low up the old one 

 because of root-rot, but there was some confusion as to how to plan 

 a rotation includinsjj alfalfa. 



In order to make it perfectly plain to everyone, a sugj^ested plan, 

 based on successful practice in use on various black-land farms, is 

 outlined in figure 7, showing how a IBO-acre farm, 120 acres of 



Fig. 6.— Cows grazing on an alfalfa meadow .'i years old near Cleburne, Tex. Root-rot is gradually 



reducing the size of the meadow. 



which are in cultivation and divided into four 30-acre fields, would 

 appear each year for a ])eriod of 12 years. This plan may be modi- 

 fied for any given farm as conditions justify without lessening its value. 

 It will be observed that the alfalfa remains 3 years ^ in each of the 

 4-year periods, and in the meantime a 3-year rotation of cotton or 

 wheat, corn, and oats is in operation on the other three fields. For 

 convenience wheat or oats occupy each field the year previous to its 

 being planted to alfalfa or, if the soil is poor, cow[)eas may be used in 

 ])releren(e t<> either wheat or oats. In tliis rotation ample oppor- 

 tunity is alTorded for controlling root-rot, as resistant crops occupy 

 the land from two to three years between the alfalfa and the cotton. 



" See "A Successful Alabama Piversification Farm," Farmers' Bulletin 310, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 

 1907. 



» In cases where alfalfa is destroyed before the third year a short rotation of alfalfa, corn, cotton, and 

 small grain may be used. 



ICii. .S4] 



