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ent plants. I l<now of a friend who is growing squashes, who makes 

 a great success of it. The last thing he does when he gets through 

 with his Hubbard squashes, cultivating them the last time, is to go over 

 it and sow medium clover right in with the squashes. The squash 

 \ines of course arc killed by the first frost, and it is astonishing to me 

 to see what a grov»'th of clover he gets on that piece of ground. In the fall 

 or early in the spring he puts on a liberal supply of manure, and he does 

 not plon' it under until he wants to plant his squashes, and it does seem 

 as though that ground was improving very rapidly. He had his fifth crop 

 of yquashes last summer, and it is the most successful one he has raised. 



Air. Thinner: I have been using rye in northern Wisconsin because 

 it stands the frost. I have also tried buckwheat, but the frost has taken 

 that, and I have adopted rye recently, and I wish to ascertain if there 

 is anything better, especially for a northern climate where we expect frost 

 ea-rlj' in September? 



Prof. Tracy: On our farm we have used rye a good deal. The man who 

 runs our farm and has charge of it directly is very strongly of the notion 

 that in some way — I can not connect it very directly, but perhaps Prof. 

 Taf t could give us light on that subject — the use of rye encourages rust, 

 the development of rust in case of beans being the following crop. - You 

 know rye is a plant much given to rust. His opinion is that the sowing 

 of rye tends to increase that rather than otherwise. One point I wish to 

 speak of in connection with sowing rye is that rye is a bad plant if you 

 let it get too large before plowing under. In the fall, if you are not 

 watching it, it is up too high, and when you plow it under you have an 

 air-chamber under your sod, of which it is hard to get rid; and if there 

 comes on a drouth it is likely to injure your crop. I would like to ask 

 Prof. Taft as to rye furnishing a nursing plant for the rust which will 

 afterward affect beans and other plants? 



Prof. Taft: I would say that I think there is no connection between 

 them directly, the rye and beans and similar crops being so unlike, but 

 from the different grain crops of course the same rust could go from one 

 to the other; but there may be an indirect connection — it would be merely 

 a guess on my part. I never had occasion, so far as I recall, to follow rye 

 with beans, but it is possible that the decaying of this rye turned under 

 will start a sort of soft growth of the bean, give it a quick start, and we 

 know that when we have that condition, when the leaves are soft and 

 tender, that they are more subject to take on these diseases. This rust 

 is a fungous disease, and that may be the cause. I do not know anything 

 about it, but I am very sure there can be no connection directly between 

 them. 



The Secretary: Will you answer the question Mr. Trac}'^ declined to 

 answer, in regard to the cover crops? 



Prof. Taft: We have been talking that over, and I agree with what 

 Mr. Tracy said now. 



Mr. Slayton: Prof. Taft, is rust on rye and beans and all other plants 

 really a fungous growth? Does it develop from spores, or is it a condition 

 that is produced by certain conditions of the atmosphere, and is it like 

 rust on a piece of iron — is it organic? 



Prof. Taft: Of course, indirectly the conditions of the air may 

 influence it, as we know certain conditions of weather are likely to bring 



