352 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



of manure in this system, a large number of acres being covered 

 evenly rather than a few acres covered heavily and unevenly. 



The application of 50 to 75 pounds of a complete fertilizer 

 like ammoniated bone and potash applied in the hill for corn, will 

 pay on ordinary seasons, although on dry seasons it may "fire" 

 the corn. 



THE USE OF LIME. 



The experiments show a uniform benefit from lime, although 

 in no case is the benefit very large. It is sufficient, however, to 

 warrant the farmer in using some lime at least on the flatter and 

 wetter areas of this land which are most inclined to sourness. The 

 cheapest form is the ground limestone supplied most conveniently 

 for Northeast Missouri by the Crystal Carbonate Lime Co. of Els- 

 berry. . It is best applied after plowing for corn or some other crop 

 with an endgate seeder at the rate of 1,000 to 2,000 pounds per 

 acre, allowing the after preparation of the land to work it thor- 

 oughly into the soil. At present it is recommended only experi- 

 mentally on any but the wetter areas. 



FEED CROPS AND SAVE MANURE. 



No System of general farming will be permanently profitable 

 on this soil without resorting to the feeding of animals and the 

 careful return of manure to the land. For a time a rotation, in- 

 cluding a frequent use of legumes, such as clover or cowpeas, will 

 maintain the productiveness, but for the man who expects to live 

 on his farm for twenty years, or if he expects to sell the land within 

 ten years, some form of livestock farming will be very much more 

 profitable. The land is too low in nitrogen and humus, as well as 

 in phosphorus, to sell off crops for any length of time, even with 

 a careful rotation. A word should be said here, too, regarding the 

 common practice in many parts of the area of selling timothy hay. 

 This crop removes an amount of fertility equal to half its value, 

 and when the cost of production is figured, the margin of profit is 

 very small. It is a practice that is suitable only to the renter or to 

 a man under trying financial circumstances. Moreover, timothy 

 is a very poor feed, except for horses and mules, and it should 

 practically always be mixed with clover or fed in combination with 

 clover or cowpea hay. 



