No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 307 



necessary for feed for the animals. The grass incomes from this 80- 

 acre farm for the ditt'erent feeding systems under this rotation vary 

 but little, at the average farm prices, and will be approximately from 

 $1,900 to |2,500. From this must be deducted the expense for labor, 

 farm equipment, interest and depreciation, fertilizers, etc., although 

 for a live stock type of farming very little fertilizer will be necessary 

 if the rotation is arranged as suggested. 



In Rotation II soy beans and cow^peas have been introduced as a 

 crop to follow corn, the object being chiefly to introduce a leguminous 

 crop to improve the soil texture preceding the wheat and to much bet- 

 ter maintain the fertility of the soil. Soy beans may be introduced as 

 a profitable crop in Pennsylvania, either for hay or for seed. The 

 latter can be ground and fed to the farm animals or may be sold in 

 market, as there is demand for soy bean seed. Cowpeas may also be 

 grown for hay in the more southern parts of the State, but this crop 

 is not as profitable a seed crop as the soy beans. The feeding value of 

 soy bean meal may be shown by the chemical analysis and digesti- 

 bility experiments which give the total digestible protein in soy bean 

 meal about that of linseed meal. In many parts of the State of Penn- 

 sylvania this crop may profitably be substituted for oats in the farm 

 rotation. 



Rotation III varies from Eotation II only in the substitution of 

 potatoes in place of wheat. This is applicable only on those soils 

 llhich are better suited for growing potatoes. The total income from 

 Eolation III will be somewhat greater, varying from |2,500 to $3,100 

 annually, but on the other hand, there will be a greater expense for 

 labor in growing the potato crop and probably an additional expense 

 of |175 to |200 for commercial fertilizers. 



Rotation IV introduces alfalfa, a very profitable crop for the dairy 

 farmer, and this crop can be profitably grown in a great many parts 

 of the State. Alfalfa may be grown permanently for five or more 

 years, before reseeding or rotating, or alfalfa may be placed in a ro- 

 tation for three to five years, as suggested. The great advantage of 

 this rotation is its influence in improving the soil, as alfalfa is a soil 

 builder, while the grasses and cereals are soil exhausters. 



Rotation IV, in which potatoes enter, gives a very desirable crop 

 preceding alfalfa, but in order to seed to alfalfa after potatoes, it will 

 be necessary to grow early potatoes, which can be marketed about 

 August 1 and which will enable the alfalfa to be sown before Septem- 

 ber 1. If potatoes are not profitable, in any section, Canada peas and 

 oats may be substituted, mowed for hay the latter part of June or 

 early in July, and the field quickly plowed, or perhaps simply disked 

 and allowed to lie fallow with weekly cultivations until the latter part 

 of August, when alfalfa may be sown. Under some conditions, such 

 as on limestone soils that have considerable clay, it may be necessary 

 to fallow the land from early spring until July, then seed to alfalfa. 



Alfalfa is a profitable crop for feeding livestock or for market. At 

 present the price for alfalfa hay is fully as high or higher than for 

 good timothy hay and as a rule, under favorable climatic conditions, 

 we can depend upon at least four tons of marketable alfalfa hay per 

 acre. Furthermore, this hay has a much greater feeding value as far 

 as protein is concerned, than grasses or even clover and nearly equals 

 the feeding value of wheat bran. 



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