SYSTEMS OF CROPPING 91 



The farm has four fields, A, B, C, and D. This year, 

 field A is seeded to oats and red clover with a Httle timothy 

 and blue grass in it. After the oats are cut off the growth 

 of clover comes on and may be pastured a little in September. 

 Next year the clover will be cut twice for hay. The third 

 year the field will be well filled with the grasses and some 

 clover and the stock will use it all for pasture. This will be 

 plowed for the next year's corn crop. Fields B, C, and D 

 each follow the same rotation, but each is just a year behind 

 the other, thus: 



A B 



1st year Grain and seeding Clover hay 



2d year Clover hay Pasture 



3d year Pasture Corn 



4th year Corn Grain and seeding 



C D 



1st year Pasture Corn 



2d year Corn Grain and seeding 



3d year Grain and seeding Clover hay 



4th year Clover hay Pasture 



Details of the Rotation. — The four fields are each about 

 the same size and the corn area may be reduced by using 

 part of that field for the summer green-feed each time. In 

 this four-year rotation system two of the fields are plowed 

 and prepared for planting each year, one for spring grain 

 and one for field corn. In case winter grain is used instead 

 of spring grain, the corn is removed as soon as possible after 

 cutting. 



Quick rotations give us better clover for the dairy herd 

 than when the fields are kept in hay for several years. It 

 is better for the dairyman to produce hay that is all clover 

 than it is to let the clover all disappear because the field is 

 kept too many years in hay. Timothy hay or the ''mixed" 

 red-top and timothy are very poor milk producers. Clover 

 is more than twice as valuable for milk cows. 



In this four-year rotation a small permanent pasture may 

 be used also; but let it be well kept up and never used too 



