FARM CROPS 99 



When farmers get a larger crop of hay from this mixture 

 than they can from common grasses, they should not depend 

 upon timothy and red top so much in dairy sections. Aside 

 from the yield, we must remember also that the quality of 

 the hay is much better than timothy, for it contains two or 

 three times as much protein or milk-producing substance. 



There is always a greater yield of oats per acre because 

 of the presence of the Canada peas. A field sown with three 

 bushels per acre, half peas and half oats, will yield more oats 

 than if the sowing were all oats. This is because the peas 

 gather nitrogen for the two, getting it from the air. 



A Good Grain Mixture. — If the crop should be ripened and 

 threshed, the grain may be all ground together. This pro- 

 duces an excellent balanced grain ration for the dairy cow. 

 Why should dairymen not produce more of their own grain 

 at home in this very way? Oats alone seldom pay for the 

 cost of raising them in the East, but when raised in this 

 mixture they will pay well, providing we have a mill near 

 by where the grinding can be done. Swine and poultry thrive 

 on this grain mixture. 



Forage for Midsummer. — The foregoing are chiefly very 

 early crops. Other special crops may be grown which will 

 be ready to feed to stock at a time near midsummer when 

 pastures are apt to be too dry to give the stock enough feed. 

 Some such crops were mentioned in the earlier part of this 

 chapter. As we have already seen, this system of green 

 feeding is called the soiling system. Now let us consider 

 the matter of growing such forage crops as will be ready to 

 feed green during the dry season. We can then combine the 

 pasture system with the soiling system — called partial soiling. 



Corn for Green Forage. — Early sweet corn may be ready 

 for July use. The ears may be used for market and the forage 

 fed to stock. Early flint corn would come along just after 

 it. Next the dent field corn would be fit to use. This would 

 last until frost. 



