WHEAT 117 



will largely do away with the necessity of burning 

 the straw. Wheat straw has some feeding value 

 but perhaps the best use for it is as bedding in 

 the stable and in the yards where it may fulfill a 

 double purpose; to provide a suitable bed for 

 stock and also as an absorbent for the manure, 

 especially the liquid excreta of the animals, the 

 fertilizing value of which is greater even than that 

 of the solid excrement. After being tramped 

 and partially decayed, the straw itself makes 

 good manure and may be readily incorporated 

 with the soil. 



GREEN MANURING WITH SUMMER FALLOWING 



The soils of the Great Plains are usually abund- 

 antly rich in mineral plant foods and it is doubtful 

 if the application of phosphates or lime is neces- 

 sary in order to increase yields, but these same 

 soils are and always have been lacking in organic 

 matter and the continuous cropping has rapidly 

 depleted the natural supply. It has been found 

 difficult to rotate crops in semi-arid regions so as 

 to restore the organic matter. 



The method of green manuring and partial 

 summer fallowing which has been put into prac- 

 tice at the Ft. Hays, Kansas experiment station is 

 in the judgment of the writer an advantage over 

 bare summer fallowing and largely overcomes the 

 objections to summer tilling. The plan is to 

 plant a fall crop or early spring crop and plow 

 it under late in May or early in June, practicing 

 a summer fallow with surface cultivation (summer 

 tillage) for the balance of the season until seeding 



