362 



FIELD CROPS 



not a leading crop and more especially where weedy grasses 

 crowd it out after a few years, the use of this crop in a 4-year 

 or 5-year rotation is usually advisable. A good rotation 

 for these conditions consists of oats or some other small 

 grain, alfalfa and corn. The ground is prepared for alfalfa 



Figure 124. — Cutting alfalfa for seed with the self-rake reaper. This machine 

 is still used in some sections for harvesting grain. It deposits the 

 crop in bunches, as shown at the right in the picture. 



as soon as the small grain is removed in the summer, and the 

 seed is sown a few weeks later. The following two to five 

 years the alfalfa is cut for hay, and then the sod is broken 

 for corn. From one to three crops of corn and two or three 

 crops of small grain are grown, to be again followed by al- 

 falfa. Numerous variations of this rotation may be devised, 

 such as the use of a crop of early potatoes or other truck 

 crop before seeding alfalfa, or the substitution of potatoes for 

 corn where corn is not grown. 



In some sections, it is desirable to leave a piece of land 

 in alfalfa for a number of years. No definite rotation is then 



