232 SOILS AND FERTILIZERS 



or clay soil, and will thrive in the presence of alkaline 

 matter or hnmic acid where wheat would be destroyed. 

 In a rotation, oats usually occupy a position less favored 

 by manures. They are, however, greatly benefited by 

 fertilizers particularly by those of a nitrogenous na- 

 ture. 



296. Corn. — Experiments with corn indicate that 

 under ordinary conditions it requires most help in ob- 

 taining phosphoric acid. Corn removes a large amount 

 of gross fertility but its habits of growth are such that 

 it generally leaves an average soil in better condition 

 for succeeding crops. Corn is not injured as are many 

 grain crops by heavy applications of stable manure. 

 It does not, like flax, produce waste products which 

 are destructive to itself. Rich prairie soils when 

 newly broken give better results for wheat culture 

 after one or two corn crops have been removed. The 

 food requirements of corn are satisfied by applications 

 of stable manure, occasionally reenforced with a little 

 phosphoric acid. After clover, corn gives excellent 

 returns, and when corn is the chief market crop it 

 should be favored by having the best position in a ro- 

 tation. 



MISCELLANEOUS CROPS 



297. Flax is very exacting in food requirements 

 and for its culture the soil must be in a high state of. 

 fertility. It is a type of a weak feeding crop. There 

 are but few roots near the surface and consequently it 



