THE FARM SCHEME 



and application of the fertilizers, but not 

 the principles enunciated. For example, a 

 soil on which common red clover grows 

 luxuriantly and has a prominent place in the 

 farm scheme will require less nitrogen in 

 commercial fertilizers in order to maintain 

 the fertility than where legumes are raised 

 with difficulty or do not form a part of the 

 farm scheme. 



One of the most important points to be 

 emphasized is the fact that haphazard fer- 

 tilization is not effective in maintaining soil 

 fertility. If one starts out to establish a five- 

 course rotation and build up his soil through 

 a rational system of fertilization, he will 

 obviously not obtain the full benefit of the 

 rotation until he begins to get crops from 

 the second round, which will be the sixth 

 year from the beginning. It may happen, 

 and unfortunately it has perhaps usually 

 happened in the past, that during the first 

 rotation the increase in crops has not paid 

 for the cost of the fertilizers applied. In 

 many instances a rational system of ferti- 

 lization has not been introduced because 



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