64 CHAPTER V 



crops, e.g., beans in young orchards ; or (c) grown between the 

 seasons of regular crops, e.g., maize after early potatoes, to be 

 followed by wheat. Examples of this class, generally quick 

 maturing crops, are buckwheat, teff, cowpeas and millets. 



(6) Cover Crops. — These are grown for soil protection 

 chiefly. They protect the soil from erosion and leaching, and 

 may be used to modify orchard growth, e.g., to retard early or 

 too succulent growth of fruit trees. Examples of this group 

 are buckwheat, rye, rape and vetches. Often they have a 

 duality of puri^ose in that they may at the same time serve as 

 green-manuring or as catch crops. 



(7) Soiling Crops. — These are cut green and fed to stock 

 off the land on which they have been grown, e.g. barley, 

 lucerne and Phalaris bulbosa. Where the practice is to return 

 the manure to the lands, this method cannot be looked upon as 

 very exhaustive of soil fertility. 



Some crops, as has been indicated in the above rough 

 grouping, have a tendency to deplete soil humus, while others 

 restore and increase this part of the soil content. This is 

 clearly shown from the results of experiments conducted by 

 the Minnesota Experiment Station. 



