RYE 115 



they do have a large amount of sulfur and other ill-smelling 

 constituents which are likely to be very offensive in the spring 

 when the crop is rotting down and before it can be plowed 

 under. There is a further objection that they are likely to live 

 'over winter and go to seed, making rather an unsightly appear- 

 ance to people who are easily worried by such things. They 

 have not proved a really serious weed but are merely a little too 

 conspicuous with their gorgeous yellow flowers. 



Dwarf Essex Rape. So far as the writer's experience and 

 observation go this is the cheapest of all covers, except weeds, 

 and it is by no means a bad crop to use. It will grow anywhere, 

 grows late in the autumn, and usually survives the winter, so 

 that it catches and holds the elusive nitrates, furnishes a fine lot 

 of humus, and makes a surprisingly good cover, as it has a very 

 fibrous, though not a very large, root system. Where a good stand 

 lives over winter it is sometimes rather difficult to get rid of it 

 and it is always unsightly. These are not serious matters, how- 

 ever, for a cover crop is not grown for its beauty, and by using a 

 cultivator with broad teeth it is quite possible to kill out the 

 worst case of this. On some cultivators there is a broad, V- 

 shaped affair in the centre called a " sweep," and two outside 

 wings, and the combination will pretty nearly clean out anything 

 in the weed line. Of course the rape crop gathers no nitrogen 

 from the air. 



Barley. This is an excellent crop to use when one does not 

 care to have a nitrogenous crop and also does not want to use 

 buckwheat. It generally makes a good cover, particularly late 

 in the season, is not seriously expensive, and leaves the land in 

 very fair condition. Oats are sometimes used in this way but 

 they do not leave the soil in as good condition as barley and they 

 are therefore not included in the list. 



Rye. This is one of the greatest covers on the list when 

 sown at the right time, but the great difficulty with it from the 

 coyer crop standpoint is that it makes very little growth during 

 the hot weather of August and early September, so that it is of 

 practically no value in assisting to stop the growth of the trees. 

 It will grow almost anywhere. Sown about September first it 



