BOYS' FARM CLUBS 



bership in the clubs, will have enough to do to handle one acre 

 at a time and care for their live stock. It will be better for 

 these boys to exchange small grain, hay, cowpeas, beans, clover 

 seed, or some of their other crops for enough corn to feed 

 their live stock than to overcrop themselves by farming two 

 or three acres just for a limited amount of corn. Some of 

 them might grow just enough corn for feeding purposes, but 

 the average boy, by helping his father with the larger crop of 

 the farm, can get feed corn for one year in exchange for his 

 labor and help. It will be good training for the boys to use 

 their intelligence and resourcefulness along this line. It is 

 more important to demonstrate profitable soil building and 

 animal feeding than it is to try to make large yields of corn 

 every year, especially as the corn demonstrations in the rota- 

 tions will be so much more effective. The older and more 

 advanced boys might farm two acres at a time. One acre will 

 be in corn while the other is in small grain and legumes. Of 

 course, the crops on these acres will alternate. In this way 

 a boy might compete for com club prizes every year, but it 

 is recommended that prizes be offered also for the live stock, 

 for the legumes, and for the small grain. If the club mem- 

 ber uses his small-grain crop for grazing and for turning 

 under, he can compete for prizes on the legume crops and vice 

 versa. There are hundreds of communities, where prizes on 

 these crops will do a vast amount of good. Club members 

 have a good opportunity to demonstrate the best methods of 

 harvesting seed from such crops. They can make a fine profit 

 on these enterprises. Prizes might be offered for yields of seed 

 and also for hay. 



In semi-arid sections this program will have to be still 

 further modified and adapted to climatic conditions. Corn, 

 if planted at all, may be alternated with peas or soy beans. 



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