OTHER LEGUMES AND CATCH CROPS 



part of the soil's stock of humus did not come 

 through legumes. Among the good cover crops 

 is rye, both on account of its ability to grow 

 under adverse conditions and because it produces 

 a large amount of material for the soil. When 

 seeded in the early fall, its roots fill the soil the fol- 

 lowing spring, and the tops furnish all the material 

 that can be plowed down with safety. In northern 

 latitudes it is the most dependable of all winter 

 cover crops, making some growth in poorly pre- 

 pared seed-beds and on thin land. The most 

 value is obtained from early seedings, thus securing 

 a good fall growth. Two bushels of seed are 

 sufficient in good ground seeded ten weeks before 

 winter begins, but two or three pecks should be 

 added to this amount if the rye can be given only 

 a few weeks of growth .before frost locks up the soil. 

 Rye can grow in warm spells of winter, and starts 

 early in the spring. It uses up some available 

 fertility that might otherwise be lost, and re- 

 leases it when it rots in the ground. 



When to plow Down. If rye has made a good 

 growth before spring, the roots run deeper than 

 the plow goes, and holds the soil much like a 

 grass sod. In such a case the plowing may be 

 made early in the spring without regard to the 



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