PREPARING LAND FOR FIRST CROP 143 



it should be tilled sufficiently to keep down all vegetation 

 and to leave the seed bed in good condition for spring 

 seeding. 



116. Cost, of "Scrubbing" and "Breaking". The cost of 

 scrubbing, breaking and getting scrub land ready for a 

 crop varies widely, depending chiefly upon (1) the per- 

 centage of open land, (2) the size, kind and condition of 

 the scrub, (3) the cost of labor, (4) the method followed, 

 and (5) the type of soil. Ordinarily it ranges from 

 $5.00 per acre to $20.00 per acre more than the cost of 

 breaking and preparing prairie land. Heavily timbered 

 land with no open areas costs much more than these 

 figures. Very little of such land has yet been brought 

 under cultivation. 



117. The Choice of the First and Subsequent Crops. 

 When spring breaking is cropped the year it is done the 

 crop used is invariably oats. It is usually put in for 

 "sheaf feed", but in occasional years the crop matures 

 and yields enough to be well worth threshing. 



When not cropped until the following year both wheat 

 and oats are commonly used. Where there is but little 

 danger of fall frost before the -crop is ripe, Avheat, pre- 

 ferably an early variety, should be chosen. If there is 

 fear of damage from fall frosts oats are to be preferred. 

 Among wheats Marquis is quite commonly used. Some 

 of the earlier and lighter yielding varieties, such as 

 Prelude and Red Bobs, are also grown to some extent. 

 In addition to the varieties of oats commonly used in the 

 open plains Banner, Victory and Gold Rain Abund- 

 ance is grown to a considerable extent in the park belt. 

 Ligowo, an earlier, lighter-yielding oat, is also grown to 

 some extent. Daubeney and Alaska, very early but in- 

 ferior yielding oats, are also used. Where the season is 



