332 SOILS 



farming and the value of the land. It does not pay 

 to allow land to lie bare and idle, unless necessary 

 to store water in arid farming. Keep it busy. Fill 

 in the chinks between the money crops with catch 

 crops or cover crops that will maintain fertility; 

 and, if engaged in staple-crop farming, endeavour 

 to include a green-manuring crop in the general 

 rotation. 



FERTILISING VALUE OF ROOTS AND STUBBLE 



It is not always necessary to plow under the 

 entire crop in order to gain substantial benefit from 

 green-manuring ; in fact, it is seldom practicable to 

 do so. The roots and stubble of a mature crop of 

 cowpeas or clover contain about one-third of the 

 soil-improving value of the crop. It is usually 

 more practicable, particularly with leguminous crops, 

 to harvest the hay, especially if it is fed on the farm 

 and the manure used to enrich the farm. Thirty- 

 five per cent, of the soil-improving value of red 

 clover is in the roots and stubble left after the crop 

 is cut. If the crop is fed or pastured, and the 

 manure returned to the land, the soil gets from 80 

 to 90 per cent, of the full manurial value of the crop, 

 while the farmer also gets its full value for feeding 

 a case of eating your cake and having it too. 

 Stock husbandry is the key to many pleasant sur- 

 prises like this. 



GREEN MANURES NOT COMPLETE FERTILISERS 



Green-manuring alone cannot be expected to 

 maintain the fertility of the soil on most farms, 

 although it will contribute very largely to that end. 

 When crops are grown and turned under there is no 



