CROP ROTATIONS 205 



"The objections to Rotation "0" lie in the fact that it 

 requires one-seventh of the land in hoed crop and also 

 one-seventh in summerfallow. For areas such as this 

 (central Alberta) . . . the summerfallow provides 

 too much free fertility and stores sufficient moisture to 

 produce a tremendous growth of straw, with the result 

 that the crop invariably lodges, does not fill well and 

 ripens irregularly. It is admitted that a better crop 

 than barley could be selected to follow the sumpier- 

 f allow, but no matter what cereal is sown the crop will 

 lodge nine years out of ten. 



162. A Rotation with many Advantages — " The rota- 

 tion modifications as introduced in Rotation "L" are as 

 follows : — 



1st year — Hay. Manure 12 tons per 



acre. 

 2nd year — Pasture. 

 3rd year — Pasture. Plow six inches 

 deep July or August, pack, culti- 

 vate and fall cultivate thoroughly. 

 4th year — Oats, or oats and peas, for 

 \ ensilage. 



5th year — Oats. 



6th year — Barley, seeded down, tim- 

 othy and alsike clover. 

 "At the Lacombe Experimental Farm, as already 

 stated, this rotation covers about 240 acres of land, and 

 from the 40 acre field seeded to green feed we have this 

 year filled one silo 12 x 30, one 16 x 36, and had suf- 

 ficient crop on the field to have filled a third silo as large 

 as the largest of those in use. The dairy consumption 

 per head for dairy cattle, where the silage constitutes 

 the chief part of the ration, runs only from 40 to 45 



