



r^ 



fel JOHN DEE^ ~^.^^ .. rSlj->f^ I 



A Two- Way Plow . . Indispensable on Steep Hillsides and Irrigated Ground 



ROTATION 



THE value of a systematic rotation of crops is so well known to every 

 observing farmer, that it seems unnecessary to enter into a lengthy 

 discussion of the subject. Farmers have practiced rotation and appre- 

 ciated the benefits since early Roman times, still many farmers of our 

 country have neglected and are neglecting the art, not because of igno- 

 rance, but because rich lands have been plentiful and cheap in price, and 

 they could, without great effort, produce enough to supply the demand; 

 hence, a system which guarantees a greater production has, in a meas- 

 ure, been neglected. 



We will offer, however, a few common-sense suggestions, hoping that 

 the farmer will, in view of the fact that the demand for farm products is 

 increasing much faster than our production, accept and enforce them, 

 for he is the custodian of the nation's larder, and we, judging from the 

 high cost of living, are liable to face actual want unless the volume of 

 food is increased. 



Plant Roots 



Scientific investigation has proven that the plant root excretes or 

 forms deleterious substances which are a poison, in a degree, to its own 

 kind, but a stimulant to another plant. We know that if a piece of 

 ground is cropped year after year with the same crop, that each year the 

 production is a little less, until, finally, it will not pay for the seed and 

 labor expended for cultivation, when, at the same time, plant food ele- 

 ments may exist in the same soil in abundance. 



In one demonstration where corn was grown on the same piece of land 

 for twenty-eight years, the last ten years averaged twenty-two bushels 



