Crop Rotations for Eastern Canada 



As rotations possible in Eastern Canada, and as rotations likely to give satisfactory 

 results, I might mention the following: — 



"A" — Three year rotation — Grain-hay-hay or pasture. 



"B" — Three year rotation — Hoed crop grain-hay. 



"C" — Four year rotation — Hoed crop-grain-hay or pasture-hay or pasture. 



"D" — Five year rotation — Hoed crop-grain-hay-grain-hay or pasture. 



"E" — Five year rotation — Hoed crop-grain-hay-pasture-grain. 



"F" — Six year rotation — Hoed crop-grain-grain-hay-hay or pasture-pasture. 



Some Remarks on Rotations 



Rotation "A," of three years' duration, is one suited for the farmer who cannot, 

 on account of the character of his land, or who does not care for some other reason to 

 grow any considerable area of roots, or other hoed crop. This rotation: — 



First year — grain, seeded down with 10 lbs. red clover, 2 lbs. alsike and 12 lbs. 

 timothy per acre. Second year — timothy or pasture, will provide a large quantity of 

 forage and at the same time do much toward building up or improving the soil on the 

 farm. On a 100-acre farm in Ontario on which this rotation was used for six years the 

 crop producing powers of the soil were practically doubled, and in this particular case 

 very little barnyard manure was used. 



Rotation "B," of three years' duration: — 



First year — hoed crop, followed by second year grain, seeded down with clover 

 and timothy, say 10 lbs. red clover, 2 lbs. alsike and 6 lbs. timothy per acre. Third 

 year — hay or pasture, is a rotation likely to give very large returns in the way of crop 

 produced and net profit per acre. It is a rotation peculiarly well fitted for certain 

 districts in eastern Canada, where farms usually include considerable areas of rough 

 land fit for pasture, but not available for crop production. On such farms the division 

 of the arable land into three equal or nearly equal areas and the following thereon of 

 the rotation described, will enable the farmer to carry a much larger number of cattle, 

 and will insure his getting much bigger returns than where a longer rotation is followed 

 and a relatively smaller proportion of the arable land given over to the production of 

 forage crops such as corn, roots and clover hay. On the Experimental Farm, Ottawa, 

 this rotation has proven to be by much the most profitable of all rotations tried. 



Rotation "C," a four year rotation, including: — 



First year — hoed crop; followed by second year — grain, seeded down with say, 

 10 lbs. red clover, 2 lbs. alsike, 12 lbs. timothy per acre. Third year — hay or pasture. 

 Fourth year — hay or pasture. 



This rotation recommends itself for use on farms where most of the land is 

 arable and where provision has to be made for pasturing, to some extent at least, on 

 arable land. It has the advantage of sod being turned down once in four years, of 

 clover occupying the land, to a greater or lesser extent, three years out of four, and of 

 being under pasture to some extent the third or fourth year. This rotation would 

 probably suit a light, sandy soil, even better than rotation "B," since rotation "B" 

 in the case of light, sandy soils would probably have a tendency to open up or loosen 

 the soil too much. 



Rotation "D," of five years duration, as follows: — 



First year — hoed crop. Second year — grain, seeded down with 10 lbs. red clover, 

 2 lbs. alsike and 6 lbs. timothy per acre. Third year — hay, land ploughed in fall. 

 Fourth year — grain, seeded down with 10 lbs. red clover, 2 lbs. alsike and 6 lbs. timothy 

 per acre. Fifth year — hay or pasture, land to be left unploughed till the following 

 spring, manure to be applied during the winter and turned under with a shallow furrow 

 for corn production the sixth year, or the first year of the new cycle of rotation. Such 

 parts of the hoed crop field as it is desired to devote to roots or potatoes should be 



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