COVER CROPS 95 



they are killed by early frosts, and not only make a good direct 

 winter cover, but indirectly protect the soil by holding the snow 

 fairly well. Corn makes a poorer growth during a dry fall than 

 cane or millet. When sown rather late, not more than two months 

 before the first frost, corn and cane are apt to break down and lie 

 too flat upon the ground to hold snow well. When sown earlier 

 they stand up better, but are too heavy and coarse to work into the 

 ground well the next spring. Millet makes a good cover if it can 

 get six weeks of growth before frost. It stands nearly erect and 

 thus holds the snow well, and is so leafy that it affords fair winter 

 protection even without snow. It sometimes grows so large that it 

 is difficult to work into the ground with a disk, but can be covered 

 well with a plow. It puts the land in excellent physical condition. 

 The orchard plat that has had a cover crop of millet every season 

 for five years produces a much heavier growth of millet than it did 

 at first. The main drawback to using this crop is the fact that 

 when the early frosts are delayed much more than two months 

 after it is sown, it ripens seed so abundantly as to be a nuisance 

 the next season. When sown between the middle and the last of 

 July it has ripened seed twice in the last six years. The large 

 German millet is to be preferred to the smaller kinds. A crop 

 that behaves like millet in all other respects but ripens later would 

 be an almost ideal cover crop for this section. Japanese millet 

 ripens later, but whether it would be as satisfactory as German 

 millet in other respects has not yet been determined. 



The best cover crop. This question can be answered, if at all, 

 only when we know the conditions under which the cover crop 

 is to be grown. We do know, however, what a cover crop should 

 accomplish. It should start growth promptly, to insure an even 

 stand and to choke out weeds. It should grow vigorously, to pro- 

 vide a heavy winter cover, and, in the case of late-growing trees, to 

 dry the ground so as to hasten their maturity. It should be heavy 

 enough to furnish direct protection against freezing and thawing of 

 the ground, and should stand sufficiently erect to hold snow against 

 the force of strong winds. If a cover crop can be found to satisfy 

 these conditions, it will prevent the washing away of the surface 

 soil on all but the steepest slopes, and by the formation of humus 

 in its decay will improve the physical condition of the soil and aid 



