8 BULLETIN 32, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



at once taken. These brought in a good income and took the place 

 of the beets in the system. This was especially true of the sweet 

 corn, as the stalks make excellent silage. The canning factory 

 lasted two years, after which sweet corn was shipped out of town 

 for two years more. 



The next crop tried was potatoes, and it proved to be so good a 

 money maker that it is now an annual crop. Irish Cobbler was the 

 variety grown, and with good culture 300 to 350 bushels per acre were 

 produced annually. As many as 5,000 bushels of potatoes are often 

 grown on this farm in one season. 



The growing of these crops led to some direct sales in the city 

 and until the last year or two a small but profitable direct market- 

 garden business was carried on. Potatoes and apples are still sold 

 direct in the city. For a number of years from one-half to 3 acres 

 of onions have been grown, but onion thrips have now made this 

 unprofitable. 



The large cash sales from these crops as compared with grain and 

 hay early taught Mr. English the lesson which so many farmers are 

 now learning to their advantage, namely, that it is cheaper to buy 

 grain than to raise it when the land upon which grain is grown will 

 yield much more — often double — the cash value of the grain in 

 other crops. It is a simple economic proposition to decide which is 

 cheapest — home-grown or purchased grains. Mr. English figured 

 that he could raise enough sweet corn, potatoes, onions, or other 

 similar crops to buy the grain which would have grown upon his 

 land and still have a good margin left for profit. 



ROTATIONS. 



At first, when hay was being sold regularly, it was considered 

 necessary to purchase large quantities of manure. This was obtained 

 in the city at $1 for a 2-horse load. It was used principally on the 

 corn land, but was also put on the land used for other cultivated 

 crops. About, the fourth year it happened that a good clover sod was 

 plowed under for corn. The result astonished Mr. English. He 

 had read much about rotations, but it was not until this striking 

 example was thrust upon him that the real importance of a rotation 

 with clover was fully realized. A short rotation with clover as the 

 basis was at once adopted and has been continuously followed. With 

 clover in the rotation every third or fourth year, the clover fed to 

 stork, and the manure used on the farm, no anxiety is felt about soil 

 fertility. No manure has been purchased since 190G. 



Mr. English is an ardent advocate of the use of clover, both as a 

 forage plant and as a soil improver. It is the key to success in his 

 system of farming. His average crop of clover is about 3 tons per 

 acre and several times he has cut 5 tons per acre in two cuttings. 



