FACTORS OF SUCCESSFUL FARMING NEAR MONETT, MO. 



13 



shallow before cold weather it is probable that these fanners would 

 get practically double the result they now get from this manure. 



In this connection it may be stated that in Chester County, Pa., 

 where the live stock consists mainly of dairy cows which are kept in 

 stables practically all winter and at nights during most of the sum- 

 mer and where the manure is managed with unusual care the value 

 of manure per cow was found by the method above outlined to 

 amount to between $15 and $16 a year. 



Table 6 shows the average yield of corn and wheat on the two 

 groups of farms designated as grain and live-stock farms and grain 

 farms. This table shows that on the average the grain and live- 

 stock farms obtained 3.7 bushels more corn per acre than did the 

 straight grain farms. On the other hand, the grain farms obtained 

 an average of 0.6 of a bushel more wheat per acre than the grain and 

 live-stock farms. This difference is due to two causes. In the first 

 place, manure is applied mainly to corn land on both groups of 

 farms. The grain and live-stock farms, having more manure, get 

 larger yields of corn. But wheat gets comparatively little benefit 

 from the manure, dependence being placed on commercial fertilizers 

 for this crop. Table 6 shows that the grain farmers used more 

 fertilizer than the grain and live-stock farmers. Hence they get 

 larger yields of wheat. The figures of this table show that, for those 

 farms using commercial fertilizers, the grain farmers used $11 worth 

 more per 100 acres of crops than did the grain and live-stock farmers. 



Table 6.— Yield of corn and wheat on grain and live stock and on grain farms 

 (182 farms near Monett, Mo.). 



Type. 



Corn. 



Wheat. 



Fertilizer bought 

 per 100 acres of 

 crops. 





Farms 

 reporting. 



Ail farms. 





Bu. 

 26.8 

 23.1 



Bu. 

 16.1 

 16.7 



S44.5 

 55.5 



S33.0 





40.3 







Studies of methods of maintaining good yields have shown that 

 the plowing under of sod crops is very important. Crops of this 

 character are not much grown in this region, almost the only sod 

 crop being a few acres of timothy, and usually this is left down for 

 many years and pastured rather closely, so that even when it is 

 plowed up not much effect results from the sod plowed under. In 

 the absence of sod crops and of abundant manure the plowing under 

 of crops especially sown for the purpose becomes important. But 



