A FIVE-YEAR FARM MANAGEMENT SURVEY IN OHIO, 23 



crop, which yielded less than a ton per acre that year. Most of these 

 men prefer the soy bean to the cowpea for a hay crop, believing it 

 better adapted to local conditions. In growing the soy bean for 

 hay it is essential to use varieties that make a good growth. Farm- 

 ers in this area have found the medium green and some of the black 

 varieties best adapted for hay production. They have learned also 

 that unless soy beans have been grown on the land in recent years 

 inoculation gives better growth. 



Wheat, oats, and rye, when used for hay crops, represented acre- 

 ages on which these crops had wholly or partially failed as grain 

 crops, or for some other reason could not well be harvested as grain. 



When millet, sorghum, soy beans, or cowpeas were sown for a hay 

 crop, it was usually done in order to meet an anticipated shortage in 

 the main hay crop. Sorghum has been grown for hay by a few 

 farmers for several years, and with good report in most cases. Soon 

 after cutting, it was piled in bunches in the field, where it usually 

 remained until during the winter, when it was hauled and fed. 



Some attempts to grow alfalfa have been made in Palmer Town- 

 ship, but most of them have failed. On the other hand, a few suc- 

 cesses have been reported, and alfalfa can probably be grown with 

 some degree of success on part of the land in the township. How- 

 ever, it must be borne in mind that the drainage, lime, fertility, and 

 inoculation requirements of the plant must be met before it can be 

 grown successfully. 



Some farmers harvested the second crop of clover for seed. A 

 few harvested clover seed nearly every year, while others had only 

 an occasional crop, and 6 of the 25 had none during the entire 

 period. The few farmers who usually had a crop of clover seed 

 were thus enabled to supply their own needs and have a small sur- 

 plus for sale. If more attention were given to growing clover, more 

 seed could be harvested and thus the cash outlay for one of the 

 main items in the expense for seed might be reduced. More atten- 

 tion should be given to growing clover, not merely for seed produc- 

 tion, but to help maintain fertility and to furnish feed. 



MISCELLANEOUS CROPS. 



The area devoted to miscellaneous crops was about 5 per cent of 

 the crop area, or 2^ acres per farm. It included the acreage devoted 

 to fruit, potatoes, annual pasturage crops, soiling crops, and green 

 manure. Of these, fruit was the most important, occupying about 

 nine-tenths of the miscellaneous crop area, or a little more than 2 

 acres per farm. The greater part of the fruit grown was apples, 

 although most farmers had a few peach, plum, cherry, pear, and 

 quince trees scattered about the dooryard, in the gardens or among 

 the apple trees. The acreage devoted to these fruits was very small 

 and so hard to measure that it was not estimated unless the trees 



