58 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING 



ing. That year the plat yielded 54.3 bushels to the 

 acre. The same plat in 1909 yielded 29.4 bushels 

 per acre. This is one of the longest and most satis- 

 factory experiments in the country with corn, and 

 may be taken as an indication of the final result of 

 cropping without rotation and live stock. 



While the general farmer does not, of course, 

 grow one grain continuously, he very frequently 

 thinks that the rotation of corn with oats and 

 wheat ought to bring him good results. Yields 

 from that kind of a rotation, for a time at least, 

 will be greater than from continuous growing of 

 corn, or wheat or oats, but in tim'e the land will 

 become unprofitable. He soon learns that he must 

 iiiclude in the rotation leguminous crops — the com- 

 mon clovers, alfalfa, beans, peas and vetches. If 

 along with this he maintains enough live stock to 

 consume the bulk of the grain and forage grown on 

 his farm, he can continue to raise profitable crops 

 almost indefinitely, provided he does not abuse his 

 land by working it when too wet, or by allowing his 

 farm animals on the fields when the ground is full 

 of moisture. 



A little figuring will demonstrate what the de- 

 crease in production really means to the United 

 States in particular and to the world, as a whole. 

 With the increase in population it will not be many 

 years before famine conditions will exist in nearly 

 every section. Of course, no one expects that 

 farmers will be so unwise as to permit anything of 

 this kind, but lack of intelligence and system in 

 handling lands will ultimately result in just this 

 thing. Statistics going as far back as records are 

 available in the United States indicate that for the 

 United States, as a whole, the yield of crops has 

 increased in the aggregate per acre, rather than 



