46 THE BOOK OF CORN 



therefore such a method can only be used in seasons 

 when there is enough rainfall for germination. 



The third method of seeding, i e, alone, without 

 any nurse crop, is recommended for some sections, 

 such as Wisconsin. In this case the use of the land is 

 usually lost for one year. In most old cultivated fields 

 there is such a supply of weed seeds in the soil that the 

 weeds grow faster than the clover crop. These weeds 

 use up as much soil fertility as a nurse crop without 

 any return. Therefore it is frequently more desirable 

 to get a crop of grain rather than a crop of weeds, so 

 that the nurse crop system is to be preferred. If the 

 clover is seeded alone the seedbed should be prepared 

 in the same manner, and seed sown at the same rate 

 as when seeded with a nurse crop. However, in heavy 

 soils, the land should be plowed and prepared as for 

 corn, thus giving a better seedbed than could be se- 

 cured if a nurse crop was grown with the clover. 



In plowing the clover sod for corn there are two 

 methods used: 1, to plow under the second crop in 

 the fall ; 2, to allow the clover to get all possible growth 

 in the spring and plow under just before corn plant- 

 ing time. The desirability of either of these methods 

 will depend largely upon the age of the crop. If the 

 crop is plowed under the first year after seeding it 

 should be allowed to grow in the spring as late as 

 possible, then be turned under to a good depth. The 

 soft stems and roots will quickly decay, so that the 

 corn crop can be safely planted in such fields. If the 

 clover is allowed to grow one year on the field, it 

 should be plowed under in the fall. In this case it 

 will take some time for the stems and roots to decom- 

 pose, so that it is necessary to plow in the fall to get 

 a thorough disintegration. The field should then be 

 thoroughly disked in the spring before planting 

 the corn. 



