FIFTY-THIRD ANNUAL CONVENTION 29 



to put them into two rotations with different sized field. 

 A rotation planned in this way might be as follows: 

 In one set of fields of the same size: 



Alfalfa — corn for silage — small grain, seeded to sweet 

 clover except the year a new alfalfa seeding is established. 

 In another set of larger fields: 



Sweet clover pasture — corn — small grain seeded to 

 sweet clover. 



The alfalfa may be left down as long as the stand is 

 good. The extra seeding of sweet clover in this part of the 

 rotation is very desirable as it prevents too close pasturing 

 of the sweet clover in the other half of the rotation, which 

 is to be used for pasture the next year. The year alfalfa 

 is changed, the old field may be pastured as it is no longer 

 necessary to preserve the stand. 



Another plan is to leave all the fields the same size. 

 If alfalfa is grown over the whole of one of the fields, there 

 may be more than is needed at home and for sale. In this 

 case a part of the field may be plowed up and used for a 

 patch of other crops. Where permanent pasture on untill- 

 able land is available, the rotation must be planned in ref- 

 erence to it. Sometimes a bulegrass pasture can be rein- 

 forced with sweet clover successfully. Since the amount of 

 permanent pasture varies with every dairy farm, no exact 

 rules can be laid down for the rotation except that it must 

 supply sufficient alfalfa and corn silage for the winter and 

 enough other additional pasturage or other crops to feed 

 the dairy when the permanent pasture dries up. No one 

 rotation fits every farm, but some rotation can be worked 

 out for each farm. Once a farmer really sees the advantage 

 of and wants a rotation, he can generally work one out 

 that is satisfactory. 



An acid soil is the only stumbling block in the way of 

 the adoption of a much more profitable rotation on most 

 farms, and this condition continues to exist in spite of the 

 fact that the price of a good cow will buy a carload of 

 limestone which will cover from twelve to twenty-five acres. 

 Take the lower figure of twelve acres and consider that 

 twelve acres of alfalfa will provide high protein hay for 



