82 ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



crop more eminently fitted to restore worn out grain lands than clover. Be- 

 ing of an entirely different order of plants as well as its habit of leaving the 

 ground richer in available plant food, suitable for wheat or corn, and also 

 leaving the soil in a condition of fineness that makes it peculiarly easy of 

 cultivation. Clover becomes one of our most valuable plants to use in al- 

 ternation with wheat or corn, aside from this it is by no means an UDprofl- 

 table crop to raise. Two crops in a season is almost a certainty and a third 

 crop a possibility, at least there will always be a rich aftergrowth and it 

 seems to thrive as well if not better on lands so worn and foul as seemingly 

 capable of producing nothing but weeds. This clover, so valuable ia the ro- 

 tation for retaining the soil's fertility is one of the most valuable of fodder 

 crops to the dairy farmer, INext to grain there is perhaps no dry feed bet- 

 ter relished by the cows or capable of producing a larger quantity of milk of 

 superior richness than well cured clover hay. Owing to these qualities 

 there are few farm crops, wheat and corn not excepted, more profitable to 

 raise upon a dairy farm. 



In this paper I have thus far endeavered to show that on the high priced 

 lands in central Illinois, in order to conduct a profitable business and with- 

 stand the xjompetition of all the rest of the world the farms should be so 

 managed as to be kept up to the highest possible state of fertility. To ac- 

 complish this there should be practiced a systematic rotation of crops of 

 which the principal factors should be pastures and meadows alternating 

 with the cereals; also that the farms should be well stocked with such ani- 

 mals as of themselves prove most remunerative and as such dairy cattle have 

 their place, especially on farms ranging from the smaller to those of medi- 

 um size, not excluding the large farms and including the rental land. 



But simply practicing a rotation of crops will not of itself retain the 

 natural fertility. In addition to the rotation nothing short of manuring 

 will retain or increase fertility. Not only the same amount of plant food 

 should be returned to the land as is taken from it but it should be as evenly 

 distributed over the ground as the plant food is before the grain crops are 

 moved from the land. 



Considering the price of labor, of fertilizers and other costs involved in 

 the various methods of manuring land, that plan seems best adapted to cen- 

 tral Illinois which consists in feeding grain to live stock. This brings for 

 consideration the relative profits of the different kinds of live stock used for 

 feeding crops grown upon the farm. Of course the profits of feeding any of 

 the different kinds of live stock depend largely upon the relative prices of 

 the feed and the article produced. In feeding hay, corn or oats to milch 

 cows quicker returns are made on the investments than with most any 

 other kinds of farm animals. The feed given to the cow one week is paid 

 for in cash the next week. And the prices usually received for the grain 

 and hay are much higher than the corresponding market quotations. 



With a well-balanced system of farming there should be a sufficient 

 number of cattle to consume all the corn, oats and hay raised upon the 

 farm. The usually increased prices of dairy products during the winter 

 month frequently make winter dairying even more profitable than summer 



