SOME HINTS ON GREEN MANURING 195 



together with lime and certain fertilizers, make productive sands 

 a reality. 



The improvement of the lighter colored and long-cropped 

 soils is dependent upon the addition of organic matter and nitrogen. 

 This becomes a primary object, and whatever other soil treat- 

 ments are necessary, they are made not only to produce the organic 

 matter, but at the same time to benefit all other crops. 



In AustraUa many soils are so poor that they are incapable 

 of producing a paying crop; but when cowpeas are grown and 

 plowed under, these soils can be regenerated. 



Feeding vs. Plowing Under Crops.— The question often arises, 

 "Is it not better to feed the crop than to plow it under?" 

 This is to be determined by the good judgment of the farmer. If 

 the soil is a black loam, or a black silt loam, and is in a good state 

 of fertility, feeding the crop and returning the manure, no doubt, 

 is the better practice. On the other hand, if the addition of organic 

 matter and nitrogen is the key to the improvement of any soil, 

 then plowing imder the crop would be the better plan. In this 

 respect the advice given by Varro is still good, today. 



In many cases when a farmer has sufficient hay and a good 

 second growth (rowen) comes on, this second growth may better 

 be txH-ned under than be cut for hay or allowed to go to seed. 



Some Hints on Green Manuring. — In the regeneration of 

 very poor soils, it is necessary to plow under the year's crop to 

 make improvement possible. In such cases the crop is sacrificed 

 for the good of the land. Under good soil management, it is not 

 necessary to lose a crop in order to be able to grow green manure. 



When tw^o grain crops are grown in succession, the first crop 

 may be seeded to mammoth clover which is plowed under in the 

 fall. The second grain crop is then seeded with medium, alsike, 

 or crimson clover for hay or pasture to follow the grain. 



In potato sections, rye may be scattered over the field at harvest 

 time, the digging covers the seed, and the growth is plowed under 

 in the spring, previous to planting. Or the rye may be seeded to 

 clover, the rye cut as a cash crop, and the clover plowed under 

 for the potato crop the following year. 



A green manuring crop may be planted in between the rows of 

 a cultivated crop at the last cultivation, and plowed under in 

 the fall. 



Sometimes a rank growth of weeds may prove very effective 

 as a green manuring crop. 



