A FIVE-YEAR FARM MANAGEMENT SURVEY IN OHIO. 25 
CLOVER AND LIME. 
The farmers of this township have experienced difficulty in getting 
stands of clover; so much that some have quit sowing clover seed. 
When they were asked if they had any trouble in securing stands 
of clover, many replied, " Xot if I top-dressed." Perhaps for this 
reason more manure has been applied as a top-dressing to wheat — to 
be followed with clover and timothy — than in any other manner. 
Most of these farms did not supply enough manure to top-dress all 
the wheat land each year, and the seeding of clover on these fields 
or parts of fields not top-dressed failed more often than on those 
that -had been top-dressed. 
Lime would aid materially in lessening the number of clover fail- 
ures. Several of the farmers have used lime in a limited and experi- 
mental way within the last five years and with very few exceptions 
report favorable results. Most of them realize the importance of 
using lime, but they are at a disadvantage in getting lime to the 
farms, the haul is so long. The nearest available source of lime at 
present is a limestone crusher about a mile out from Waterford. 
This crusher is in operation at all times of the year when farmers 
would be likely to haul lime. Even though it is a big job to get lime 
to these farms, if each farmer would spend a day or two now and then 
in hauling lime, several tons could be put on each farm in a few 
years, and the results would be well worth the effort. 
CROP ROTATION. 
In the succession of crops in Palmer Township three rotation sys- 
tems are practiced: 
A three-crop system of corn, wheat, and grass. 
A two-crop system of corn and grass. 
A four-crop system of corn, oats, wheat, and grass. 
The three-crop rotation was most common, with corn and wheat 
one year each and with a great variation in the number of years 
occupied by grass. Based upon this variation, the three-crop rotation 
may be divided as f ollows : A three-year rotation during which each 
crop was grown one year; a four-year rotation during which corn 
and wheat were grown one year each and grass two years; and a 
rotation of corn and wheat one year each followed by grass for an 
indefinite number of years, usually from two to five, but with ex- 
tremes from one to seven years. 
Only one farmer regularly practiced this three-year rotation 
throughout the five years, although two years ago another farmer 
shortened his rotation period to three years, reducing the grass for 
hay to one year instead of two. 
A few farmers practiced the four-year rotation of corn and wheat 
one year each, and grass two years, but among those practicing a 
63263°— 18— Bull. 716 1 
