8 
at once taken. These brought in a good income and took the place 
of the beets in the system. This was especially true of the sweet 
corn, as the stalks make excellent silage. The canning factory 
lasted two years, after which sweet corn was shipped out of town 
for two years more. 
The next crop tried was potatoes, and it proved to be so good a 
money maker that it is now an annual crop. Irish Cobbler was the 
variety grown, and with good culture 300 to 350 bushels per acre were 
produced annually. As many as 5,000 bushels of potatoes are often 
grown on this farm in one season. 
The growing of these crops led to some direct sales in the city 
and until the last year or two a small but profitable direct market- 
garden business was carried on. Potatoes and apples are still sold 
direct in the city. For a number of years from one-half to 3 acres 
of onions have been grown, but onion thrips have now made this 
unprofitable. 
The large cash sales from these crops as compared with grain and 
hay early taught Mr. English the lesson which so many farmers are 
now learning to their advantage, namely, that it is cheaper to buy 
grain than to raise it when the land upon which grain is grown will 
yield much more — often double — the cash value of the grain in 
other crops. It is a simple economic proposition to decide which is 
cheapest — home-grown or purchased grains. Mr. English figured 
that he could raise enough sweet corn, potatoes, onions, or other 
similar crops to buy the grain which would have grown upon his 
land and still have a good margin left for profit. 
ROTATIONS. 
At first, when hay was being sold regularly, it was considered 
necessary to purchase large quantities of manure. This was obtained 
in the city at $1 for a 2-horse load. It was used principally on the 
corn land, but was also put on the land used for other cultivated 
crops. About, the fourth year it happened that a good clover sod was 
plowed under for corn. The result astonished Mr. English. He 
had read much about rotations, but it was not until this striking 
example was thrust upon him that the real importance of a rotation 
with clover was fully realized. A short rotation with clover as the 
basis was at once adopted and has been continuously followed. With 
clover in the rotation every third or fourth year, the clover fed to 
stock, and the manure used on the farm, no anxiety is felt about soil 
fertility. No manure has been purchased since 1906. 
Mr. English is an ardent advocate of the use of clover, both as a 
forage plant and as a soil improver. It is the key to success in his 
system of farming. His average crop of clover is about 3 tons per 
acre and several times he has cut 5 tons per acre in two cuttings. 
