50 
SOIL SURVEY OF BUFFALO COUNTY. 
early as possible in the spring, and a top dressing of ground 
limestone applied at the rate of 2,000 pounds per acre. The 
field should be harrowed at short intervals to kill all weeds, and 
this harrowing should be kept up until about the middle of May. 
Fifteen pounds of seed per acre should be sown and covered to 
a depth of iy 2 to 2 inches. The seeding should be followed by 
a roller to compact the soil around the seed, and the roller should 
be followed by a light harrow to roughen and loosen the im¬ 
mediate surface to check evaporation and blowing of sand by 
the wind, or a corrugated roller can be used to do the work of 
both. Where it can be secured a top dressing of well rotted 
manure should be applied before the last harrowing. If ma¬ 
nure is not available about 300 pounds of acid phosphate or 
ground steamed bone-meal and 100 pounds of muriate of potash 
should be applied at the time of seeding to clover. If only a 
small amount of manure is available it may be supplemented by 
ground rock phosphate, and this can be sprinkled over the ma¬ 
nure in the spreader and applied-at the same time. 
Peat may often be used to advantage as a fertilizer if peat 
marshes are close at hand. It contains a high percentage of 
nitrogen, but should be supplemented by potash and phosphate 
fertilizers, as it is deficient in these elements. The use of a light 
application of manure will assist in making the nitrogen of the 
peat become available to plants. 
Late in the summer it may be necessary to clip the weeds 
which are sure to come. The cutting bar should be run high 
and the clipping left on the field as a mulch. The second year 
the first crop should be cut for hay and the second crop plowed 
under as green manure to prepare the land for a cultivated crop. 
After the first application, ground limestone should be applied 
at the rate of about 1,000 pounds per acre once during every 
rotation. The amount of commercial fertilizers containing phos¬ 
phorus and potash which should be subsequently applied will 
depend on the crops to be grown and especially on the amount 
of manure produced on the farm. 
Soybeans or yellow lupine or spring vetch may be grown on 
sandy soils and if plowed under they furnish organic matter 
and nitrogen to the soil. When the soil has been built up, a 
nurse crop may be used in seeding clover and other legumes to 
better advantage than when the soil is run down and poor. 
