AGRICULTURE OF JACKSON COUNTY. 
63 
which are largely fed to cattle. The cash crops consist of 
tobacco, beans, potatoes, rye and on some farms barley, wheat, 
and oats are sold. 
East of the river livestock farming does not thrive so well 
because of the inferior pasturage produced, except on the patches 
of better soil mentioned. Clearings are small, only a few head 
of stock are kept, a little oats, rye and some corn are pro¬ 
duced. Partial support of many is derived from picking blue 
berries, working on the cranberry marshes, or gathering moss or 
wire grass. 
CULTURAL METHODS 
In the western part of the county on the heavy soils, some 
fall plowing is done, but it should be confined to fields where 
there is not serious danger from erosion. The tendency through¬ 
out the county is towards better methods of cultivation, fertili¬ 
zation, and seed selection. It is customary to apply manure 
to fields to be plowed for corn. When the land is plowed in 
the fall, manure is often hauled out during the winter and 
scattered over the plowed field. This is a good practice except 
where the surface is so steep that fertility is lost by being 
carried away by rains and melting snows. 
In the eastern part of the county where conditions are radi¬ 
cally different, other methods are necessary. Spring plowing is 
better than fall plowing. Covering sandy soils during the fall 
and early spring with a good growth is a good practice because 
it prevents loss of plant food by leaching, and the loss of fine 
sand particles by severe winds. Seeding rye in corn rows at 
the time of the last cultivation or in potato fields at digging 
time will prevent some loss of fertility, and this practice should 
be more generally followed. 
Rye seeded early in the fall will help to protect the soil from 
blowing, but this crop has limitations, and the cheapest and 
most profitable way of handling the blowing problem is to grow 
clover and to do this commercial fertilizers may be necessary. 
With clover to hold the soil in place and a wind break of Jack 
pine and scrub oak to stop the wind, the blowing problem can 
be overcome. The use of a corrugated roller is also desirable 
since this insures a firm seed bed and an uneven surface which 
offers more resistance to wind. This implement is also needed 
on peat soil, and every sand and peat farmer should own or 
have the use of such a roller. 
