Selection Of Crops
Categories: CROP-ROTATIONSThe natural inclination of the farmer is a
consideration that cannot be ignored. If a man does not like certain
kinds of animals or crops, his farm or market must possess an unusual
every farming community.
As a rule, the crops should be those that are well adapted to the
particular soils upon which they are grown. It is up-hill work to
compete with producers whose soils have far better adaptation, unless
the local markets equalize conditions.
The crops should follow each other in such succession that each crop
naturally paves the way for the next one in the succession, or at least
does not place its successor at a disadvantage.
When it is feasible, a rather large proportion of the entire produce of
the rotation should be feeding-stuff for livestock, as soil fertility
is most easily guarded by livestock farming. This is desirable when
consistent with profit, but, as we have seen, it is not an absolute
essential.
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Salt
Salt is not a direct fertilizer, and its use is not to be advised unless it can be secured at a very low price per ton. Some soils have been made more productive by the application of 200 to 300 pounds per acre, and chiefly in case the salt was mixed ... Salt Grass And Alfalfa
I have some land in Sutter county and it has some of this salt grass in spots. I am about to take a twenty-acre piece and put in alfalfa, but some old-timers tell me that the salt grass on it is bad stuff to handle. Your trouble will probably... Salting Hay
What kind of salt is used for salting hay, how much to use and how to apply it? Any good commercial salt such as is used for pork or beef packing is satisfactory for salting hay. A good handful to the ton, scattering it as the hay is stocked ... Sand For Clay Soils
Will beach sand do adobe or clay soil any good? It gets hard at times and I thought that if I was to put beach sand in the ground the salt in the sand would do the ground harm. It is certainly desirable to mix sand with heavy soil for the purp... Sawdust
As a fertilizer, sawdust does not have much value, but serves as an excellent absorbent in stables. Its presence in manure need not cause fear of injury to the soil. When fresh sawdust is applied in large quantity to a sandy soil, the effect upon phys... Scale On Apricots
... Scattering Grass Seeds
We live on the west side of Sonoma valley, and want to seed some of our fields with a good wild grass. We want to carry bags of it in our pockets to scatter when we ride. Timothy we should like, but this is not its habitat, is it? Can you sugges... Scions From Young Trees
I have bought some one-year-old apple trees that are certified pedigree trees. Would it be practical to take the tops of these trees and graft on one-year seedlings and get the same results as from the trees I bought? Will they bear just as good... Scours
Kindly recommend a treatment for a horse troubled with scours. He is on dry feed, but the trouble continues. Give very little water mornings and while worked, but give plenty at night. Feed dry rolled oats, oat hay, one handful of whole flaxse... Scrap Iron As A Fertilizer
Is cast or other iron in small pieces plowed into the land of any benefit to trees as a fertilizer? If so, what would be the value as such per 100 pounds? Junk dealers sometimes offer 25 cents per 100 pounds. If it has any value as a fertilizer,... Seed Farm Refuse As A Fertilizer
Would cleanings from sweet peas or all kinds of seeds grown on a seed farm be of any value as a fertilizer on sandy loam soil for an orchard? This has been in a pile for three years or more, and I can get it for the hauling. There are a hundred ... Seed-ends Of Potatoes
Is it bad practice to plant the seed-ends of potatoes? The seed-end of the potato is the least valuable part of it, but it is better probably to plant than to reject it. ... Seed-mixtures
When grass is wanted for hay as well as fertility, the clovers and timothy compose the greater part of a desirable mixture wherever the clovers and timothy thrive. Probably this condition always will continue. The clovers are needed to supply nitrogen... Seed-mixtures
Several varieties of grasses should be used when making a sod for grazing. They occupy all the surface more quickly and surely than a single variety, and the pasturage is better. The character of the soil determines the character of the mixture in lar... Seeding In August
Much land is infested with annual grasses and other weeds, and in such case seedings should be made in August, as described in Chapter VIII. ... Seeding In Late Summer
The natural time of beginning life, in the case of timothy, blue-grass, red-top, red clover, and alfalfa is in the summer or autumn. The best conditions of growth are given where no stronger plants take the plant-food and moisture. Wherever there is a... Seeding In Rye
When thin land is desired for pasture, and available fertility cannot well be applied, a sod may be formed more surely by seeding with rye, using the rye for pasture and a mulch, than, probably, in any other way. The ground should have good tillage an... Seeding With Small Grain
The usual custom is to sow grasses with small grain, and there is much to commend it. The cost of preparing the seed-bed rests upon the grain crop, and the conditions are favorable to fall growth and winter protection, if the seeding is made in the fa... Seedling Fruits
I have been growing seedlings from the pits of some extra fine peaches and plums with a view to planting them. A man near San Jose advised me that I would get good results, but since then I have met others who say that the fruit trees that sprin... Seedling Olives Must Be Grafted
Will olive trees grown from the olive seed be the right thing to plant? Will they be true to the parent tree or will they have to be grafted? Olives which a seedling olive tree will bear will be, as a rule, very inferior and generally of the t... Selection Of Crops
The natural inclination of the farmer is a consideration that cannot be ignored. If a man does not like certain kinds of animals or crops, his farm or market must possess an unusual every farming community. As a rule, the crops should be those tha... Separator As Milk Purifier
I have a neighbor who contends that a cream separator purifies the milk that passes through it. I say that it does not purify the milk. I agree that it does take out some of the heavy particles of dirt and filth, but that it cannot take out what... Sewage Irrigation
What is the usefulness or harmfulness of the outflow from septic tanks for use an fruits and vegetables? There is no question as to the suitability of the affluent from a septic tank for irrigation purposes. Waste waters are sometimes injuriou... Shaping A Young Tree
In shortening back long, slim limbs the side shoots come out, and one soon has a lot of ugly, crooked limbs to look at. There are a number of orchards here being spoiled in that way. How is this avoided? You cannot secure a low-heading, well-s... Shavings In Stable Manure
Is barnyard fertilizer containing shavings instead of straw, desirable? Barnyard manure containing shavings is chiefly objectionable because of the amount of inert material. The shavings are exceedingly slow to decompose, and in light soil in ... Sheep And Goat Manure
I can buy goat manure from an inclosure where this is deposited to an amount of about five carloads. Will goat manure be of great value in fertilizing an orchard? If so, how much of it should be spread an an acre? Accumulations of sheep and g... Shoulder Injury On Mare
A young mare that bruised her shoulder on the point with collar. It was lanced and now has a hard lump or callous, about three inches in diameter. What is best to do? She is not lame, but it would interfere with the collar. Get a qualified ve... Shy-bearing Apples
I have some apple trees 10 and 12 years old that do not bear satisfactorily, but persist in making 5 to 6 feet of new wood each year. If not cut back this winter, will they be more likely to make fruit buds? Yes, probably. Certainly you shoul... Shy-bearing Apricots
Why do my apricot trees not bring fruit? They seem healthy and are vigorous-looking trees. Five large trees have not borne 100 pounds of fruit in three years. The trees are not over six years old. You may have a shy-bearing kind of apricot, of... Side-bone
I have a 1500-pound 3-year-old colt with small brittle feet that has side bone coming on left front foot caused by driving him barefoot on the road two or three months ago. A good blister of the following once every six weeks for three times ... Silo-heating Not Dangerous
Is there any danger of a barn burning from spontaneous combustion due to a silo being built in the barn? ... Siloing First Crop Alfalfa
How about putting first cutting of alfalfa and foxtail into the silo? Do you think there is any danger of fire in a wooden silo, and do you add salt and water when filling, and how long after it is cut would you advise putting it into the silo? ... Similarity Of Requirements
Many of our staple crops are very similar in their fertilizer requirements, and this simplifies fertilization. Setting aside the impression gained from the dissimilarity in the so-called corn, potato, wheat, and grass fertilizers on the market, the f... Size Of A Silo
I am planning to build a silo 8 feet high and 10 feet across. Will ensilage (corn, oats) keep well in a silo of those dimensions? The silo you are intending to build is too shallow, and would hold only a very small amount of silage. There woul... Size Of Tile
The size of the main depends upon the area that eventually may be drained, the amount of overflow from higher land, the nature of the soil, and the grade of the drain. It is a common mistake to make the main too small because the drainage immediately ... Slow Stuff As A Fertilizer
How can we use sawdust and shavings from our high school shop so as to combine it with street sweepings, lawn cuttings, etc., and insure ready decay without objectionable features? Do not mix sawdust and shavings with lawn clippings and street... Slugs In Garden
Can you advise me how I can get rid of slugs in my garden? When barriers of lime, ashes, etc., are ineffective, traps consisting of pieces of board sacking and similar materials placed about the field prove inviting to the slugs. They collect ... Smutty Sorghum
The various plantings of Egyptian corn on the ranch have turned smutty, very much after the manner of wheat and barley. Is there any unusual reason for this, or could irrigation have caused it, and what is the best method of preventing it? So... Soaking Seeds
Do you think it a good practice to soak seeds before planting? It is more desirable with some seeds than others and when the ground is rather dry or the sowing time rather late, than when sowing in moister ground or earlier in the rainy season... Soil Acidity
Lime performs various offices in the soil, but farmers should be concerned chiefly about only one, and that is the destruction of acids and poisons that make the soil unfriendly to most forms of plant life, including the clovers, alfalfa, and other le...