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Set up and electrotyped. Published November, 1912.

Norwood Press J. S. Cushing Co.—Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

	Pages
Introduction	1-11
In lieu of preface	1
Natural strength of land	2
Plant constituents	2
Organic matter	4
Drainage	6
Lime	7
Crop-rotation	8
Fertilizers	9
Tillage	10
Control of soil moisture	11

CHAPTER II

The Need of Lime	12-22
The unproductive farm	12
Soil acidity	13
The rational use of lime	14
Where clover is not wanted	16
Determining lime requirement	17
The litmus-paper test	19
A practical test	20
Duration of effect	21

CHAPTER III

Applying Lime	23-35
Forms of lime	23
Definitions	24
The kind to apply	26
The fineness of limestone	27
Hydrated lime	27
Stone-lime	28
Ashes	30
Marl	31
Magnesian lime	31
Amount per acre	32
Time of application	34

CHAPTER IV

Organic Matter	36-45
Office of organic matter	36
The legumes	38
Storing nitrogen	39
The right bacteria	41
Soil inoculation	42
Method of inoculation	43

CHAPTER V

The Clovers	46-58
Red clover	46
Clover and acid soils	47
Methods of seeding	48
Fertility value	49
Taking the crops off the land	51
Physical benefit of the roots	52
Used as a green manure	52
When to turn down	53
Mammoth clover	54
Alsike clover	55
Crimson clover	56

CHAPTER VI

Alfalfa	59-70
Adaptation to eastern needs	59
Fertility and feeding value	60
Climate and soil	61
Free use of lime	62
Inoculation	62
Fertilization	63
A clean seed-bed	64
Varieties	65
Clean seed	65
The seeding	66
Seeding in August	67
Subsequent treatment	68

CHAPTER VII

Grass Sods	71-79
Value of sods	71
Prejudice against timothy	72
Object of sods	74
Seeding with small grain	75
Seeding in rye	76
Good soil conditions	77

CHAPTER VIII

Grass Sods (Continued)	80-89
Seeding in late summer	80
Crops that may precede	81
Preparation	83
The weed seed	84
Summer grasses	85
Sowing the seed	85
Deep covering	86
Seed-mixtures	88

CHAPTER IX

Sods for Pastures	90-97
Permanent pastures	90
Seed-mixtures	91
Blue-grass	91
Timothy	92
Red-top	92
Orchard grass	93
Other seeds	93
Yields and composition of grasses	93
Suggested mixtures for pastures	94
Renewal of permanent pastures	96
Destroying bushes	96
Close grazing	97

CHAPTER X

The Cowpea	98-107
A southern legume	98
Characteristics	99
Varieties	99
Fertilizing value	100
Affecting physical condition	101
Planting	101
Inoculation	103
Fertilizers	103
Harvesting with livestock	104
The cowpea for hay	104
As a catch crop	106

CHAPTER XI

Other Legumes and Cereal Catch Crops	108-119
The soybean	108
Fertility value	109
Feeding value	109
Varieties	110
The planting	111
Harvesting	112
The Canada pea	113
Vetch	113
Sweet clover	115
Rye as a cover crop	116
When to plow down	117
Buckwheat	118
Oats	119

CHAPTER XII

Stable Manure	120-128
Livestock farming	120
The place for cattle	121
Sales off the farm	122
The value of manure	124
The content of manure	125
Relative values	126
Amount of manure	127
Analysis of manure	128

CHAPTER XIII

Care of Stable Manure	129-138
Common source of losses	129
Caring for liquid manure	130
Use of preservatives	131
Spreading as made	132
The covered yard	133
Harmless fermentation	135
Rotted manure	135
Composts	136
Poultry manure	137

CHAPTER XIV

The Use of Stable Manure	139-148
Controlling factors	139
Direct use for corn	140
Effect upon moisture	141
Manure on grass	142
Manure on potatoes	143
When to plow down	144
Heavy applications	144
Reënforcement with minerals	145
Durability of manure	147

CHAPTER XV

Crop-rotations	149-158
The farm scheme	149
Value of rotation	150
Selection of crops	151
An old succession of crops	152
Corn two years	153
The oat crop	154
Two crops of wheat	154
The clover and timothy	154
Two legumes in the rotation	155
Potatoes after corn	156
A three-years' rotation	157
Grain and clover	158
Potatoes and crimson clover	158

CHAPTER XVI

The Need of Commercial Fertilizers	159-170
Loss of plant-food	159
Prejudice against commercial fertilizers	160
Are fertilizers stimulants?	161
Soil analysis	162
Physical analysis	163
The use of nitrogen	164
Phosphoric-acid requirements	165
The need of potash	166
Fertilizer tests	167
Variation in soil	168

CHAPTER XVII

Commercial Sources of Plant-food	171-187
Acquaintance with terms	171
Nitrate of soda	171
Sulphate of ammonia	178
Dried blood	173
Tankage	174
Fish	175
Animal bone	175
Raw bone	177
Steamed bone	178
Rock-phosphate	178
Acid phosphate	180
Basic slag	183
Muriate of potash	184
Sulphate of potash	185
Kainit	185
Wood-ashes	185
Other fertilizers	186
Salt	186
Coal-ashes	187
Muck	187
Sawdust	187

CHAPTER XVIII

Purchasing Plant-food	188-197
Necessity of purchase	188
Fertilizer control	189
Brand names	191
Statement of analysis	191
Valuation of fertilizers	193
A bit of arithmetic	194
High-grade fertilizers	196

CHAPTER XIX

Home-mixing of Fertilizers	198-208
The practice of home-mixing	198
Effectiveness of home-mixing	198
Criticisms of home-mixing	199
The filler	202
Ingredients in the mixture	203
Materials that should not be combined	207
Making a good mixture	207
Buying unmixed materials	208

CHAPTER XX

Mixtures for Crops	209-219
Composition of plant not a guide	209
The multiplication of formulas	209
A few combinations are safest	210
Amount of application	211
Similarity of requirements	213
Maintaining fertility	215
Fertilizer for grass	216
All the nitrogen from clover	218
Method of applying fertilizers	218
An excess of nitrogen	219

CHAPTER XXI

Tillage	220-229
Desirable physical condition of the soil	220
The breaking-plow	221
Types of plows	221
Subsoiling	223
Time of plowing	223
Method of plowing	224
The disk harrow	225
Cultivation of plants	227
Controlling root-growth	227
Elimination of competition	228
Length of cultivation	229

CHAPTER XXII

Control of Soil Moisture	230-236
Value of water in the soil	230
The soil a reservoir	231
The land-roller	232
The plank-drag	233
The mulch	233
Mulches of foreign material	234
Plowing straw down	235
The summer-fallow	235
The modern fallow	236

CHAPTER XXIII

Drainage	237-246
Underdrainage	237
Counting the cost	238
Where returns are largest	239
Material for the drains	239
The outlet	240
Locating main and branches	240
The laterals	241
Size of tile	241
Kind of tile	242
The grade	243
Establishing a grade	243
Cutting the trenches	244
Depth of trenches	245
Connections	245
Permanency desired	246

ILLUSTRATIONS

Alfalfa and Corn in Indiana	Frontispiece
	Facing Page
A Good Crop for a Poor Soil	4
Red Clover on Limed and Unlimed Land	20
Turning down Organic Matter with a Gang Plow	36
Red Clover on the Farm of P. S. Lewis & Son, Pt. Pleasant, W. Va.	51
Alfalfa on the Ohio State University Farm	61
Curing Alfalfa at the Pennsylvania Experiment Station	68
A Heavy Grass Sod in New York	73
Good Pasture Land in Chester County, Pa.	90
Sheep on a New York Farm	96
The Cowpea Seeded at the Last Cultivation of Corn in the Great Kanawha Valley, W. Va.	106
Texas Calves on an Ohio Farm	121
In the Fertile Miami Valley, Ohio	126
Concrete Stable Floors	131
Corn in the Ohio Valley	140
Penn's Valley, Pennsylvania	151
In the Shenandoah Valley	155
Plat Experiments	167
In the Lebanon Valley, Pennsylvania	189
On the Productive Farm of Dr. W. I. Chamberlain in Northwestern Ohio	210
Deep Tillage	222
Making an Earth Mulch in a New York Orchard	233
Drain Tile	239
The Lure of the Country	246

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