cowpeas or
soy beans between the rows of corn.

If this is done it may not be necessary to add any nitrogen in the
fertilizer, letting that supply only phosphoric acid and potash.

If commercial fertilizer is used on the cotton, it would be a good
plan to apply the manure from the stock to the corn.

To follow our crop on Field 1 through the three years we will have,
first, cotton drawing large amounts of plant food from the soil and
diminishing the humus of the soil.

Growing a winter crop of crimson clover, turning back all the cotton
refuse except the lint and oil, and applying the barn manure will
furnish ample plant food for the corn and replenish the organic
matter.

The corn is a rather stronger feeder of phosphoric acid than cotton
and will be able to get sufficient from that left by the cotton.

The oats will be able to get a full ration after the corn, and the
cowpeas will readily take care of themselves on the score of plant
food and will put the soil in fine condition for cotton again.

The peas may be left on the ground to turn under in the spring at
cotton planting time, or they may be plowed under in the early fall
and a crimson clover or vetch cover crop planted, which will be plowed
under for the cotton.

These same facts will be true of each of the three fields. The humus
and, therefore, texture will be taken care of; ventilation, soil
temperature and plant food will be controlled to advantage.

Each of the crops will be represented on the farm each year and the
yields of each crop will be better than if grown continuously alone.
The quality and therefore the market value will be greater. Insects
and disease will be easier kept in control, and stock will be more
economically furnished with a variety of foods.

BENEFITS DERIVED FROM ROTATION OF CROPS

Rotation of crops economizes the natural plant food of the soil and
also that which is applied in the form of manure and fertilizer. This
is because:

Crops take food from the soil in different amounts and different
proportions.

Crops differ in their feeding powers.

Crops differ in the extent and depth to which they send their roots
into the soil in search of food and water.

Crops differ in the time of year at which they make their best
growths.

Rotation helps to maintain or improve the texture of the soil because
the amount of humus in the soil is maintained or increased by turning
under green manure and cover crops which shoul