The header system should be generally
adopted on wheat dry-farms. On farms where corn is the chief crop,
perhaps more importance needs to be given to the supply of organic
matter and humus than on wheat farms. The occasional plowing under
of leguminous crops would he the most satisfactory method. The
persistent application of the proper cultural methods of dry-farming
will set free the most important plant-foods, and on well-cultivated
farms nitrogen is the only element likely to be absent in serious
amounts.
The rotation of crops on dry-farms is usually advocated in districts
like the Great Plains area, where the annual rainfall is over
fifteen inches and the major part of the precipitation comes in
spring and summer. The various rotations ordinarily include one or
more crops of small grains, a hoed crop like corn or potatoes, a
leguminous crop, and sometimes a fallow year. The leguminous crop is
grown to secure a fresh supply of nitrogen; the hoed crop, to enable
the air and sunshine to act thoroughly on the soil grains and to
liberate plant-food, such as potash and phosphoric acid; and the
grain crops to take up plant-food not reached by the root systems of
the other plants.
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