epared seed-beds and on thin land. The most value is obtained from
early seedings, thus securing a good fall growth. Two bushels of seed
are sufficient in good ground seeded ten weeks before winter begins,
but two or three pecks should be added to this amount if the rye can be
given only a few weeks of growth before frost locks up the soil. Rye
can grow in warm spells of winter, and starts early in the spring. It
uses up some available fertility that might otherwise be lost, and
releases it when it rots in the ground.

When to plow Down.--If rye has made a good growth before spring, the
roots run deeper than the plow goes, and holds the soil much like a
grass sod. In such a case the plowing may be made early in the spring
without regard to the rye, though organic matter increases rapidly day
by day if the rye is permitted to grow. As a rule, it is safest to plow
down before the plants are eighteen inches high. They dry land out
rapidly, and any mass of matter in the bottom of the furrow interferes
with the rise of water from the subsoil. When the land is wanted for
oats or corn, a jointer should be used on the plow to insure burying
all the crop.

Buckwheat.--An excellent crop for green-manuring is buckwheat. It has
such unusual ability to grow in a poor soil that the farmer who makes
free use of it as a grain crop never boasts of acreage planted,
assuming that his land will not be highly regarded if known to be
devoted chiefly to buckwheat. It does not withstand heat well,
especially from period of blossoming to maturity, and therefore is
restricted to cool latitudes. When grown for grain, it usually is not
planted until July, and matures a crop in a shorter period than any
other grain. It is sensitive to frost, but may be planted as soon as
the ground is warm, and will give a good body of matter for plowing
down within eight weeks. The root growth is not extensive, but the crop
leaves naturally heavy soils more mellow, and it is an excellent
cleansing crop for weed-infested fields. It makes a less heavy growth
than rye, but can be used at a time of the year that rye would fail.
There is time in a single season to grow two crops of buckwheat for
green-manuring, turning the first crop down when the blossoms appear.

Oats.--When a fall growth is wanted for the soil, and it is preferred
that the plants be dead in the spring, oats make a good catch crop.

Thin land which is wanted for seeding to wheat and grass in the f