4i2 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



gredient than others, a rotation tended to strike a balance.- The actual 

 amount of plant food removed from the soil by crops is infinitesimal, 

 and usually a good rotation will remove more than single cropping. 

 The losses of valuable ingredients from the soil by wind or washing 

 are of more importance than those lost by the sale of crops. 



The practical benefits from a rotation of crops are now recognized 

 to be manifold, including greater ease in maintaining the soil in 

 proper physical condition; greater opportunity for catching and retain- 

 ing the water which falls upon the soil, and more economi?al use of it. 

 Insects and diseases are more easily combatted, and increased vigor of 

 the plants results in increased yield. In addition, labor, manures and 

 fertilizers are more economically used with benefit to the farmer, farm 

 and the nation. 



