200 BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. 



abundant crop of lye, and tlien put on tobacco ? Mr. Allen 

 will notice that the expense of the preparation of the soil in 

 one instance is very much less than in the other ; and perhaps 

 the crop of tobacco would be proportionately less. The ques- 

 tion is, whether a person will make more money by plowing 

 in green crops successively, or by making this large expendi- 

 ture for animal manures. 



Mr. Allen. My reply to that would be, that I do not think 

 it would make very much difference. It is a fact in our ex- 

 perience, that a pretty good application of manure to a worn- 

 out rye field will produce a good quality of tobacco, if it is 

 not so very large it is fineness of leaf we are after ; and my 

 advice to any gentleman who has a field of that kind, and who 

 is going to raise tobacco, would be, " Put on your manure to 

 begin with, plow it in, plajitwith tobacco, and you may expect 

 to get a good quality of tobacco, but perhaps not so large a 

 growth as you would like. The second year, put on all the 

 manure you can, and you will get more tobacco, and the third 

 year, more still. Then lay down to grass." 



Mr. Day. It is almost impossible for some farmers to get 

 a liberal supply of manure. In such cases, would you advise 

 the course I have suggested ? 



Mr. Allen. Undoubtedly, if you have not got the manure 

 plowing in green crops is a very good thing for tobacco. I 

 have no doubt of it at all. 



Mr. Day. I will ask whether plowing in green crops has 

 .different effects on different kinds of soil ? 



Mr. Allen. Perhaps the same physical effect would be 

 produced. It has the physical effect of loosening up the soil, 

 and the decaying vegetable matter furnishes a humus which 

 will make it more moist. I suppose it will have more effect 

 on dry land than on wet land. 



Mr. Day. I ask the question because I liave several times 

 plowed in green crops, and never saw any beneficial effects 

 from it. I have supposed there might be some acidity con- 

 nected with the green crop that did not agree with my partic- 

 ular kind of soil. I have always found my land improved by 



