1 90 Harshberger. — Maize : 



once the soil is exhausted of them. There has been an 

 over-production of the cereals in America, with the natural 

 deteriorating effects upon the soil. The enormous exporta- 

 tion of 55,131,948 bushels of wheat in 1891 illustrates vaguely 

 the annual drain upon our soils. The American system of 

 agriculture is imperfect, slovenly and wasteful in the ex. 

 treme. A change for the better has been manifested of late 

 years. 



Modern experiments prove that the production of the 

 nitrogen-consuming plants (cereals, root-crops and fruits) 

 should be alternated with the production of the nitrogen- 

 storing plants, such as clover, beans, peas, vetches and 

 lupins, which accumulate atmospheric nitrogen by the agency 

 of the nodules on the roots, inasmuch as the soil is best con- 

 served with a properly adjusted rotation. Mr. Mason's trials 

 at Eynsham, Oxfordshire, are referred to a second time, as 

 illustrating this important principle. His idea is to grow 

 mixed crops of leguminous plants, liberally manured with 

 basic slag and kainit, and to convert the produce of the first 

 year into silage and of the second into hay. The land is thus 

 occupied for two years and the assumption is that in this way 

 highly nitrogenous crops will be obtained with mineral, but 

 without any nitrogenous manure, and that the land will be 

 left, so far as nitrogen is concerned, in a high condition for 

 the growth of saleable crops, such as potatoes or grain, which 

 need nitrogenous manuring. In other words, the plan, as he 

 puts it, is "to grow nitrogen-accumulating crops for home 

 consumption and afterwards nitrogen-consuming crops for sale 

 or export to foreign countries." 



This system should be extended so as to comprehend the 

 whole country in a complete and perfect system of rotation. 

 The adaptability of particular districts of the United States 

 for certain kinds of agriculture, should be observed in com- 

 bination with the most scientific succession of crops, one 

 crop following another in such a manner as to yield the 

 largest returns, and at the same time maintain the fertility of 

 the soil. The plant best suited to any rural section, that is, the 

 one from which best financial returns are expected, should be 



