No. 85.] 357 



ruary or early in March, and sow down IJ to 2i bushels of oats, 

 with a peck to a half bushel of peas, — the latter will come up about 

 the time of the oats, but will not grow more than a few inches high, 

 until the grain is cut off, when they will soon cover the land — or in 

 the rye left standing open, cut rows six to eight feet apart, with a 

 bull-tongue plow in March, ancf drill peas — cover with another fur- 

 row. Many peas will lie in the ground all winter, and come up in 

 the spring. I have had a piece of land covered in many patches en- 

 tirely, where oats had followed corn. 



The year of rest, will show a tolerable good stand of peas on good 

 land, and of course will aid in covering the land, which will be ensur- 

 ed by the cotton and corn stalks, pea vine, stubble and grass allowed 

 to rot in the earth. 



I could not myself avoid pasturing all the fields to some extent, and 

 believe if the land is good enough to produce 20 bushels of corn, and 

 800 lbs. of cotton, that pasturing the land to a moderate extent will 

 not prevent a permanent improvement^ and from my experience, though 

 I have never rested but one field, and it not in cotton since, I feel 

 that facts would bear me out in saying, that in three years the crops 

 would be increased to 30 bushels of corn, and 1200 lbs. of cotton. 



T have not said anything of manures, which by this mode of work 

 would be trebled easily, it being almost a branch of business of itself; 

 I would only say, use it on cotton, for the corn and grain will not be 

 important, there being so much made, and so much pasturing would 

 require even less. 



There are many who object to this rotation because it requires so 

 much open land ; this is more apparent than real, for the diminution 

 of the cotton crop is not as great as appears from the diminution of 

 land, there being a better cultivation, as well as much time to add to 

 the returns by manuring, besides which there is a vast increase of food 

 which will render the work animals more effective, as also longer 

 lived, and also render stock more profitable. I propose though, to 

 decrease the number of laborers by disposal, or the employment of a 

 portion in cleaning, providing manure, draining and improving gene- 

 rally. If by manuring, the cotton crop can be increased in amount, 

 which Dr. Cloud has proved, as also many others, then will a given 

 number of acres employ more hands in gathering the crop than in 

 cultivating it — add to which, the clearing, and you will see that in a 

 very short time the whole force will be brought into active and really 

 profitable use ; by adding the hands employed at clearing or in-ga- 

 thering, there would be much more time to clear and manure between 

 crops. 



I have dwelt too long on this subject, and yet have not dwelt on it 

 as long as its importance might warrant, for I sincerely believe, that 

 by some species of rotation, the cow-pea, rye, and turneps, that we 

 can improve our land, and increase our crops at one and the same 

 time. I would not give rest at all, (if the labor of the farm could 



