SECRETARY'S REPORl. 35 



order of succession, and with regard to which crop or crops should 

 receive the manure. 

 Another writes : 



"The ahiiost iiniversnl practice is to plow sward for corn and 

 potatoes in the fall or spring; corn to be followed by wheat, potatoes 

 by oats or barley. My own plan is to plow late in autumn, and 

 as early as possible in spring sow three bushels of oats and fifteen 

 pounds soutbern clover per acre ; harvest the oots early; let the 

 clover glow until near time for frost, then plow it in, and in spring 

 plant corn, manuring well with compost in the hill, to be followed 

 by wheat and grass seed, and movvtd four years. On a portion of 

 my land tliis is varied by using long manure on the sward, and 

 planting potatoes, to be followed by barley, and then hay." 



Another says : 



"The best rotation must vary with the circumstances of the 

 farm. A good course, ordinarily, is — pasture — pasture — oats — roots 

 — wheat or barley — hay — hay. Or if this is too long, and oats are 

 not needed for the stock, leave them out, and the land wouhl improve 

 more rapidly by taking off only one crop of hay in the course. 

 The great amount of straw and roots will keep the stock. 



In studying out the best rotations for our soil and climate, we 

 may learn something from the practice of others; and as the favorite 

 rotations in England, where farming has attained its greatest per- 

 fection, may not be familiar to ail, it may be well to mention a few; 

 not that they are to be copied by us, (for if there were no other 

 reason, it were enough that they cannot and do not grow Indian 

 corn,) but useful hints may be gathered. The system most in favor 

 there, on good and light lands, is the one known as the Norfolk 

 rotation. In this, nearly half the land is carefully and richly kept 

 in permanent pasture, and the rest, or the arable land, is cultivated 

 in a four field course, viz. : first year, roots, chiefly turnips ; second, 

 ■wheat; third, clover, or clover and grass ; fourth, barley. By this 

 rotation, nearly or quite double the crops are obtained as were 

 yielded by the old f ishioned mode. The starting point, and, in fact, 

 the pivot of the system is the turnip crop, with its treatment, and 

 the amount of manure yielded by its consumption. No pains are 

 spared upon it, and to it is given almost all their manure. Thus it 

 insures the crops following it, and produces largely of meat, avooI, 

 milk, &c. 



