THE CINCINNATUS. 



Ml. FEBRUAEY 1, 1856. o^To. 2, 



ROTATION OF CROPS. 



A PROPER rotation of crops, suitable for the different descriptions of soil, 

 is a subject of the first importance to the practical agriculturist, and one 

 upon which the profits of the farmer, and the continued sustentation of 

 his farm, depend, more than any other. 



It will be found difficult to lay down a system of rotation adapted 

 uniformly to every soil, or a rotation for any one soil, which will be alike 

 applicable in all cases. Much must be left to the judgment and experi- 

 ence of the cultivator, while something depends on climate, something 

 upon the market value of particular products, and other local and attend- 

 ant circumstances. The reasons for a rotation of crops are based upon 

 facts furnished from experience, and clearly established on scientific 

 principles. It is found, that in continuing to grow the same kind of crop 

 for a succession of years, the properties of the soil necessary to the matu- 

 ring that crop will become exhausted, and the elements of nutrition so 

 far removed, or rendered unhealthful, as to make it incapable of produ- 

 cing any other remunerative crop. Science demonstrates the fact that by 

 a proper rotation the elements suited to one kind of grain or vegetable 

 will be restored, at the same time that another kind of grain or vegetable 

 is being matured. The process appears to be this, that a portion of the 

 juices which are absorbed by the roots of plants is, after the salutiferous 

 portions have been extracted by the vessels of the plant, again thrown 

 out by exudation from the roots, and deposited in the soil. 



The existence of this exuded matter, which may be regarded as the 

 feces of the particular plant or vegetable grown, must certainly prove 

 VOL. I. NO. II. — 5. ■ (Cd) 



