i ga On a- SukaMe Aotattott of CropK Aug. 



mention fome of the moft approved fyftems ; to fay a few things 

 with regard to their peculiar excellences •, and, laftly, to recom- 

 mend 3 change of fyflem in the fame farm, on the very plaufible 

 hypothefis, that ' nature delights in variety. * 



I flnll begin with one fyftem of cropping, which, in my opi- 

 nion (wheie foil and climate are favourable), comes as near per- 

 fection, as any that can be adopted. It is pra6lifed very general- 

 ly in this couiUy, on deep loams near the fea coaft, where the 

 turnip crop forms a part of the rotation ; and likewife by fome 

 good farmers, on fuch foils as indifpenfably require fummer-fal- 

 low in place of turnips. The fyftem I mean is as follows : ift, 

 Summer-fallow, or turnips, according to the foil : 2d, Barley : 

 3d, Grafs : 4th, Oats ; 5th, Drilled beans, or peas : 6th, "Wheat, 

 which finifhes the rotation. It may be obje6led to this method 

 of cropping, that by placing the mod valuable of all grain crops, 

 to wit^ wheat, in the back ground, and barley, the mod preca- 

 rious, and now the lead advantageous of all white crops, in front, 

 the cultivator will thereby derive lefs profit, than by reverfmg 

 this pra6tice •, or rather by rejedting barley altogether, and mak- 

 ing a crop of wheat to fucceed both fallow or turnips, and like- 

 wife the bean or peas crop. It mud be admitted, that this objec- 

 tion has peculiar weight, now when barley does not hold its u- 

 fual place in the fcale of prices : But it is to be hoped, that either 

 fomething will be done by our Icgiflators to remedy this evil ; or, 

 like fome other evils in political economy, it will work its own 

 cure. Indead, therefore, of attempting to combat this objection, 

 I will proceed to point out fome of the excellences of this rota- 

 tion. The mod prominent certainly is, the equal didribution of 

 farm labc-ur ; fo that the fowing of each kind of grain follows 

 another in regular fuccelTion, thereby enabling the farmer to 

 execute all his operations in the bed dyle. When a crop of 

 wheat is invariably taken after fummer-fallow or turnips, it will 

 often happen, from the poaching of the turnip-land, and its not 

 being in all fcafons pradicable to pulverife the foil fufficiently, 

 by repeated ploughings for the recepdon of grafs-feeds, that a 

 failure of the grafs crop will frequently be the confequence : 

 whereas, by fowing barley in place of wheat, the farmer will 

 have fuflicient time to beftow fo much labour as Is necefTary to 

 correal the evil, and to prepare a proper bed for the tender roots 

 of the grafs-feeds -, and thus, a dc rangement of his plans will be 

 prevented — a matter of no fmall importance In agriculture. A- 

 gain, on clay foils, it will not fcldom happen that, on accoant of 

 wet fummers, the farmer will be prevented from working his fal- 

 lows fo completely, as to enable him to fow winter wheat with 

 propriety, if he means to fcUow liis ufual rotation^ in which 



cafej 



