loitk Horse {or Steam) Tillat/c. 79 



Had I taken the 10 acres in hand after the mamired beans instead 

 of when iclicat, and the harleij followinrj that, had lowered the con- 

 dition of the soil — so that, in ordinary course, it would liavo come 

 in for a replenishing manured root-crop — it is self-evident that I 

 must have reaped far better crops, even with the same; unfortu- 

 nate seasons. But if my four crops had not only enjoyed this 

 advantage, but had also been smiled upon by fair average 

 summers, I should indubitably have boasted of my 32 to 3(5, 

 perhaps 40 bushels per acre, instead of the pitiful average of 25;}. 

 No reasonable mind will reject this conclusion ; for my second 

 crop, in spite of its place in the rotation and the unpropitious 

 nature of the season, did yield 30 bushels per acre. It is 

 demonstrated, then, that I could have grown three or four wheat- 

 crops in annual succession that would have improved my " fair 

 profit " into something handsome ; or, in case markets had been 

 much lower than they were, would still have rewarded me with 

 that " fair profit." 



It is possible that hand-trenching by the spade to a depth of 

 18 or 20 inches, would enable my field to produce good wheat- 

 crops in perpetuity ; but as my horse tillage extended only to a 

 depth of 9 or 10 inches, and effected but a rough pulverization 

 compared with that of the fork, I did not expect a long series of 

 crops. My experiment simply proves that several paying 



WHEAT-CROPS CAN BE GROWN, ONE AFTER THE OTHER, WITHOUT 

 ANY MANURE, PROVIDED THE LAND BE IN FAIR WHEAT-GROWING 



ORDER AT THE BEGINNING. How this lesson Can be best 

 applied in farm practice, I shall consider presently. 



To test the endurance of the system still further, I ventured 

 upon another sowing ; but not being able to get to work before 

 November, I drilled rather more seed. However, the terrible 

 frost of that winter (1860-1), killed most of the plant on half the 

 field, so that it had to be ploughed up — too late, however, for 

 the attempted crop of mixed peas and oats ; while the remainder 

 was so thinned, that the crop, though left till harvest, was not 

 thought worth measuring separately. Such was the termination 

 of the experiment ; but the land was not by any means " beggared- 

 up " by my drafts upon its fecundity. For, fallowed and manured 

 for turnips in 1862, it bore a heavy and splendid crop — which 

 was, for the most part, eaten on the ground. A couple of acres 

 stood for seed in 1863 ; while the rest produced a good crop of 

 oats. These were seeded down with red clover ; the turnip-seed 

 plot was sown with winter tares ; and both clover and tares were 

 mown in 1864, yielding a very heavy crop of hay, in spite of the 

 unprecedented drought. The clover-lea is now lying unbroken 

 till the coming spring, as it may be wanted a second year to 



