86 



L(jis- Wccdon Wheat- Groiciru, 



crop produced at a total outlay of 5/. 10s, per acre, but the land 

 is siniultaiicouslij fallowed and cleaned in readiness for the third 

 years mixed cropping. The stripe-wlieat relieves the green crop 

 of its old burdensome duty of cleaning the land for succeeding 

 crops ; and no part of the 100 acres will have to undergo the 

 usual long processes of winter and spring fallowing. Hence 

 the expenses on such a crop of roots would be far less heavy than 

 in the common way. 



An illustration of the proposed system is afforded by the 

 following diagrams : — 



First Year. 



Second Year. 



Third Year. 



The parallelogram represents 300 acres, divided into twelve 

 fields of 25 acres each. Suppose that the miscellaneous cropping 

 occupies the four fields in column a for the first year, in column 

 c for the second year, and in column h for the third year, the 

 rotation travelling over the farm from right to left, V T may be 

 25 acres of vetches followed by turnips ; S will be 25 acres of 

 swedes ; M, 25 acres of mangold ; and P, 25 acres of pulse-corn. 

 The turnips may be succeeded by B\ barley ; and the swedes by 

 O', oats, both these crops to be sown in 3-row stripes (taking the 

 place of wheat, for the first two years of stripe-culture). The 

 mangold and peas or beans may be followed by stripe-wheat W^ 

 In the third year these four fields (B\ 0\ W, W) will bear the 

 second stripe-crop of wheat, W'-^, W^, W^, W^. There will thus 

 be 150 acres of wheat and 50 acres of oats and barley each year. 

 This plan admits of winter-fed roots and early vetches, but makes 

 no provision for a clover layer. I do not know what great ob- 

 jection there may be to the scheme (of course on proper wheat- 

 land, having a due proportion of clay in its composition), for if 

 the part under stripe-corn can bring the occupier such a hand- 

 some income as I anticipate, he need not be much concerned 

 about any larger store of forage for animals. 



One important question, of course, is the practicability of exe- 

 cuting the tillage required by such an arrangement : What would 

 be the distribution of horse-labour throughout the year ? The 

 references in my memorandum-book relating to the 10 acres will 



