lo Aug., 1912.] \\'//c-ci/ and its C iiUivatioii. 463 



likfly to increase unless legumes, such as trefoil and clover, regularly appear 

 in the pasture. As with the three course rotation the labour difificulty is reduced 

 to a minimum. The area of wheat actually in crop will be smaller than 

 i[ the former rotation were practised, but the number of sheep that may 

 be safeh kejjt on the farm will be much greater than with the correspond- 

 ing three-course rotation. These may be regarded as the prevailing rota- 

 tions at present in \-ogue in the wheat areas, and it will be seen that they 

 fit in well with the existing economic conditions in the wheat areas. 



From time to time various forage crops, such as peas, rape, rye and \etches, 

 barlev. &c., have been grown in more or less regular rotation with wheat 

 and barefallow in the drier areas, and the results have been such as to 

 lender it extremelv probable that these crops will play an important part' 

 in the future of wheat growing, more especially as the laml) industry is 

 now lirmlv established. Many individual cases are on record where 

 farmers have been strikingly successful in combining the cultivation of 

 these crojjs with that of wheat to the great benefit of the latter. As yet. 

 however, no regular and definite rotation of forage crops with wheat and 

 barefallow has lie^n applied to anv consideral)le area of the wheat belt 

 proper. In this direction there is scope for much useful experimental 

 work. A systematic test of different rotations of forage crops, with cereals 

 and barefallow, extending over a sufficient period of years to eliminate the 

 error effect of season and climate, would pro\ide data of very material 

 value for deciding the merits of different rotations, for the drier districts. 

 and would indicate whether it is possible to get more than one crop in three 

 years or one crop in four years. 



The fundamental weakness of alternate cropping and barefallowing 

 was seen to be the depletion of the organic content of the soil. It is only 

 \\ hen the .soil is rich in organic matter that the highest yields may be 

 obtained from barefallowing. and the feeding oft' of forage crops, grown 

 in systematic rotation with wheat, provides the grower with a means of 

 preventing the depletion of the organic content of his .soil. The grow- 

 ing and feeding down of forage crops should, therefore, be made to sup- 

 plement barefallowing, and the problem to solve is "What are the best 

 forage crops to grow in drv districts, and what should be their position 

 in a rotation? " 



This can only be determined bv svstematic experimentation, i.e.. by try- 

 ing all possible combinations of forage crops, barefallowing and wheat, and 

 determining accuratelv the monetary net return from each possil)le com- 

 liination. A modest eft'ort has been made this season at Rutherglen to 

 test the merits of different systems of crop rotation for wheat. These 

 will probal)ly l)e extended next season, and pr;:vision made for tests under 

 drier conditions than Rutherglen. For the present .season the following 

 rotations have been laid down: — 



(i) Wheat and barefallow. alternatelv. 



(2) Wheat, pasture, barefallow. 



(3) Wheat, oats, pasture, barefallow. 



(4) Wheat, rape, fallow. 



(5) Wheat, non-leguminous forages, leguminous forages. 



(6) Wheat, forage crops, alternate!}. 



(7) Wheat, forage crops, fallow. 



(8) Wheat, forage crops, barlev or oats, legumes. 



(9) Wheat, rape or kale, barley or oats, rye and vetches mixed. 



(10) Wheat, non-leguminous forage crop, leguminous forage crop, 



l;)arlev, fallow. 



(11) Wheat, oats, green manure. 



