Crop Rotation — Its Purpose and Practice 155 



weeds by annually top-dressing it liberally with commer- 

 cial fertilizers, and an occasional going over with the hay 

 rake to scatter the droppings of the animals. 



This permanent pasture will be the only part of the 

 farm needing a fence, since in most states they no longer 

 pass laws about what sort of a fence is a lawful one to 

 keep other people's stock off your land, but have gone back 

 to the sensible common-law doctrine that every one is 

 responsible for his stock and not for that of other people, 

 and that hence he is obliged to fence his cattle in, but not 

 to fence other people^s cattle out. This change has come 

 about largely from the recognition of the fact that every 

 farmer owns the fee simple to one-half the highway in 

 front of his farm, and that he has only dedicated this to 

 the public as a means for travel, but still owns whatever 

 grows on the land, and hence owns the pasturage, which 

 the pubHc has no right to use and compel him to fence 

 their straying cattle out. This abandonment of fences 

 over large sections will gradually become the rule every- 

 where, and with it must come a great improvement of 

 the cattle and live stock in general, and a more rapid im- 

 provement of the land through the abandonment of pas- 

 turing on the fields devoted to crops. 



Having the permanent pasture, the laying 

 An Improving ^q ^f ^^ ordinary farm is usually easy, es- 

 Three-year . „ , . -, .1 i i • 



Rotation pecially when we mtend to run the whole m 



but three general divisions. It may not 



always be practicable to make each section or field of 



exactly the same size, but it is desirable that they shall 



be as nearly equal as the character of the land will permit. 



We will assume that we have a field in sod, another. 



