ROTATION OF CROPS 



are styled by some the "old" and "new" agri- 

 cultures. 



Under the old system, an occasional year of 

 fallowing was relied upon to rest the ground and 

 renew the plant food in the soil, so that in the 

 succeeding year a larger yield could be obtained 

 than if the land had been cropped continuously. 



Fallowing, although of benefit in some respects, 

 is wasteful in two ways. The land of course is 

 yielding no income in the idle year; here there 

 is a loss of interest on capital. And then, too, as 

 I am persuaded, there is always more or less waste 

 and loss of plant food going on from any soil that 

 is left exposed to the sun and rain during the 

 summer months. At least two and often three 

 crops in a year with constant tilth (including, with 

 other benefits to the soil, the suppression of all 

 weeds and wild growth) represent the "new" 

 method. It is decidedly in contrast with the old 

 at all points and seems at all points to have the 

 advantage of it. 



The correct theory of rotation proposes, while 

 making immediate use of the plant food already 

 in the soil, at the same time to prepare the soil for 

 producing the other crops that are next to follow. 



[45] 



