40 PRINCIPLES OF RURAL ECONOMICS 



After this was discovered it was found possible to grow crops 

 for two years on the same field and let the land lie fallow 

 the third year and still preserve its fertility. This gave rise 

 to what is known as the " three-field system." Under this ar- 

 rangement the plowland was divided into three parts. A fall 

 grain (wheat or rye) would be sown on the land which had lain 

 fallow during the previous summer. In the following spring 

 the stubble of the previous year's crop of fall grain would be 

 plowed and sown to spring grain (oats or barley), and the land 

 which had grown spring grain the year before would be allowed 

 to lie fallow. Thus each field in turn would be sown one year 

 with a fall crop, the next year with a spring crop, and the third 

 year would lie fallow. This system, being somewhat more pro- 

 ductive than the two-field system, tended to displace it, though 

 very slowly in some parts. 



Lack of individual initiative. Under either of these systems 

 the individual family, while owning its land and its crops, had 

 comparatively little independence. It was compelled to follow 

 the rotation prescribed by the community, to have its crop har- 

 vested by a prescribed date in order that the cattle might be 

 turned out to pasture on the stubble, and in a multitude of other 

 ways was bound by the laws and customs of the village. Some 

 historians tell us that the .plowing was done cooperatively, with 

 large teams consisting of eight oxen, to which each family 

 contributed one or two oxen, though it is probable that no 

 uniform rule existed on this point, certainly not as to the size 

 of the teams. 



Limited number of crops. The crops grown were mainly 

 grain, that is, wheat, rye, oats, or barley. Very few fruits or 

 garden vegetables were grown by or known to the common 

 farming class. Their food was necessarily limited in variety, 

 consisting mainly of bread, porridge, milk, butter, cheese, and 

 salted meats, with eggs and poultry occasionally. Sugar was a 



