94 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



ROTATION OF CROPS. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Much has been said and written on this eub- 

 ject, and not without cause ; for ofall the matters 

 which necessarily engage the mind oC the re- 

 flecting Carmer, it would be dilficult to suggest one 

 more important. Besides the ediior himseii; 

 many successful farmers and able writers have 

 expressed their views in liill on this subjeci 

 throughout the whole eyries of tiie Farmers' 

 Recrister ; for example, INlessrs. Carter, Selden, 

 VVickham, Harrison, Roy, Tabb, Braxton and 

 many others, whose names have only to be men- 

 tioned at once to arrest attention and give weight 

 to the views advanced by them respectively. 

 These gentlemen live, nearly all of them, in 

 grain- groxoing districts of old Virginia, are good 

 agriculturists, by wiiich ! mean that they not 

 only make good crops, but also yearly improve 

 their lands, and yet they advocate different sys- 

 tems of rotation of crops, varying in the number 

 of years through which the rotation passes from 

 two lo six. JNay more, the same gentleman has 

 at different times on the same land advocated 

 different systems — and still been successful. How 

 is this"? Does it prove that rotation is a matter 

 of no importance'? Not at all. It only proves 

 that diflerent soils and different situations require 

 different systems — that it would be the height of 

 lolly to make all soils and all crops bend to one 

 uniform system — and that even under a bad sys- 

 tem, good management and good cultivation 

 may and will produce satisfactory results. Let 

 it be remembered however that the converse of 

 this proposition is not always true. A good sys- 

 tem will not always counterbalance bad cultiva- 

 tion and bad management. While having an 

 eye, and a close one too, to the most important, 

 let not the farmer neglect the many smaller mat- 

 ters, which in the aggregate may not the less 

 affect immediate results. 



If so much has been written and ably written 

 too, what need of more? perhaps the reader 

 will ask. I readily answer, because the subject 

 is important, and every fact, however apparently 

 trifling, drawn from experience, connected with it, 

 is important, and one or two facts i wish to com- 

 municate, besides wishing to draw information 

 and advice from others. 



In determining on every system of rotation, a 

 few important points must be looked to. Is the 

 principal business of the farm the raising of stock 

 or growing of grain? If the latter, is the land 

 best adapted to the growth of wheat or corn 1 Is 

 the farm level or hilly ? Does the farmer enjoy 

 great facility of getting his products lo market, or 

 the reverse? And several other leading matters 

 which will readily suggest themselves. 



It is not my object to discuss at this time the 

 best rotation lor every possible variety of soil and 

 circumstance, but to call attention to that which 

 I consider best adapted to a grain -growing farm, 

 situated on tide water, adapted better to the 

 growth of corn, but capable of producing very 

 good clover and wheat. 



Such generally is my farm, but it is necessary 

 to state that it is very rolling, and that there are 

 60 acres of land very stiff and totally unfit for 

 producing corn. In fixing on my rotation, I set 

 apart these 60 acres to be divided into two fields 



to be fallowed alternately for wheat, and to be 

 kept in wheat and clover as long as they remain 

 clear of blue-grass and other pests. The re- 

 mainder of my larm I could not so readily deter- 

 mine on. When I received it, it had been culti- 

 vated for some years on the four-shift sj^slem of 

 Arator, fallowing however to a very small extent 

 each year. The portion of the field not fallow- 

 ed, by lying out so long, became excessively foul 

 with eassali-as, locust, wire-grass, and innumera- 

 ble pests of the vegetable kmgdom, so that pre- 

 paring it for the next corn crop was an Herculean 

 task. I soon found that would not do; that most 

 of my yearly labor was expended in conquering 

 a growth of pests only to be again repeated when 

 the land came again into cultivation. But what 

 to do? There was the rub. I knew that my 

 land, with my indifferent management and limited 

 means of manuring, could never stand the scourg- 

 ing system pursued with such eminent success 

 on the fine wheat soils of Westover and Shirley, 

 and under the superior management of Messrs. 

 Selden and Carter. I could not adopt the three- 

 field rotation of corn, wheat and clover ; because 

 my land was so hilly, that a hoe crop every 

 third year would soon cover it with washes and 

 gullies. Besides, I was fully convinced of the 

 great improvement to be derived from sumBoer- 

 fallowioL'', the importance of having some work 

 of this kind for the horses to do at this otherwise 

 idle season, and the great advantage of having 

 one field ready when the 10th of October (my 

 seed-time) came. I confess that having, as I 

 mentioned above, 30 acres to fallow each year, 

 I was about this time much tempted to yield to 

 the arguments of iVlr. Harrison, Mr. Tabb and 

 Mr. Roy, to whose interesting communications 1 

 would refer the reader, but was prevented by the 

 hilliness and rolling nature of my land. I have 

 no sort of doubt that the system which they so 

 ably recommend is the one best adapted to most 

 of lower Virginia, which is generally level and 

 better fitted for corn than for wheat culture. The 

 consideration that corn is a very certain, and wheat 

 a very uncertain crop, deservedly had much 

 weight. 



Being driven from the three and also from the 

 four-field rotation, I next very naturally turned my 

 attention to a five-field system. I was the more re- 

 conciled to this, because about this time I heard 

 that Mr. Harrison was thinking of abandoning 

 his favorite three-field for the Ibur-field system, 

 and that Messrs. Selden and Carter were medi- 

 tating a change from their boasted Ibur-field rota- 

 tion to one of five fields. These gentlemen are 

 our Cokes and Blackstonee, in matters of agricul- 

 ture, on lower James river, and I must be ex- 

 cused for adducing them as authority so often. 

 A five-field system was then the thing. The 

 best arrangement for five fields of which I had 

 heard was that pursued successfully by Mr. Wick- 

 ham, viz., corn, wheat, clover, wheat, clover. 

 But I learned from Mr. Harrison that under this 

 arrangement my farm would become foul — one of 

 the principal objects I had in view in abandoning 

 my old system (Aralor's four-field.) A second 

 objection was that the clover, on the authority of 

 Mr. Selden, would most likely fail after the fallow 

 crop of wheat. A third and very serious one 

 was that if the crop of clover preceding the corn 

 was closely grazed it would be rendering the earth 

 close and compact, which was much to be re- 



