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Massachusetts, it is called good 

 husbandry, to plant Indian corn 

 the first jear after ground is 

 broken up ; to sow rye, wheat, 

 oats, or barley, the second year ; 

 and lay it down with clover. Af- 

 ter two or three crops of clover are 

 taken off, the land is broken up 

 again, and managed as before. 



But in the counties of Cum- 

 berland and Lincoln, in Maine, 

 this course would not answer so 

 well. Indian corn is not found 

 to be the most beneficial crop 

 for the first year, in this climate. 

 It will be backward, and in dan- 

 ger of not ripening well, un- 

 less it be on a sandy spot, with, a 

 southern exposure. And when land 

 is broken up, it will not be subdu- 

 ed enough to lay down for grass so 

 soon as the third year, on account 

 of the toughness of the sward. — 

 But when laid down, it may lie six 

 or seven years before it will need 

 breaking up again ; for the lands 

 are so natural to grass, that the 

 crops will continue to be good. 



An eligible course of crops in 

 these northern counties may be, 

 pease, oats, or potatoes, the first 

 year; Indian corn, much dunged, 

 the second ; barley, or rye, the 

 third ; and the fourth, herdsgrass 

 and clover mixed, and so on to the 

 tenth. As the clover diminishes, 

 the herdsgrass will increase, which 

 is a more valuable grass for fod- 

 der. But every judicious farmer 

 must judge for himself in these 

 matters. Soils differ so greatly, 

 even in fields which lie contiguous, 

 that the course of crops which is 

 suitable for one, would be unsuita- 

 ble for another. Change of crops 



is no new doctrine among farmers. 



" Repeated observations convin- 

 ced the Romans, that besides the 

 alternate resting of the land, wheat 

 may, as Pliny observes, be sown 

 after lupines, vetches, beans, or 

 any other plant which has the 

 quality of fertilizing and enriching 

 the soil. A judicious change of 

 crops is of great importance in the 

 common tillage husbandry, as it 

 enables the farmers to save the ex- 

 pence and loss of a crop, in the 

 fallow year ; and to conquer his 

 great enemies, the weeds, by at- 

 tacking them at diflferent seasons 

 of the year, and in different peri- 

 ods of their growth ; especially 

 when the intermediate crops are 

 hoed, as those of pease and beans ; 

 fur the repeated hoeings, not only 

 destroy the weeds, but also very 

 much enrich the land. Tiie benefit 

 of changing crops appears to arise 

 from these circntnstances, rather 

 than from any different food that 

 the several crops are supposed to 

 extract from the soil.'' Complete 

 Farmer. 



CHANGE OF SEEDS. One 

 of the most important, and still un- 

 settled questions is, whether fre- 

 quent and regular changes of seed, 

 from different soils, climates, and 

 fields, are necessary, or at least im- 

 portant for the attainment of good 

 crops. While some contend that 

 such, changes are necessary, and 

 proceed to assign certain philoso- 

 phical reasons, which are much 

 less satisfactory than a very few 

 examples would be ; others, among 

 whom might be mentioned the de- 

 servedly celebrated Mr. Cooper, 

 of New-Jersey, maintain that no 



