CONTINUOUS CROPPING ROTATIONS 193 



tillage with just a sufficiency of corn for home require- 

 ments, instead of attempting to revive tillage on 

 purely corn-growing lines. 



This advice is equally applicable to the farmer who, 

 living in such areas, cannot for various reasons carry 

 out milk production. In such cases the fodder and 

 forage crops grown can be economically converted into 

 other animal products — beef, mutton and pork. Con- 

 versely, the farmer in lower rainfall areas would be 

 well advised for a few years at least to devote his chief 

 attention to cereal production, but at the same time 

 producing his corn on a Continuous Cropping system. 



A glance at the rainfall map given earlier will show 

 that, with the exception of a few isolated areas, the 

 rainfall in the United Kingdom increases from east to 

 west. It is at its lowest, about 20 inches, on the 

 south-east coast of England. Then along the whole 

 east coast of Scotland, the middle of the east coast of 

 Ireland, the eastern coast of England, along with a 

 fairly large area in the Midlands, the rainfall is about 

 30 inches annually. Further west in each country it 

 increases to 35 inches, and further west still it 

 increases to 40 inches, 45 inches and even 50 inches 

 annually. Again, with the exception of the south- 

 west portion of England, the greater the annual rain- 

 fall the less the number of the hours of sunshine at 

 the critical period for corn ripening, viz., July and 

 August. 



# Of equal importance is the fact that, whilst no 

 figures seem to be available on the point, the greater 

 the annual rainfall and the lower the amount of sun- 

 shine, the more moist the atmosphere and the heavier 

 the dews. Still further. Whilst the rainfall in these 

 countries generally increases from east to west, the 

 winter temperature increases from west to east. These 

 factors plainly indicate the need for basing one's 



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