CONTINUOUS CROPPING ROTATIONS 203 



not be at the mercy of the elements — crops also, the 

 culture and sowing of which can be undertaken at a 

 time of the year when rain does not hang up the whole 

 of the tillage work, but instead helps on tillage opera- 

 tions. On hilly land where, as often happens, there 

 are wide stretches of fairly level land, the previous 

 rotation mentioned will be found very suitable, but in 

 the absence of these small plateaux, or where rainfall 

 is very high, a far better mountain farm rotation 

 would be as follows: — 



1st Year. — Summer sown rye crop to provide 

 winter pasture. 



2nd Year. — Summer sown " winter greens." 



3rd Year. — Spring sown vetches and grass seeds 



made into hay in July, the aftermath grazed in 



autumn. 



4th and 5th Years. — Grass seeds with rape for graz- 

 ing. (Rape Pasture.*) 



In this rotation, the object aimed at is to dispense 

 with, as far as possible, the necessity of harvesting 

 any of the crops. The only crop harvested are vetches 

 sown in the third year and, if necessary, the first 

 cutting of the seeds hay in the 4th year may also be 

 harvested. One of the crops or a portion of each 

 should be made into ensilage as a standby during 

 bad weather, say a snow storm, when green food, 

 although existing in plenty, cannot be consumed. 

 The rest of the harvest will be done by the grazing 

 animals, and the best type of grazing animal for this 

 type of farm and the system of cropping is, of .course, 

 the sheep. All the green crops are consumed where 

 grown, the sheep being folded on them. 



* See " Continuous Cropping and Tillage Dairy Farming for Small 

 Farmers " for details. Pearson's. Price 2/6 net. 



