14 FARM MANAGEMENT 



advantage of this is to lessen the labour bill, 

 as no cultivation of the land under the forage 

 crop is required ; furthermore, in the second 

 and third years more stock can be kept where 

 this is done. A five years' rotation could also 

 be made by growing roots two years running 

 and, if the forage crop remained down two or 

 three years also, a seven or eight years' rota- 

 tion results. This duplicating of the roots is 

 most beneficial on light, chalky soils, as the 

 double manuring the soil would thus get im- 

 proves the texture and gives body to such poor 

 soils. Two corn crops may also be grown in 

 succession if the land be rich enough ; in fact it 

 is often necessary to grow a corn crop between 

 a root crop and barley, because, if the roots 

 have been well-manured and also fed off on the 

 land by sheep, getting concentrated food as 

 well, the soil will be left so rich by the manure 

 and the droppings of the sheep that it would 

 cause the barley which follows to be of very 

 coarse quality, whereas it is essential that bar- 

 ley be of fine quality for malting purposes. 

 To prevent this coarseness in the barley, wheat 

 is grown first, as it can stand a rich soil with- 

 out harm, and will remove the excessive 



