ENGLISH AGRICULTURE. 139 



the usual position of the fodder crop being previous to the 

 root crop. The following rotation is practised in many dis- 

 tricts in the south of England, especially where sheep-farming 

 is a principal object; first year roots, second year barley, 

 third year clover, fourth year wheat or oats, fifth year winter 

 rye, barley, or oats fed on the land, and followed with roots fed, 

 sixth year barley, seventh year clover, and eighth year wheat. 

 Such a system of farming as this, in which fodder crops pre- 

 cede turnips, must be followed only on. the lighter classes of 

 soils, because it precludes the possibility of exposure to the 

 winter's frost, so that stiff land treated in this way would 

 probably plough up tough and leathery, and it would be difficult 

 to bring it into the right condition for roots, whereas light 

 sandy ground breaks up readily after this cultivation, and 

 is speedily got into a fine enough condition for the sowing 

 of the root crops. The system must always be restricted 

 principally to the south of England, for two reasons. First, 

 in the north of England the fodder crop would not be 

 ready early enough. In the north of England turnips must 

 be sown earlier than in the south, so that the two crops 

 will not fit together as they do in the south. There is also 

 a third consideration which ought to be remembered with 

 reference to fodder crops ground ought to be clean. Notice, 

 there is not much opportunity in this rotation for cleaning 

 operations. The land is for ever under crop, and there is 

 never any lengthened period during which we may set to 

 work cleaning it. My own experience of this system, as 

 practised in a southern county on a proper soil for the 

 purpose, is that it is difficult to keep the ground perfectly 

 clean under it. You never can preserve that perfect 

 cleanness of ground expressed by the statement that 



"Mr. has not a barrowful of couch on the whole of 



his farm." We cannot do that, but I also believe that it^ 

 prevents the land from becoming very foul. The ground 



