132 



FARMERS' REGISTER— THE FOUR SHIFT SYSTEM 



THE FOUR SHIFT SYSTEM 



The best rotation for James River lands, or any 

 good wheat and corn soils. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Reiri.strr. 



I imagine no one will deny that tlic best rota- 

 tion of crops is that which yields the greatest pro- 

 fit to the larmev, and at the same time enables 

 him to improve his land the most rapidly. The 

 great object is to combine both projit and improve- 

 ment. By some systems, you may improve faster 

 than by the above, but then you make much less 

 profit; and by none, in a series of years, will you 

 make more profit with the same improvement. 



I think I cannot establish the above theory in a 

 more satisfactory manner than by giving a concise 

 account of the system practised on a James river 

 farm for the last seventeen years, with what suc- 

 cess I leave the reader to judge, irom the product. 

 In the year 1816, 1 came to live on Shirley, a farm 

 of nine hundred acres, — six hundred and fifty 

 of which were cleared, and which had been in the 

 hands of overseers for many years previous, who 

 cultivated it on the old fashioned system of three 

 shifts — that is to say, the first year in corn, se- 

 cond in wheat, and third in pasture — the most rui- 

 nous system that could be invented, taking into 

 consideration the shallow ploughing, and Avaste of 

 manure, or almost total disuse of it. By this sys- 

 tem, the farm was so much impoverished, that it 

 barely supported itself two years out of the 

 three, when the two best fields were cultivated ; 

 and the third year, they had to bring corn to sup- 

 port it from other lands at a distance. The whole 

 farm was covered with galls. I merely mention 

 these things to prove the im})Overished state of 

 the land. 



I will also state the crops reported to have been 

 made previous to my coming here to live. From 

 twelve hundred to fifteen hundred bushels of w heat, 

 (sometimes not merchantable,) and four hundred 

 to six hundred barrels of corn on either of the best 

 shifts of two hundred acres each, was considered 

 great cropping by the overseers; and seven hun- 

 dred to one thousand bushels of wheat, and three 

 hundred to four hundred barrels of corn on the 

 third shift of two hundred and fifty acres, was con- 

 sidered still better, as that was the poorest. This 

 was about six or seven bushels of wheat, and two 

 or three barrels of corn to the acre, on the best 

 fields, and much less on the poorest : so that it 

 may be supposed the land must have been very 

 much exhausted, and the management very bad. 

 When I first came home to live I knew nothing 

 of agriculture, and for the first three years conti- 

 nued the three shift system. But I soon saw that 

 the overseer knew little or nothing of his trade, 

 and what little he did know, did not practise ; so 

 that I dismissed him as soon as his term expired, 

 and employed, tor 1817, a man who was industri- 

 ous, and one of the best corn makers in the slate, 

 (having been all his life in the great corn country 

 on the Pamunkey.) From him I learnt how to 

 make corn, but he knew nothing of wheat, clover 

 and plaster, or any of the present modes of im- 

 provement. However, by the aid of good plough- 

 ing, and collecting all the manure which had been 

 neglected for years on the farm, he made a better 

 crop of corn on the poorest shift, than had been 

 made for many years back, even on the best. He 

 made eight hundred barrels. His crop of wheat 



in 1818, following this crop of corn, was indiffer- 

 ent, (l)eing still on the three shift system,) only 

 eleven hundred and fifty bushels. I saw that there 

 was something wrong about this system, and Ijegan 

 to read a little on the subject of agriculture, and 

 soon discovered that the three shift system was to- 

 tally wrong ; and although I sowed clover and plas- 

 ter, it would not answer. At the same time that I 

 began to read on the subject of agriculture, I went 

 frequently to visit my good friend John G. Mcsby, 

 who then lived in Curies' Neck on James river, 

 and to whom lower Virginia, or at least lower 

 James river, is more indebted than to any other 

 man in the state, for the introduction of clover and 

 plaster, and the fallow system — the three forming 

 the sheet anchor on a farm ; for when all seems to be 

 lost, they will save the ship. 



From my friend J. G. M. (who, by the by, was 

 one of the best farmers in the state,) I olitained a 

 great deal of useful information ; and in the fall of 

 1818, adopted the four shift system, by throwing 

 out the poorest field of two hundred and fifty acres, 

 and making a standing pasture of it, and cultivat- 

 ing the other two shifts in four fields of one hun- 

 dred acres each, instead of two, of two hundred 

 acres each. Thischange required annually one field 

 of one hundred aciesincorn, a second in wheat after 

 corn, a third in clover, and a fourth in wheat on a 

 clover fallow : and the succession of crops on each 

 separate field was in the foregoing order, of 1st, 

 corn — 2d, wheat — 3d, clover — 4th, wheat. The 

 standing pasture prevented the necessity of graz- 

 ing the cultivated part of the farm, except occa- 

 sionally. The eflect was like magic. The crop 

 of wheat after the clover fallow, in 1819, was 3715 

 bushels, (which I carried to New York, and got 

 a high price for.) The crop of corn was tolerable, 

 being four hundred and eighty seven barrels. I now 

 got fully info the clover, plaster and fallow system, 

 and will now state the amount of crops, the sea- 

 sons, the success, and failures, causes, &c. &c. and 

 by way of fair comparison, Avill begin with 1816, 

 the year I began farming. 



Table of crops made upon the three shift rotation. 



RE3IARKS. 



[^] Wheat nearly destroyed by rust this year : 



there was enough straw for four thousand bushels. 



[-] Wheat again nearly destroyed by rust — 



