178 ON ROTATION OF CROPS. 



Mrs. B. These crops consist of plants whose roots 

 require a great deal of nourishment, such as peas, beans, 

 turnips, potatoes, and carrots ; and, if sown thick, the 

 soil would not afford a sufficient supply. 



Emily. Yet the weeds which spring up between these 

 plants must rob the soil of a part of its nourishment. 



Mrs. B. They do so, but only temporarily ; for the 

 dead weeds, after hoeing, return to the soil in the form 

 of manure. The advantage of hoeing is not confined to 

 the destruction of weeds : it loosens the earth so as to 

 admit the air, turns it over, and heaps it around the roots 

 of the plants cultivated. 



As hoed crops stand in need of a great deal of manure, 

 they should precede grain, which also requires manure to 

 ripen the seed ; arid it is from the sale of grain, raised 

 under these advantageous circumstances, that the culti- 

 vator will derive his profit. 



It must be recollected, also, that the more the green 

 crops are increased, the greater is the number of cattle 

 you are enabled to feed, and, therefore, the more consid- 

 erable is the stock of manure. It is very remarkable, and, 

 however paradoxical it may appear, is nevertheless true ; 

 that, since the introduction of assolements, meadows di- 

 minish whilst cattle increase, and corn-fields diminish 

 whilst grain increases. These miracles are performed by 

 the artificial grasses, and the leguminous and other green 

 crops, which not only prepare the earth for grain by their 

 exudations, but enrich it by their remains ; which leave 

 no space for weeds, and supply abundant food for cattle. 



Caroline. And what is reckoned to be the due propor- 

 tion of corn to meadow land in a farm ? 



Mrs. B. The distribution of a farm should be so ar- 

 ranged that the several portions should mutually contrib- 

 ute to each other's advantage. The farmer should aim 

 at raising every year the same quantity of produce : for 

 though it is true that the vicissitudes of seasons render 



976. Why are not these crops sown so thick as to prevent the growth 

 of weeds'? 977. What prevents weeds springing up between the plants 

 of these crops from impoverishing the ground 1 ? 978. Why should hoed 

 crops precede grain 1 ? 979. What fact relating to this subject seems 

 paradoxical 1 ? 980. How are these miracles as they are called per- 

 formed 1 ? 981. How should the distribution of a farm be made 1 ? 

 982. What should the farmer aim at raising 1 ? 



