230 THE FIRST BOOK OF FARMING 



Each of the crops will be represented on the farm 

 each year and the yields of each crop will be better 

 than if grown continuously alone. The quality and 

 therefore the market value will be greater. Insects 

 and disease will be easier kept in control, and stock 

 will be more economically furnished with a variety 

 of foods. 



BENEFITS DERIVED FROM ROTATION OF CROPS 



Rotation of crops economizes the natural plant 

 food of the soil and also that which is applied in 

 the form of manure and fertilizer. This is because : 



Crops take food from the soil in different amounts 

 and different proportions. 



Crops differ in their feeding powers. 



Crops differ in the extent and depth to which 

 they send their roots into the soil in search of food 

 and water. 



Crops differ in the time of year at which they 

 make their best growths. 



Rotation helps to maintain or improve the texture 

 of the soil because the amount of humus in the soil 

 is maintained or increased by turning under green 

 manure and cover crops which should occur in 

 every well-planned rotation. 



Rotation helps to maintain or increase the plant 

 food in the surface soil. When crops like cpwpeas 

 or clover which take mineral food from the sub- 

 soil and nitrogen from the air, are plowed under, 

 they give up the plant food in their leaves, stems 



