112 CONTINUOUS CROPPING 



A FORTY-ACRE FARM 



On a forty-acre f arm,where circumstances are suitable. 

 Rotations B i or B 2 may be followed, each *' break '* 

 of the rotation being extended, so that it consists 

 approximately of 6 J instead of 5 acres. The circum- 

 stances, though, in which such an extension is prac- 

 ticable will be exceptional, because of the labour, 

 housing, and capital difficulties previously referred to. 

 True, the labour difficulty will not be great if lea corn 

 is grown in the first year, but it will be considerable if 

 instead of lea corn we grow potatoes. 



THE LABOUR REQUIRED 



On this question of labour it may be remarked that 

 the cropping of a thirty-acre farm on the lines recom- 

 mended in Rotation B 2, where lea potatoes are grown, 

 the feeding of the crops to the stock and the tending of 

 the stock can be managed comfortably by one man, 

 provided he has a grown youth and a woman to help 

 with the milking, calf and pig feeding, and casual 

 labour to help in the planting and picking of potatoes, 

 and at harvesting. 



If oats are grown instead of potatoes in the first year, 

 then the same labour can handle 40 acres cropped on 

 this plan. This assumes, though, that in both cases the 

 milk is sold in bulk. If retailed, or if it has to be carted 

 a long way to a station or milk depot, another boy or 

 girl is required. Also only about 20 or 24 cows are in 

 milk, the rest of the stock being dry stock and pigs. 



The matter of the available labour supply needs very 

 serious consideration in the planning out of the rota- 

 tion. For instance, the carrying out of Rotation A on a 

 twenty-acre holding will require nearly as much labour 

 as Rotation B i carried out on 30 acres of land, if in 

 j;lia formpr case practically all the food is fed to milking 



