even in the most favored localities, has suffered in the course of time 

 a gradual decline. This general decline in the fertility of the soil 

 under cultivation has been ascribed, with much propriety in the 

 majority of instances, mainly to two causes, namely : 



A gradual but serious reduction in the area occupied by forage 

 crops, natural pastures and meadows ; and a marked decline in the 

 annual yield of fodder upon large tracts of lands but ill suited for a 

 permanent cuUivation of grasses— the main reliance of fodder pro- 

 duction at the time. 



A serious falling off in the annual yield of pastures and meadows 

 was followed usually by a gradual reduction in farm live stock, 

 which in turn, caused a falling off in the principal home resource of 

 manurial matter. 



This chapter in the history of farm management has repeated itself 

 in most countries. The unsatisfactory results of that system of 

 farming finds still an abundant illustration in the present exhausted 

 condition of a comparatively large area of farm lands in New 

 England. 



Careful investigations carried on during the past fifty years for the 

 particular benefit of agriculture, have not only been instrumental in 

 recognizing and pointing out the principal causes of an almost 

 universal periodical decline of the original fertility of farm lands, but 

 have also materially assisted by field experiments and otherwise in 

 introducing efficient remedies to arrest the noted decline in the annual 

 yield pf our most prominent farm crops. 



As a scanty supply of manurial matter, due to a serious falling off 

 of one of the principal fodder crops — grasses — was found to be one 

 of the chief causes of less remunerative crops, and thus indirectly 

 has proved to be the main cause of an increase in the cost of the 

 products K)f the animal industry of the faim, milk and meat, it is but 

 natural that the remedies devised should include as one of the fore- 

 most recommendations, a more liberal production of nutritious fodder 

 crops. 



The soundness of this advice is to-day fully demonstrated in the 

 most successful agricultural regions of the world. An intensive 

 system of cultivation has replaced in those localities the extensive 

 one of preceding periods ; although the area under cultivation for 

 the production of general farm crops has been reduced, the total 

 value of the products of the farm have increased materially in conse- 

 quence of a more liberal cultivation of reputed fodder crops. The 

 change has been gradual and the results are highly satisfactory. 



