CHAPTER VIII 



Succesaon and Double Cropping 



Succession cropping, as it is commonly understood 

 in garden practice, consists simply in following one 

 crop closely after another, in this manner securing 

 continuous cropping throughout the entire grow- 

 ing season. 



Double cropping consists in starting more than 

 one crop on the land at the same time, while in suc- 

 cession cropping one crop is usually removed before 

 another is started. In common practice, however, 

 succession and double cropping overlap, and it is 

 difficult to draw a fast line between them. By the 

 practice of these methods no loss of space oc- 

 curs, the soil is continuously occupied, there 

 is greater economy in the tillage operations, and 

 much larger total yields and profits per acre are 

 made possible. Upon the other hand, these methods 

 make heavy drains upon the available plant food 

 and moisture content of the soil, both of which must 

 be supplied in unusually large quantities in order to 

 make the plans successful. While there is great 

 saving in the ordinary tillage operations, much ad- 

 ditional hand labor is called for, especially by double 

 cropping. It is to be remembered also that while 

 double cropping greatly increases the total yields 

 per acre in a given season, it is hardly to be ex- 

 pected that the yield per acre of any one of the 

 crops will be as large as if it had been grown 

 entirely by itself. As a matter of fact, the com- 

 mercial gardener's success is largely measured by 



