502 



Continuous Wheat Growing. [Sept., 



often, as in 1892, 1893 and 1900, it has still been good in 

 spite of the big drop in the average yields for the whole 

 country. The most interesting plot for the present purpose, 

 however, is that supplied with complete artificials. For the 

 first 30 years the yield was well above that on the dunged 

 plot. It has fallen off since, but it was maintained for a 

 sufficiently long period to show that no falling off need be 

 anticipated in practice. 



The advantages of rotations are so obvious that no one would 

 advocate any general suspension, but there are, in the South of 

 England, large areas of clay land where the possibility of 

 introducing some system of continuous wheat growing in which 

 both grain and straw would be sold is a matter for serious con- 

 sideration. In such counties as Essex, Hertford and Middlesex, 

 for instance, there is a ready sale for straw. Farm buildings for 

 the winter feeding of stock are often lacking or are at best 

 inadequate, and the difficulties attached to growing roots on the 

 heaviest soils make the winter fattening of stock on ordinary 

 lines quite out of the question. The productivity of such soils 

 under wheat can be maintained for any length of time by com- 

 paratively inexpensive dressings of artificial manure, and 

 autumn is the one season in which it is safe to rely on being 

 able to sow any crop. The only real difficulty lies in keeping 

 the land clean and in getting through the necessary cultivation 

 in the short period between the harvesting of one crop and the 

 sowing of the next. To overcome both these difficulties it is 

 practically essential to be able to command steam tackle. If 

 this is available as soon as harvest is over, the autumn cultiva- 

 tion presents no special difficulty in an average season, and by 

 its aid any fallowing which may be required is cheaply and 

 effectively performed. 



With proper management a really bare fallow will seldom 

 be necessary. As the land shows signs of becoming too foul 

 for autumn treatment to suffice, clover may be sown down in the 

 wheat and cut for hay early in the following season. An alterna- 

 tive plan is to sow crimson clover or winter oats and vetches in 

 autumn. In either case the hay or silage crop will be cleared 

 by the beginning of July, and the land may then be half 

 fallowed. 



A crop of beans sown in rather wide rows, say 30 inches, and 

 cleaned by horse and hand hoeing, answers the same purpose 

 in a different way. 



A modification of the system referred to is already practised 



