254 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ pril 7, 1832. 
ROTATION OF CROPS. 
Gardeners may be precluded from paying as much attention 
to a systematic rotation of crops as the farmers do, yet a change of 
crop is a main point of good management in gardening as well as in 
farming, no other means having such beneficial influence on the 
economical cultivation of the soil. Alternate cropping is a con¬ 
vertible system, and as such lessens the necessity of manuring, for, 
as pointed out by Sir Humphrey Davy, the whole of the manure is 
employed either on the immediate crop or on those which follow, 
for each plant draws a nourishment from the soil peculiar to 
itself, so what is not appropriated by one remains as support for 
another crop. But the crops must be diverse, for the principle is 
that after the land has nourished one crop another of a difEerent 
kind may succeed, whereas it would be uncertain to follow any 
given crop with another of the same kind, because the preceding 
crop has extracted the substance peculiar to it from the soil in such 
quantity as to render it unable to support a succeeding one of the 
same sort. In practice, therefore, it is essential to economical 
production to alternate crops, and seek the restoration of the 
peculiar substance extracted by a given crop, so as to admit of its 
profitable growth a second time by such mechanical and chemical 
changes in the constituent particles of the soil as may arise from 
the cultivation of another different crop or crops rather than strive 
to effect it by manuring, which is uncertain and costly. Thus 
relief is sought in a judicious arrangement of crops, and the soil so 
relieved produces successionally crops of different habits and con¬ 
stitutions in the most perfect manner at the least expenditure in 
manures. This is the first great principle in the economical culti¬ 
vation of the soil, and rests on the foundation that a balance is 
thereby maintained amongst the food elements in the soil. Each 
crop takes up its particular food, and, as different crops require 
different sustaining elements, every crop in a well arranged rotation 
receives its essential foods in full quantity without prejudice to a 
succeeding one, whilst the land is left in no worse heart, but 
actually in better condition than at the commencement of the 
rotation. The convertible system of cultivation is also economical 
in labour, cleaning the land and improving its condition. 
When a person acquires land his first aim is to make it fit to 
nourish some crop—generally roots, and he applies manure only 
just sufficiently decayed as to be workable. Fermentation ensues ; 
it may be inappreciable, but the decay proceeds and produces 
heat, which assists the germination of the seed and the growth 
of the plant. The manure is only partly exhausted, and the 
soil very little by the root crop. The allotment holder follows 
it with Barley, and this crop receives the soluble parts of the still 
decaying manure, deriving therefrom sufficient support. If the 
holder has a cow grass seeds may be sown with the Barley, and 
then the grasses—Rye Grass and Clover—remain, which take a 
minimum of matter from the soil, though consuming substances of 
little value to other crops ; for these plants, especially Clover, 
derive a considerable amount of nutriment from the atmosphere, 
and when turned under at the end of the course the decay of their 
roots and leaves affords manure for a Wheat crop, and the least 
soluble parts of the manure applied with the first crop are only 
then broken down, so that the phosphates fall to the exhausting 
erop—Wheat. 
The rotation is a four-course. 1, Fallow crop, roots ; Potatoes, 
Swedes, Mangold Wurtze’, Cabbage ; 2, Barley or Oats ; 3, Clover 
alone or with Rye Grass, Peas, Befjus ; 4, Wheat. This four- 
course system is a very old one, and still the best, though it is 
sometimes extended to six or eight years, and subject to modifica¬ 
tion. A Wheat crop, for instance, is taken after Potatoes, and 
Barley succeeds the Wheat, and Clover may stand two years, or 
with grass seeds longer ; but the four-course is generally practised. 
Shorter rotations have been tried, and, as a rule, given up becaiu^e 
too expensive to work, the profits not recouping the outlay. Now, 
this four-course system may seem inapplicable to gardens, though 
such is partly the case ; we may briefly examine the rotation in 
view of small holdings and allotments. 
First Year. —Fallow Crop .—The allotment or small holding 
is, as a rule, foul and exhausted. The land has not been kept clean, 
deeply stirred, and recently manured by the late occupier, so that 
a tenant enters with the land in as bad condition as it ever can be 
at the close of a four-year rotation—two courses of which are 
exhaustive ; and the first consideration in either case is deep 
stirring and cleaning. Besides that a pulpy and bulky crop is 
required as food for whatever animals the cultivator may keep — 
whether pigs, sheep, or catt’e. The land is deeply stirred, 
perennial weeds are drawn out, removed or burned, and a good 
tilth produced. Cleansing the land is an important part of good 
husbandry, and is one of the advantages of a root crop, but many 
other good things are effected, as the thorough mixing of the soil 
constituents, its aeration, and amelioration. Manure also in a 
lasting form is a principle of this crop, for rcots may not be grown 
in a paying crop without a liberal application of manure, which, as 
we have already noted, is not expended in the crop, or only so 
much of its constituents as are then available as food, leaving a 
large remainder of manorial elements for succeeding crops. Then 
the crop residues—the fibrous roots, the leaves—always some, if 
not all, and commonly some annual weeds just in the right con¬ 
dition (before seeding) for turning under as “ green ” manure are 
a source of nourishment to the next crop. Thus, root crops are 
restorative on account of the manure applied remaining partly 
unexhausted, aided by the crop residues, and are more so when the 
“ roots” are consumed by stock upon the land, for the large amount 
of crop produced is returned to the land again as manure—that is, 
the most important constituents of the roots, for a very small 
amount of manorial elements are retained by the animals. But 
there are other advantages of the fallow crop, surface hoeings—the 
working of the land at the best possible time, admitting the sun, 
air, and rain, and these never enter the soil without producing 
important changes, breaking down stubborn substances, liberating 
and assimilating plant foods, and storing them against the time 
they are needed by crops. 
The fallow crop not only cleanses the land of weeds, but the 
scarifying incidental to its culture disturbs and hinders the multipli¬ 
cation of insects, whilst the rotation is altogether antagonistic to 
the fungoid diseases and insect enemies of crops, for, when the same 
kind of crops are grown consecutively on the same ground, the 
fungi and insects infesting these particular crops have time to 
multiply and become a plague, but the variation of the crops takes 
away the food of the particular fungus and insect, so that the pests 
must die out or transfer their depredations elsewhere. Thus the 
crops are kept as little liable to infestation by destructive parasites 
as is practical by cultivation. But the fallow crop does more. It 
makes the land fitted to carry not only its own but the whole of 
the crops of the rotation. True, artificial manures have a share in 
the production of the bulky fallow crop, but the phosphatic and 
potassic elements applied are in such dissolved or easily soluble form 
as to practically aid nothing other than the root crop, whilst the 
nitrogenous substances available as food are either used by the 
crop or washed away ; yet the results are marked by greater vigour 
in the crops, simply because the rotation accords to every crop those 
elements each particularly needs. Thus all are maintained in 
vigour instead of weakened by continuously growing the same crops 
on the same land, and the sturdy plant, the healthy crop is better 
able to withstand the attacks of its peculiar fungoid ailments and 
particular insect ravages.—G. Abbey. 
(To be continned.) 
EXPERIENCE IN FREESIA CULTURE. 
Having read many interesting accounts of successful growers 
of this valuable and fragrant flower, perhaps the experience of one 
who has had failure as well as successful results may be of interest 
to those who have not yet been successful with Freesias. There 
appear to be no hard and fast lines laid down as to the proper 
time for potting the bulbs. One grower recommends potting in 
August, others in September and October, but I find the first 
week in July to be the best time for the work. We use both 
5 and 6-inch pots, also pans, always in a clean state. The compost 
we use consists of loam and leaf soil in equal parts, with a little 
cow manure added, and a good dash of silver sand, the cow manure 
forming about one-fourth part. This is rubbed through a quarter- 
inch sieve, so that it may be thoroughly mixed with the soil. 
The pots are carefully crocked, and six bulbs are placed in 5-inch 
pots, eight in 6-inch pots ; the pans are used for the smaller bulbs. 
When potted they are placed on a layer of ashes in a cool frame, 
where they remain until late in the autumn, or as long as they are 
safe from frost. We are careful not to use soil that is very wet or 
very dry. The surface is occasionally damped with a fine-rose can, 
but in no case is sufficient water given to go down to the bulbs 
(which are covered about 2 inches deep) until the grass-like 
foliage shows through the soil, then water is given more freely. 
As soon as the pots are filled with roots water is given liberally, 
also liquid manure occasionally. This is made by placing a 
quantity of horse, cow, and sheep manure, also a bag of soot, into a 
large tank of water. By the end of October the pots are so full of 
white roots that scarcely any soil can be seen when a plant is 
turned out of its pot. I notice that the roots are very fond of 
massing themselves among the crocks. We give abundance of air, 
the lights being drawn off the frame during fine days, and placed 
on again at night; and a brick is placed under the light, so as to 
give a free circulation of air all the night. By this treatment the 
foliage becomes strong and sturdy. Late in the autumn the plants 
