92 
distinctly marked, according to their exposure, 
ROTATION 
depth, composition, &c., the farmer should vary 
his cultivation in conformity to these differences, 
and adopt for each kind of soil the course of 
crops to which it is best suited. The wants of 
his own particular locality, the greater or less 
facility in getting his products to market, and 
the relative value of different crops, should also 
influence him in forming his plans of cultivation. 
In England, and in some of the northern coun- 
tries of continental Europe, barley is made fre- 
quently to recur in a course of crops, for the 
reason that in these countries there is a sure and 
constant demand for this kind of grain, to supply 
their numerous breweries. In Belgium, on the 
borders of the Rhine, and in Russia, rye is very 
extensively cultivated, since the immense dis- 
tilleries in these countries, and the feeding of a 
multitude of animals upon the remains of the 
grain, and other refuse matter furnished by these 
establishments, secure to it a certain and profita- 
ble sale. The culture, again, of plants made use 
of for the colouring matter which they contain, 
as woad and madder, is more advantageous in 
the neighbourhood of large dyeing establishments, 
than in countries where there is no consumption 
of these articles. In France, where the abun 
dance and the low prices of wine hold out no 
prospect of an extensive demand for malt liquors, 
and where most of the people are accustomed to 
live chiefly upon bread made of wheat, this par- 
ticular grain is cultivated in preference wherever 
it can be made to grow, while only the inferior 
soils are appropriated to the other kinds. There 
is still another consideration which should be 
well weighed by the farmer, before he decides 
upon his course of crops; and that is, that al- 
though his soil may be well adapted to a par- 
ticular culture, his interest may, nevertheless, 
be opposed to the pursuit of it. The more abun- 
_ dant a commodity is, the more reduced it will 
be in price; and those articles should always be 
cultivated in preference, which will command 
the readiest sale, and afford the most remunerat- 
ing returns. When, too, any product is not ex- 
pected to be consumed upon the spot, the ex- 
pense of its transportation to a market must be 
considered, and the facility with which it may 
be disposed of. The landed proprietor should 
first make liberal provision for his domestic ani- 
mals, and his household, and the labourers on 
his estate, before he thinks of raising any surplus 
products to be sent abroad. He will therefore 
so arrange his system of husbandry that his lands 
shall at all times present such a variety of crops, as 
will ensure subsistence to all employed in or im- 
mediately dependant upon their cultivation. The 
intelligent agriculturist will likewise endeavour 
as much as possible to diminish the labour and 
expense of transport, in the culture and manage- 
ment of such of his lands as are remote from his 
dwelling ; and with this object, he will cultivate 
in preference on lands so situated, either crops 
ere erve e a  R EE N A T 
/nips, in the room of the fallow; and one of the 
OF CROPS. 
of fodder and roots that may be consumed by 
| his animals upon the spot, or such herbaceous or 
other plants as may be converted into manure, 
by being turned into the soil. He should be 
careful also, in the treatment of such of his lands 
as are of a light and open character, and at the 
same time so situated as to have a considerable 
descent, to cultivate on them such plants only as 
will cover the surface with their numerous leaves, 
and the roots of which will bind together every 
part of the soil, so that it shall be protected as 
well from being washed away by the rains, as 
from being dried up by the intense heat of the 
gun.” In districts, too, which are advantage- 
ously situated for obtaining abundance of cheap 
manure, such as the neighbourhoods of many 
sea-ports and large towns, more frequent crops 
of the cereal grasses and of other very exhaust- 
ing plants may be profitably raised than in dis- 
tricts where extraneous manure is either scarce 
or dear; and in the latter districts, on the other 
hand, crops of inferior market value may often 
be more profitably raised with such manure as 
can be obtained within the limits of the farm 
than crops of superior market value with manure 
either purchased from without or withheld from 
other fields. 
in a rotation, likewise, ought to be mainly con- 
trolled by the same considerations which deter- 
mine the aggregate character of the rotation 
itself; for wheat, for example, may be profitably 
raised on every alternate year on some rarely 
rich soils, or every third year on very rich com- 
pact loams, and yet not oftener than in every 
fourth or every fifth year on moderately good 
loams, and never at all on inferior loams in the 
best districts or on good loams in remote situa- 
tions. The profitable or most suitable duration 
of lea, also, in every system of rotation which 
alternates a period of grass with a course of ara- 
tion, must be determined by a variety of con- 
siderations, such as the goodness and prolonged 
luxuriance of the pasture, the market price of 
live stock, the proportional profit of grazing as 
compared to that of tillage, and the comparative 
cheapness and abundance of lime, marl, police- 
manure, and other extraneous fertilizers. See 
the articles Grass-Lanps and FauLow. 
The oldest rotation known is called the three- 
field system, and was practised all over Europe cen- 
turies before the principle of rotations was recog- 
nised, and seems even to have been in use among 
the ancient Romans; and consisted of fallow, 
autumn-sown wheat or rye, and spring-sown oats 
or barley,—every farm or tract of arable land 
subjected to it, even when held in commonage 
by many proprietors or many tenants, being 
divided into three parts, one of which was in 
fallow, one in winter corn, and one in spring 
corn. Some of the earliest improvements on 
the three-field system consisted in the introduc- 
tion of green crops, particularly clover and tur- 
The frequency of any prime crop. 
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