THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
Japanese Millet (showing Second Growth) at Upper Tambo. 
THE FARM. 
Rotation of Crops. 
All who are engaged in farming pur- ~ 
suits know what is meant by rotation of 
crops, but how many in this State practise 
it? One main reason for the neglect in 
making different crops follow each other 
in different years on the farm may be 
traced to the wonderful fertility of most 
cof the arable land in farming districts. So 
rich are many of these soils that before 
a good crop of wheat can be raised from 
them, a series of crops of maize, potatoes _ 
‘or roots must be taken off, otherwise 
coarse straw will be produced at the cost 
of the grain. On such soils oaten straw 
is often so thick and coarse as to be use- 
less for hay-making, and when wheat is at 
last grown heavy crops have been har- 
vested year after year for more than 
twenty years without the use of manure 
or recourse being had to rotation. But, on 
many soils, rotation is very desirable. On 
these, if potatoes are made to follow 
potatoes year after year, the ground 
eventually becomes so infected with 
disease that only scabby tubers can be 
produced, Itis the same with clover, 
After atime, unless clover is preceded 
by, say, wheat, and succeeded by 
potatoes, and if the ground has been 
occupied by it year after year, the land 
becomes what is known as ‘clover-sick’ and 
the crop fails. Land kept continually 
under cereals becomes foul with weeds. In 
the case of small fruits, such as straw- 
berries, too long a continuance of the 
crop on the same ground results in the 
land being filled with insects. Then, it 
May 1, 1909 
SS 
should be considered that many plants 
feed only in the shallow surface soil, 
leaving stores of food deeper in the 
ground untouched. In order to utilise 
these plant-foods in the deeper sources 
deeper feeding crops must be planted. 
Furthermore, there are crops which gain 
their entire sustenance from the soil, 
whilst others, like the legumes, draw a 
portion of their focd, in the shape of 
nitrogen, from the air. The former 
impoverish the soil, the latter enrich 
it Again, different crops draw unequally 
on the different food elements of the 
soil. A crop cf beans or peas, for in- 
stance, draws heavily on the potash and 
lime, in the soil, whilst a crop of wheat 
requires relatively small amounts of lime 
and potash, but large amounts of phos- 
phoric acid, The same soil will, there- 
fore, more easily produce a large crop of 
beans or peas, and a large crop wheat 
following each other, than if two successive — 
crops of beans or two successive crops of 
peas were grown. 
For all these reasons—the maintenance 
of soil fertility, the renovation of im- 
poverished soils, the production of large 
crops, the destruction of insect and weed 
pests, and the more economical distri- 
bution of labour throughout the year, and 
hence greater profits—a proper system of 
rotation is considered essential to con- 
tinued success in modern farming, ‘The 
rich farming lands of the older countries 
of Europe have been maintained i? 
fertility for over a thousand years bY 
the help of rotation, and 
manuring,. 
fallowing, 
There are certain systems of crop 
rotation generally designated by the 
number of crops entering into the™ 
fot GOODNESS Sake Use 
VICEROY al 
