ROTATION OF CROPS.

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume XXI, Issue 2091, 30 September 1899, Page 1

ROTATION OF CROPS.

In the early ye.-w-s of tlie settlemei t of Canterbury and Otago, and up to a comparatively recent date, it was the usual practice to take as many crops of grain off the land as could be crown m succession, after which the land was m such a dirty and exhausted state that it was unable to grow anything more profitable than sorrel. At any rate it required a rest and was supposed to be sown down m grass for a year or two m order to rest, and also to regain some of its lost fertility. Often times no grass was sown, and the land was supposed to grass itself. Few stock were kept and little or no manure was made, turnips were rarely grown, and artificial fertilisers were seldom used. We manage much better that that nowadays, and I think we find our improved system more profitable. There are still too many farmers who try to jump with the markets atid put m as much grain as they possibly can, ignoring the unfitness of the land to produce a decent crop, so solely intent are they upon having a lot of grain to sell when they think big prices are going to prevail. However, generally speaking, if we do not follow a strict rotation m onr cropping, we at least study the soil a little more and vary our crops as much as possible, keep more stock, grow moie roots, use farmyard and other manures more largely, and find both our finance and our farms m much better condition than m former year«. The establishment of the frozen meat export trade worked a great change, and, m fact, the improvement m our style may be dated from the time when we were enabled to produce wilh profit owing to the means of getting rid of our surplus fat sheep. Previous to the exportation of meat there was no encouragement to fatten sheep, as a few thousand would glut the local mar-ets, and then the price was ridiculously depressed. Although i regular rotation of crops is not absolutely necessary to g'vod husbandry, it is advisable to a-lopt some ■«ort of regular s\ stein m mixed farming In fact, anyo ie who dues treat his soil fairly and sensibly must fall into a sort of rotation m Ihe cropping of hi 3 fields, and whether it is accidental or prearranged, the resu't is equally satisfactory. I find it is the oat crop that is tha dirty boy m the Family of farm crops. The grass land is fairly clean when broken up for wheat, and the whear stubble is clean when prepared for turnips, and the turnip land, if the season has been favourable to a good crop of roots, is pretty clean when the sheep leave it ; but oats always seem to leave the land foul unless the crop is so strong and dense that nothing else can grow. Wherever oafs come m a rotation," they leave the lnnd four and dirty, and barley is on that account a more sal isfactor y crop ; but on other accounts barley is often a troublesome and unprofitable crop. Whatever may be sail about a judicious interti-.ns, the fact rcmai'S that a judicious interchanging of crops must be an advantage to the soil, to the crops, and to the farmers' pockets. Q.E.D.— Agrieok.