Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1859-06-30
,farmtr's Department.
Summer FallOws for Wheat

FAILowISG is one Of the most ancient
methods of restoring fertility % impoverished
soils. The Hebrew law commanded tAat the
land should rest every seventh year and though
of fgura,ive nature, it was probably connect
ed with the practical requirement OF the early
system of agriculture HESIcD, the Greek
poet.farmer who fourished in the tenth century
B c.. and who cultivated a soil which he de
scribes as bad in winner, hard in summer, and
never good" (prohabIy stiff clay, recon-
mendS following, the land being ploaed three
times-once in autumn, again in the spring,
and then Immediately hefore sowing. Among
the Romans, fallowing was a universal practice
in most cases a crop and years talIow
succeeding each other. The land was first
plowed after the crop was removed, generally
in August it was again cross plowed III the
spring, and at least a third time before sowing
whether spring grain or winter wheat was the
crop. There was, however, no end to the mum
ber of plowngs and sarcngs, the object being
as THEoPHRAsrUs observes, to let the earth
feel the cold of winter and the sun OF summer,
10 invert the soil, and render it free, light, and
clear weeds, so that il can more easily afford
nourishment"
The Romans introduced the system Of fal-
lowing into England, where it has been pursu
ed since the invasion. 1t would appear, how
ever that the practice did not extend TO Scot.
land till the earlier part Of the eighteenth cen
tury JOHN WALKER, Of Beanston, East
Lothian, is supposed to have been the first
person who ever Systematically attempted to
fallow land in Scotland. He had TO endure.
for time, the ridicule and contempt Of his
neighbors, who jpstingly concluded that he
was either insane for allowing portion OF his
land 10 lie waste for the whole year or so
poYerty.stricken as to be unable to find seed to
SOW it with The practice, however, was so
successful that twenty years after, summer-fal-
lowing had become nearly general throughout
East Lothian. Many" says JOHN HAXToN,
of Fife, are old enough to remember the
wonderful Improvement effected in Scotland
through the introduction Of the bare falow
system. Previously, the land was cropped
repeatedly with grain, until it ceased to produce
enough to pay for seed, labor and rent. 1t
was then allowed to remain in grass until the
operation of natural causes had, in some degree
repaired the former damage it had sustained,
when it was again broken up, aud the same
scourging process renewed. Upon such a
system, the introduction of fullowing operated
like a charm"
In the mean time, turnip culture was intro
duced with remarkable success on the light soils
of Norfolk and a controversy on the subject
of substituting the growing IF turnips for bare
following agitated the writing and reading por-
tion of the agricultural public of Great Britain
during the latter end of the last century, and
ultimately tacit compromise resulted, which
loft tlo IN
of the light soils, and the summer fallow ad-
vocates in POSSESSION only of the heavier and
undraned cays while the drier and less stub
born clay loans formed sort Of debatable
ground, upon which occasional pen,and-iuk
encounters took place between the two parties,
until practical experiment proved the point in
favor of turnip growers.
There can be no doubt that in the moist cool
climate Of the British Isles, turnip-culture is
more profitable than bare fallow or all well-un-
drained soils, except the heaviest and most
tenacious clays.
In this country, where the climate is not SO
well adapted to the cultivation of turnips, and
where meat is not so high, the case may he,
and we believe is, very different
The amented Judge BUEL, and other eminent
agricultural writers, reflected the opinions Of
their brethren across the Atlantic They ex-
tolled turnip- culture, and condemned sumner
falows and it is not difficult to trace the in
fuence Of their writings in forming the now
very generally received opinion that summer
fallows are, at best, a necessary evil There
is some truth in this opinion, but we are ncln,
ed to believe that the benefits Of summer fal
lowing are not sufficiently understood and ar
preciated.
On light soils, there is little necessity for
summer fallows. We should endeavor to keep
the land d'clean by the introduction of hoed crops
without the use of bare fallows, ana try to en-.
rich it by the growth of such plants as enricl
than impoverish the soil, and then feed them
to cattle and sheep, and endeavOr to make a:
much rich manure as possible.
But on heavier sOilS-suCh as FORM under
good culture our best and most permanent
wheat lands-we can not dispense with the ust
of summer falIows We will hazard an opinion
which will perhaps, aStonish some of our reader!
but for which we can offer some good reasons
that on well.underdrained, properly-eultivat
ed clayey loan, there is very little actual in
crease of fertilizing matter added to the soil by
growing and plowing in any crop-eyen a
heavy crop of our highly-prized clover. Al
the mineral matter it contains was in the sol
before, and the matter which the crop obtain
ed from rain and dew would have been retain
ed by the soil, if in proper condition The
only increase, than would be in the gases which
the plants attracted from the atmosphere The
bulk of this is carbonic acid-which, for wheat
most soils have an abundance. How much o
ammonia is attracted from the atmosphere by
the best of renovating plants, such as clover
it is difficult to estimate, but from all that VI
know on the subject, we think it probable tha
it is not more than wellstirred, loamv sol