The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1870-01-20
RATES OF ADVERTISING.
Rotation of Crops.

Rotation OF Crops.
Under the old system Of cultivation al
the South, wherc newly cleared field at
once took the place of one that was worn
ont. and where the idea of manuring was
almost entirely ignored, it is not surpris-
ing that tho manner in which crops sue
ceeded each other, was determined almost
wholly by convenience. At present, how
ever, when heavy manuring thorough
culture, and bringing land to it's greatest
productive capacity, is the order of the
day, it is eminently fit and proper, that
the subject of rotation of crops should
seriously engage the attention OF our tar
mers-and we earnestly invite discussions
of it in the Cultuator.
Certain advantages from changing crops
on the same land from year to year, are
obyions to every one-as for instance,
sowing down in small grain after clean
culture, protects the land from washing,
and restores in part the vegetable matter
exhausted by a crop, plowed and hoed
during the summer; or, on the other
hand, where land has been sown continu-
ously for several years, a crop under the
.plow end hoe, destroys pestiferous weeds
-iikescockle. Besides these incidental ef-
fects, however, there are other clrcum-
stances, connected with tho productive ca
pacity of land, which arc worthy of
consideration. j.
If all plants had the same habits of
growth, and took from tho soil the same
ing ,edients in tho same proportion, then,
aside from the considerations already
mentioned, it would probably make little
difference if the same crop was cultivated
on the same field from year to year. But
the supposition made is not true. Many
weeds thrive on lands which will not sus-
tain our cultivated plants; fine growth
of rag-weed often follows amiserable crop
of wheat-corn grows better after cotton
than after corn, &C., SC. These are. the
facts-what is the explanations The
old theory was, that plants discharged
from their roots kind of excrementitious
matter, which, whilst injurious to the
plant that eScreted it, was not SO to other
plants. This is not, however, supported
BY any we'll ascertained facts, and is gen.
orally discarded by the best observers.
Neither is such supposition necessary.
As regards habits of growth, cultivated
plants may be divided into two classes
lst. Those with long tap roots, as peas,
clover, cotton, &C.; Cd. Those with hume
rous fne fbrous roots, as corn, wheat,
barley, rye, and the grasses proper. The
former send largo portion of their roots
deep into the soil and subsoil, and draw
their food largely from these lower depths
the roots Of the latter are chiefly con-
fined to the upper layers of soil, from
which they take their supplies. One can
readily see, therefore, that whilst several
crops of small grain might exhaust the
upper soil too much for another crop of
the same kind to succeed we'll after them,
the deeper layers OF soil and the subsoll
may still be rich enough to sustain good
crop of peas, &c. In every rotation,
therefore, some fbrous-rooted and some
tap.rooted plants should enter.
In the next place, it is fully established
that some plants draw more largely on
the soil foreertain ingredients than others
do. Wheat, for instance, requires an un-
usually large proportion OF heterogeneous,
matter, turnips of pbosphates, peas OF
potash, &c. A soil may, therefore, be too
much exhausted of nitrogen to yield
good crop of wheat, and yet have enough
with the potash left to make good crop
of peas-diferent plants thus playing, as
it were, into each others hands, and by a
iudicious rotation, full crops of different
plants may be reaped, for several years in
succession. It's quite generally thought,
that where land does not wash, cotton
may be. raised upon it, year after year,
without prejudice TO the crop. The expe-
rience of Mr.. Ed. Bancroft, of this place,
does not sustain the above Wow, and as
his farming operations are conducted with
great care and accuracy, his conclusions
are entitled to great consideration. We
hope to have an article from him for our
next number.-Southern Cultirator.