The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1871-12-21
Rotation of Crops.

1t may be set down as fundamental law of
agriculture that the greater the rotation OF
crops, other things being equal, the larger the
crop. De Candolle, a Swiss chemist, many
years since contended that the eXudations from
the roots of one class of plants unfit the soil for
continuous reproduction, and yet serve as nu-
triment for plants of different growth
Whether his theory is correct or not, we know
that land will not bear a frequent repetition OF
the same crop without showing signs OF exhaus-
ton. An apparent exception occurs in the
growth of the onion-the same land near
Weatherfeld, Conn.,, having been planted in
that vegetable for two centuries without dimln-
ution in the yield. This, doubtless, results
from the frequent and continuous application
of fertilizers, and from the fact that special
manures are found exactly suited for their pro-
duction.
The law, however, that crops should be con.
stantly varied is general, and manifests itself
as we'll in the growth of trees and other vege,,
tation as in the growth of corn or wheat, and
even to the keeping of animals too long on the
same land. We might probably go. further,
and saw that races of people perish when con-
fined too long to the same land. The North
American Indian is perishing from the face of
the earth the Picts and Scots were not able to
withstand the shock of fresh life, nor could the
effeninate Roman resist the bounding blood of
the barbarian from the land of the "mist and
the storm"
- We know that wild forests of one description
of trees are supplanted by those Of a different
species. The land of an old orchard becomes
unfit for young one; a new hedge will not
grow upon the site of former one; corn after
corn will increase in shuck, and where grown
successively upon this same land will not only
diminish its yield, but will become subject to
all the diseases incident to this valuable cereal.
Even clover will refuse to grow upon land that
mas grown it for many years. Cotton planters
and tobacco planters know how rapidly land
deterio.ates BY growing three crops successive
ly. Manure will not prevent diminished
Weld on the same land An imperfect and
diseased vegetation will surely follow con-
tinuous plenty ON the same land.
Rotation, with subsoiling and deep plowing,
will add millions of dollars to the wealth of our
farmers, and we deeply regret to find so many
of that valuable class in the cotton growing
districts rotating their crop of cotton only with
crop of corn. The result is that thousands OF
acres are becoming so impoverished that they
will not pay the cost of cultivation, and are a
dead weight upon their owners and upon the
State, and form pictures of deformity in the
landscape. Too many one horse plows are
used too little manure used too little grass
sown too much cotton planted and too great
an effort made to cultivate large area of poor
land instead of small area of rich land. La
Dor is too high and too unreliable to be wasted
in scratching poor land. Let it be concentra-
ted upon the rich soils, and let the poor soils
be fed with clover until they are fattened.-
Nashville Union and american.