The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-03-07
Rotation Of Crops.

down five distinct propositions, which
the effects produced by constant Guilt
walton of the soil were stated very brief
" but very clearly. We propose to re-
capitulate his points and to make a run
ming commentary on each one of them as
may serve, at least, 20 arrest attention,
and perhaps may be suggestive to some
of our readers.
A system of cropping which by a we'll
devised rotation, shall restore to the
soil, by the use of certain other crops,
constitutes the basic of all good hus-
bandry. Leibig, who has also written
upon the some subject sometimes wise
~ and we'll, sometimes fancifully,
would compensate for the annual ex-
haustion of the soil by the application
of certain special manures to supply the
wants of the particular crop that is be
taken from it, These measures he
imagined might be so applied as to re-
store the equilibrium, and that by such
an application the land might be stead
lily kept at the same point of fertility.
Leibig does not say, however, that such
manures would really prove effectual !;
but rather puts it as a problem, to be
solved, as to whether, instead of a
ClldlISc VI UldnuIoS AlSnU uOU SlldD16
the farmer TO grow on each of his fields
that crop which, under the circum-
stances, might prove most desirable"
If such an arrangement as this were
practicable, and if, on the Leibig theory
a farm could be divided off into a GER
tain number of fields, and each field de-
voted exclusively, year after year, to
the production of one particular crop,
simply by adding to the soil of that
field the organic and inorganic sub
stances which each crop each year takes
from the land, the process of farming
would be so simpliied as to make it a
mere mechanical operation. A farmer
might then parcel off his land, fix upon
this field for wheat, that for oats, a
third for corn, a fourth for rye or bar
ley, and a fifth for pasture or hay, and
having thus devoted each particular
field to be used exclusively for the same
crop during his lifetime, might give
himself noIfurther care than to restore to
the soil in the shape of special fertili-
zers thefew pounds of potash, lime, soda
and the phosphates that had been
drawn from each acre by the harvested
crop. But u~nhappily, nature has some
thing to say in this matter. The soil
demands a change of crops just as a
man requires a change of food, and a
particular crop to a particular field is
nothing more than the beautiful dream
of a theorist.
Chaptal's propositions are
LIST. "All plants exhaust the soil. -
If Chaptal had said all cultivated
plants exhaust the soil, his remarks
would have been entirely correct. When
soils are III their virgin state, OF
where, on soils thrown out of ~cultiva-
ton, a secondary growth of wood
springs up, the process of exhaustion is
arrested, and the fertilizing process is
at work. The reason for this is, that
the annual decay of vegetables-on the
prairies, for instance-enriches sthe soil,
because a portion of the plant food is
derived from the atmosphere. A SINH
lar result must follow, though more
slowly, where on once cultivated and
partially exhausted fields a new growth
of wood springs up. In this case, the
annual droppings of the leaves and pine
skaters assist in restoring, at least il
some measure, the fertility of the soil,
and certainly prevent any further ex
haustion of it. The value of crops thai
shade the ground, in contradistinction
to hoed crops, is by the examples
just cited exemplifed and illustrated by
nature herself.
I'd. "AIl plants do not exhaust the
soil equally"
This fact, the experience of every far
mer has demonstrated. Analysis show.
that 100 parts of the ashes of the qrai7
of Indian corn contain % parts of potasl
ID parts of magnesia, and 50 parts O
phosphoric acid.-and also that 10t
parts of the ashes of the stalks ant
IeGUes contain 30 parts of potash, II
parts of lime, and 8 parts of %phosphori,
acid. The drain, therefore, upon tn
potash, soda, lime and phosphates il
the soil, is very great. The same ma,
be said of wheat and tabacco. Oats
rye and barley exhaust the soil, il
rather lesser proportions, and clover
turnips, the leguminOus plants and tn
grasses, least of all.
4th. "AIl plants do not restore t,
the soil the same quality OF quantity o
manure"
ChaptaI here means only the root
and refuse of plants after the crOp /
taken off. But the reasoning is equall-
applicable in regard to green crop
turned under. There are some plant
which draw a large portion of nourish
ment from the atmosphere as clover
for instance. There are others-w
may cite wheat as an illustration
which draw comparatively little iron
that source. A green crop of Glove
turned under would, therefore, furnisl
to the soil not only the constituents tn
crop has drawn from it, but also thos
it had derived from the atmosphere
and, by its system of tap roots, mucl
nOurishment that had been otherwis
locked up in the subsoil. The best il
lustration of this is the fact that willis
the ashes of an acre of wheat, includin;
the grain and straw, do not weigh NOR
than 80 pounds-the ashes of n acr
clover will weigh 239 pounds-and tn
latter are principally composed of tn
most valuable constituents of the soil
From the above statement it neceSsaril7
follows that
18th. "All plants do not exhaust tn
soil equally"
This we have endeavored to show i
really the case, and upon this acknow
lodged fact the value of a iudicious sys
TEN Uf rotation is based.
Chaptal's deductions are as follows
That a long succession of crops *
haust the soil. That the amount of an
nual exhaustion depends on the nature
of the crop grown. That tap or spindle
rooted crops-clover, turnips, carrots
beets, etc-ought to succeed the run
ming and superficial roots-wheat, oats
barley, corn. etc. That the same cror
should not be grown too frequently OF
the same field. That no two grain crops
say wheat, and oats-should follow
each other in succession. That the
losses sustained by the soil from crops
that draw their nourishment from that
source, should be cOunteracted by ade-
quate supplies of manure, and, final,
that when the cultivation of cereals has
been carried to such an extent that the
soil shows signs of exhaustion, resort
must be had to those crops-clover,
peas, turnips, the leguminous plants
and the g~rasses-that tend to ameliorate
the soil and restore to it at least a por.
ton of the fertility it has lost.
We have thus given as clearly as pos
sible the theory upon which the
DreyaI1iuo SVsfpm Of rotation is based