The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1884-06-28
Rotation Of Crops

Inc Old-practice OF rotation OF crops
was based upon the natural necessities
of the soil. The more we know of it
the more we appreciate these necessities,
and, Notwithstanding that we have
made great progress in the science and
practice Of fertilizing, yet this alone
has not enabled us to overcome them.
For, although we may know with great
exactness what the soil contains. and
what the special crops may need, and
can, if we wish, give to the soil a great
abundance of every needed element,
yet we find that our crops, too fire.
quently repeated, become diseased,
and are so preyed upon by parasites IS
to fail and dwindle and perish. What
is the reason? Liebig, thoughtful and
studlous but cautious Investigator, had
the belief that plants threw out from
their roots some excrementitious mat
ter which poisoned the soil, so far as
these same plants were concerned, but
which provided acceptable nutriment
for others OF different character, and
thereupon he based his explanation Of
the advantages the farmer gained from
the rotation of crops. He lived to dis
cover that even were this true it was
not the whole truth, and that the most
important fact in this regard was that
plants differed very much in their ex-
haustive draughts upon the soil; that
wheat drew one element in greater
measure than oats or barley, and that
grass and clover drew still other ele-
ments, and that while one crop was
taking its special food from the soil the
soil was recovering by the natural pro-
cess of dissolution its normal supply of
those which had previously been drawn
from it. Further discoveries by more
recent students have led us to believe
more firmly in this behavior of plants,
until we became. satisfied of the truth
of the theory upon which known facts
in regard to the rotation of crops were
explained.
This was an enormous step in ad-
vance, for it led to our modern practice
of special fertilizing, by which we are
enabled to produce special crops with
out the costly supply Of every element
of plant food existing in very fertile
soil, and by the adequate provision Of
one only. Thus we have been able to
grow large crops Of wheat by the use
of superphosphate of lime, or by the use
of heterogeneous fertilizers; also to raise
heavy crops Of roots by the aid of super
phosphate of lime and clover by sui
plate of lime. But after a while we
met with a decided obstacle in our ad-
vance, which, so to speak, brought us
up in our progress with round turn,
for we found that the crops became in
tested with parasites Of all kinds, some
in the form of pests which consumed
them bodily, and others which mystic
riously invaded their internal organ
ization and produced what we termed
diseases. Myriads of insects descended
upon the crops. and numerous dis
orders blighted and withered them; and
these are precisely the difficulties we
are now called upon to meet and over
come. 1t is great advantage to the
farmer or dairyman or fruit-grower to
confine himself to some special crops,
without being obliged to resort to a
rotation of other crops which are not
suitable to his special circumstances.
and which disturb his most profitable
business. For instance, the dairyman
finds he can easily feed one COW on u
single acre of ground if he can grow
rye and corn fodder alternately with
success, and he can grow sufficiently
large crops to supply all the coarse
fodder. with such profit as will enable
him to purchase the grain food which
he cannot grow so cheapiy as it can be
grown in other localities where the soil
is better adapted for grain growing.
But after few years &c finds these
crops become affected with parasitic
diseases which seriously disturb his
calculations and upset his business ar
rangements. Why is thisP he asks in
surprise. Is the theory OF Liebig in re-
gard to the injury of the soil by excre-
mentitious matter thrown off by the
roots Of plants, after all, a true. one?
And is, after all, certain rotation Of
crops absolutely necessary If so,
then special cultures must be under
taken with a certain amount Of caution,
and one cannot put his whole farm
under any single crop for any useful
'ength Of time. This difficulty ha
occurred to us after several years con-
tinuous growth of rye and corn, with
liberal special fertilizing, and the corn
becomes so much infested with smut as
to be almost useless for feeding, and
the same result and others similar
occur to other growers of corn fol-
market crops; to peach and pear
growers; to small fruit>growers, as well
Is to wheat farmers. H. Stewart. III
~ y EDass.