The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1886-08-05
~ ROTATION OF CROPS.
Read Before the Richmond County (GaD AgrI-
cultural Society.
(Frcm tho Augusta Chrtniclr.

Cultufni society.
(From tho Augusta Chrtniclr) .sr
Much has been said and written upor
this important subject, and, although the
merits of tho system have been Otter
and ably discussed, it does not seem tC
have been presented with such force rs
to recommend it to tho great mass of oui
agricultural population.
The great majority of Southern nGrl-
cultlualists imagine they find the
methods of their fathers adcquatc, ut
least to poor support, and are lhuiiicr-
cnt to any improvements &uggcStGu ny
agricultural papers, magazines, etc
In preparing this paper J. am indebted
for many valuable suggestions to our
Commissioner Of Agriculture, Col. j. L.
Henderson, to Major Luther NJ. Ian
som, Of tho State Board Of Agricultural
book of Husbandry by Col. George f..
Waring, and to Col. T.. r. :tockhousc
for practical letter upon his own cX-
pCricncc.
Practically q good rotation should dis
tribute the farm work equally, and it
should give an opportunity for clearing
the land, and it is generally advised that
the details Of the rotation be regulated
very much moro by the farmers de-
mand for food for his cattle than by any
arbitrary rule, the two objects being con-
stantly kept i'll view of furnishing, SO far
rs possible, regular employment for men
and teams throughout the busy seasons,
and of pursuing such course as shall
supply tho land with the rcUuisitc
manure at the proper time.
AS matter of general advice, it is
recommended that the bulk of the fnlrn
manures be applied to such crops rs
corn, etc, as cannot be injured by the
most stimulating application, and that
grain crops should follow those to which
stable manurcs were originally applied;
that crops which have feeble powers of
sending their roots deep in the soil in
search Of food, such as wheat or oats,
should follow such crops as clover or
pen vines, which have this power in an
extraordinary degree.
The crops which require clean culture,
and the expense of whose cultivation is
very much increased by the foulncss of
the land should follow crops which
leave the land free from weeds or roots.
after grain, and that crops which re-
qulrc large amount OF dvcomDosinu,
organic matter, should follow the de-
composition OF roots and Stubblc GRASS
Two plants may be cultivated side bv
side or successfully, whom they REQUIRE
unequal quantities of the same constitu-
cnts; at different times they will grow
luXuriantly without mutual injury, if
they require for their development differ
cnt ingredients Of The soil AS all plants
remove from the soil certain constituents
it is quite Obvious that nOnc Of them
can render it either richer or more fertile
for planes of another kind. If we con-
vert Into arabic lands soil which has
grown for centuries wood or vegetation
which has not changed, and if we spread
over it the ashes of the wood and brush.
we have added to that contained within
the soil new provision of alkaline bases
and Of phosphntes, which may suffice for
hundred or more CROPS of certain
plants. If the soil contains silicatcs sus-
ceptiblc of disintcglution, then will also
be present in it soluble silicate of potash
or soda, which is necessary for rendering,
mature the stem of the Silicious plant
such rs oat, wheat, rye and barley; and
with the phosphatcs already present we
have such soil, all the conditions ncccs-
sary, to sustain, uninterrupted, crops of
corn for series Of years. If this soil
be either deficient or wanting in the
slilcatcs, but yet contain quantity of
salts OF lime and OF phOSphatcs, We vii! be
enabled to obtain from it for Il number
OF years successive crops Of tobacco.
peas, beans, etc. But if none of the in
gradients furnished to these plants bc
returned to the soil, time must come
when 1t can no longer furnish their con-
stltuents to q new vegetation, when it
must become completely exhausted ana
at last quite sterile, even for weeds.
A field nrtiticially prepared for culture
contains q certain amount of assimilatel
ingredients, also of ammoniatcd salts
and dccayirG vegetable matter. The
system Of rotation adopted on such n
field is that potash plants Gurnips or
potntoes) is succeeded by a silica plant
(oats, wheat or barley, and the latter bv
lime plants peas or clovcr) All these
plants require phosphatcs and alkalincs
tho potash plant requiring the largest
quantity Of the latter and the smallest
quantity Of the former; the silica plants
require, III addition to the soluble silica
left by the potash plants, considerable
ing lime plants-pcas and clovcr--arc
capable Of cXhausting the soil of this i'm
portant ingredient to such an extent that
there is only sufficient left to enable a
crop of oats to form their seed.
as tho exigencies of the cotton crol
allow, by following cotton with corn,
and that the same year with OATS SOW,
ing peas on tho stubblc and following
with cotton the next spring. Home
mnde manurcs are used SO far as they &C
with excellent results; compost of mucl
and stable manure are coming moro into
use, and the field pea, either turned I'M
der or left to withcr on the surface, adds
largely ly to tho fertility of the soil.
Rotation of crops is no where reduced
10 system. With moderate use OF
manurcs and careful culture the same
lands are planted for ycars in cotton--it
is thought not only without dotoriora
tion, but with actual Improvement. The
ratio which the price Of cotton bears tC
that of meat and corn affects the smccos %
sicn of crops more than anything else
Nevertheless, there is but one opinion ~.
10 tho beneficial effects Of rototion H. H.
crops as q cheap means Of preservino. tl,[
trriftiness of the soil, the succession o.
crors, cotton, corn and small grain. "