The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1905-06-22
Rotation of Crops.

| There are various methods Of in
creasins the yield Of crops besides
tillage and the use Of fertilizers; and
one Of the most important Of these
] methods is crop rotation, or the grow
ling Of different kinds Of plants on the
same land from year to year instead
! of taking the same kind Of crop con-
| tinuously from the same land, and
that some crops will not grow well
after others, and that some kinds Of
plants actually grow better immediate
ly after the land has been occupied by
certain other kinds. For example.
red ci lover ceases to thrive after wheat;
also wheat seldom does well when
sown after barley.
All plants remove from the land
more or less Of the fertilizing mat
ters when carried off from the land.
But all plants do not carry of the
same kind OF fertilizers, nor do they
carry OF the same amounts. All plants
do not draw equally upon the fertiliz-
ing ingredients Of the soil. For in
stapce, one crop may consume a large
albunt Of nitrogen, another may eX-
6ust the soil in phosphoric acid, while
Still anothei. may require potash. How
ever, all plants require some Of these
three ingredients, but in different pro-
portions. Root crops" for example
such as potatoes, beets, turnips, etc
need liberal amount of potash and
phosphoric acid. Forage plants
for instance-needs nitrogen to produce
the leaves and stems, while cotton re-
quires a small amount Of nitrogen and
potash, but liberal supply of phos-
phoric acid, which goes to form seed
and lint. Hence it is obvious that some
plan Of rotation should be adopted in
order to prevent the land becoming de-
ficient in some ore or more Of these es-
sential elements.
The following rules for rotation may
be Of advantage:
Such plants as tend particularly to
exhaust the soil, like grain crops,
should only be sown on fertile land,
and they should not exceed one an
other, but may best be followed by
plants that are less exhausting.
On heavily manured fields, such
crops should be planted as can bear
the most fresh manure, while less
exhaustive plants may follow.
It is generally advantageous to al
ternate crops that have top roots with
those that have spreading roots.
No two crops favorable to the growth
of insects and fungi should be per-
mitted to succeed each other. 1t is
very essential in many cases to change
the crops frequently to hinder the in
crease Of these pests. There are vari-
Gus insect injurious to grain which
would increase to an alarming extent
if the land were devoted exclusively
to grain crops year after year. But
when a crop of beans or turnips fol-
low a grain crop, the whole tribe Of
grain insects may perish or disappear
from the field. The c,ump- foot, or as
is sometimes commonly known, the
"big root" in cabbage and collards, in
like manner prevent their continual
cultivation on the same land. Farmers
and market gardeners in vicinities
near cities would be glad to grow cab
bage year after year upon the same
land, but they cannot because Of this
disease.
One form of rotation Of crops COM
monty practiced in this State, and in
most of the Southern States, is the
growing with reference to their
manurial value. Red clover or cow
peas sown in spring, or rye sown in
fall and plowed under when it has
made a fair growth, are the most COM
mon methods of green manuring. The
effects are often very noticeable. By
this method we largely increase the
vegetable matter in the soil, and this
much improves the physical condition
Of the soil.-L. NJ. Oden, A. and NJ.
College, West Raleigh, n. c.