FALLOW. Inagriculture, lands are said to be under fallow when they are without a regular crop of corn or pulse. A naked fallow is one in which the soil remains a whole year without any crop whatever ; and a turnip or green crop fallow is one in which the lands after be ing without a crop from harvest till the beginning of summer, and being proper ly labored during that period, are sown with turnips or other similar crops in rows, and the grounds cultivated in the intervals. Fallowing was practised by the Romans on all soils whatever, and has been continued through the dark ages, in all the cultivated parts of Eu rope, so as to have become, till lately, a general habit in the treatment of arable lands. The practice of taking two corn crops, and then allowing the land to rest or lie fallow, was, till the commencement of the present century, prevalent through out Europe, and it is still a very common practice in most parts of that Continent. It appears to bave been first broken through by the Flemings about the end of the 16th century ; and subsequently in Britain, with the culture of turnips, above a century and a half later. Fel
lows, under the most improved systems of agriculture, are no longer had recourse to in the case of free and easily worked soils, where turnip follows are made, or drill crops of legumes are substituted but in very strong clays they are still found necessary, and this will probably continue to be the case till by the "fre quent drain system," and long-continued culture, the strong clays become friable and fit for the drill husbandry, like the sandy learns and other free soils. A perfect system of agriculture will com pletely dispense with fallow ; under clover and green crops the ground recovers its mineral ingredients, and acquires an ad dition of vegetable matter ; it is thus richer after clover or green cropping than before, or than it would be by naked fal low.