To keep his land clean will always be a principal ob ject with every good farmer ; for, if this is neglected, in place of carrying rich crops of corn or grass, the ground will be exhausted by crops of weeds. Where land is foul, every operation of husbandry must be pro portionally non-effective ; and even the manures applied— will, in a great measure, be lost.
If the season of the year, and the state of the weather, w hen the ground is ploughed, preparatory to receiving the seed, be duly considered, it will be found, that at that time it can neither be properly divided by the action of the plough, nor can root weeds, or annual weeds, he then extirpated. Hence arises the necessity of working it in summer, when the weather is favourable for the purpose ol ploughing, and when root weeds may be drag ged to the surface. It is only at that time the full ad vantages of ploughing are attainable ; for summer fallow may with propriety be styled ploughing in perfection.
The necessity of summer fallow depends greatly upon the nature and quality of the soil ; as, upon some soils, a repetition of this practice is less frequently required than upon others. Wherever the soil is incumbent upon day or till, it is more disposed to get foul, than when incumbent upon a dry gravelly bottom ; besides, wet soils, from being ploughed in winter, contract a stiffness which lessens the pasture of artificial plants, and pre vents them from receiving sufficient nourishment. When land of a dry gravelly quality gets loul, it may easily be cleaned without a plain summer fallow ; since crops, such as turnips, Ste.. may be substituted in its place, which, when drilled at proper intervals, admit of being ploughed as often as necessary ; whereas wet soils, which are naturally unfit for carrying such crops, must be cleaned and brought into good order, by fre quent ploughings and liarrowings during the summer months.
It is from neglecting to make these distinctions, that many people have pronounced erroneous opinions con cerning summer fallow.
The substance of the arguments generally used against fallow, may be comprised under four heads : 1st, Nature does not require any pause or rest, and the earth was evidently designed to yield a regular un interrupted produce, 2dly, As the productive quality of the earth never ceases, if corn is not sown, weeds will be produced ; therefore it is our business to expel the unproductive plant, and to introduce others that are beneficial.
Silly, That the idea of leaving land to rest is ridicu lous; for, by keeping it clean, and by a judicious inter mixture ol crops, it may be managed like a garden, and sown from one generation to another.
4thly, That the fallows in England exhibit nothing but a conflict betwixt the farmer and his weeds, in which the latter generally prevail ; for at the best they are only half stifled, and never effectually killed.
The most of these arguments may be granted, and yet the utility, nay, the necessity of summer fallow be consistently maintained.
It is already acknowledged, that it is only upon wet soils, or, in other words, upon land unfit for the turnip husbandry, that a plain summer fallow is necessary; and this we suppose includes three-fourths of the island. The utility of summer fallow upon such soils is not con tended for, because Nature requires a pause to invigo rate her to carry fresh crops, but solely because it is im possible to keep them clean without this auxiliary pro cess. To speak of following Nature in farming is ridi culous ; for if we were to imitate Nature, we would not cultivate land at all. Nature is often improved by art, and fallowing is the means employed for removing a host of enemies, which prevent her from being fertile and productive.
As a field filled with root weeds must be in a state of greater exhaustion, than if it carried a heavy crop of corn, so the productive quality of the earth must neces __ sarily d( crease in proportion to the quantity of ueeds which it brings I'M th. But because corn is not sown, it does not follow that weeds of any kind should be suf fered to grow. The object of allowing the ground to remain a year under fallow, is to ollbrd time and oppor tunity for expelling the unproductive plant, and to pre pare it for the reception ol others which are beneficial.
The most judicious intermixture of crops upon clay soils will not preclude the necessity of summer fallow, although it will go a great way to prevent a frequent repetition of it, An eighth course shift, such as tallow, wheat, beans drilled and horse-hoed, barley, grass-seeds, oats, beans, and wheat, is as much as can be recom mended ; and it is only upon rich clay, or deep loam, where such an extensive rotation is admissible. A shift of this kind, when dung is applied twice in the course of it, will pay the farmer more handsomely than the most judicious intermixture of crops, where Elliott ing is neglected.