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Vol. I.
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426
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426

ON THE ARABLE LAND

the prospect of a future rise of rent, and diminishing the dis-posable produce ot the farm for market. A judicious hus-bandman will be guided in the extent of ground which helays down to grass, ami the age at which he breaks it up fortillage, by a variety of complicated considerations, which canonly be stated in very general terms : The goodness of thepasture, or its tailing off sooner or later; the prolitablencssof live-stock, as dependent upon the demand and price ofsheep and cattle ; the proportional profit to be derived or ex-pected from the cultivation of grain, compared with that fromrearing and feeding live-stock; the power of procuring adven-titious manure, such as town muck, lime, marl, and manyother circumstances. Combined with all these, the farmerhas often to consider, the rules or restrictions contained in hislease, which sometimes prescribe the proportion of land tobe kept under grass during its whole endurance, or perhapsthey only specify that circumstance, for a certain number ofthe concluding years. Taking all these circumstances intodue consideration, the fanner will naturally prefer keepingsuch portions of his farm longest in grass, as are best adapt-ed to be so with profit, and the contrary, according to hisjudgment and experience.

Besides this alternation of pasturage and tillage, which isthe fundamental principle of the best Scotch husbandry, asecond general rule may be laid down, as forming an essentialprinciple of good management in the tillage part of everyfarm ; which is, that fallow, or fallow crops of turnips or po-tatoes, according to circumstances, or drilled pulse, or a cropof clover, should always intervene between every two cropsof grain or white corn. To fallow in the most perfect man-ner, as often as the condition of the ground requires it, andthen to carry on a judicious system of pasture and tillage,with a suitable rotation of crops, iorms the essence of the al-ternate system of Scotch husbandry.

It is requisite, however, in this place, to give a detailed ac-count of the usual tillage rotations, or courses of crops, as