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434 ON THE AKABLE LAND

of oats, oats followed by barley, or oats succeeded by wheat.This is now almost entirely abandoned, experience havingconvinced all judicious husbandmen that a regular and lightersystem of cropping is ultimately more profitable. Still, how-ever, on breaking up rich old pastures, two successive cropsof oats are frequently taken, as the first crop is often insuffi-cient to rot out the matted grass roots, and the second cropis frequently even better than the first. This plan is oftenof great service to the husbandman on entering to a farm ofwhich the former tillage portion is considerably exhausted, andfull of weeds. It enables him to apply his strength andresources to fallow and manure the exhausted part of hisfarm, and to lay down to grass for amelioration. The soil,however, must be naturally good, and in high vigour, whichwill allow of this practice without injury. Perhaps on break-ing up rich old pasture under these circumstances, it werebetter to interpose a crop of drilled beans or peas, or bothmixed, between the two grain crops; thus, 1. Oats from oldley; 2. Drilled beans or peas; 3. Wheat; 4. Turnips, whichbegin a regular rotation or course of crops. Where there isotherwise a sufficient breadth of grass on the farm to supplythe live-stock of the tenant, or for complying with the condi-tions of a close lease, this management answers the fartherpurpose of protracting the recurrence of grass on this par-ticular portion. For this purpose likewise, on breaking upgrass land that is not sufficiently rich to admit of the threecrops above mentioned, the third year maybe devoted to tur-nips instead of wheat, by which means the regular course be-gins one year earlier. The only objection to the above courseis, that beans rarely thrive upon land that has lately been inold grass, till it is completely summer fallowed, and they arejn all cases an unsuitable crop for light soils.