iminish yield but also to
diminish the quality of the crop, which tends to lower the price
received for the cotton.

Keeping the land constantly in cotton tends to increase the insect
enemies and the diseases of the crop.

The continuous growing of cotton does not permit the constant
employment of one set of laborers throughout the year.

The continuous growing of cotton generally means that most of the
farm goes into cotton. A small patch of corn is planted for the stock,
which are apt to suffer from a lack of variety in food.

The same is true with reference to home supplies. Very few vegetables
are grown for the table and there is little milk, butter or eggs for
home use or exchange for groceries or drygoods at the store.

Thus we see that the continuous growing of cotton on the soil, year
after year, has a bad effect on conditions necessary to its best
growth and development and also on the economics of the farm.

These facts are true to a greater or less degree in the case of nearly
all of the farm crops. The grain crops are often considered as humus
makers because of the stubble turned under, but Professor Snyder, of
Minnesota, found that five years' continuous culture of wheat resulted
in an annual loss of 171 pounds of nitrogen per acre, of which only
24.5 was taken by the crop, the remaining 146.5 pounds were lost
through a waste of organic matter.

THE ROTATION OF CROPS

Now, suppose that instead of growing cotton on the same soil year
after year, we select four crops--cotton, corn, oats and cowpea--and
grow them in regular order, a rotation practiced in some parts of the
South.

We will divide the farm into three fields and number them 1, 2 and 3,
and will plant these crops as indicated by the following diagrams:

[Illustration: Plan of farm.]

Plan for planting.

FIELD 1. FIELD 2. FIELD 3.
+----------------+----------------+----------------+
| | OATS, | CORN, |
1st year | | harvested in | followed by |
or 1905. | COTTON | spring, | oats, |
| | followed by | planted in |
| | COWPEAS. | fall. |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+
| CORN, | | OATS, |
2d year | followed by | | harvested in |
or 1906. |