Show the summer fallow the summer or bare fallow was formerly considered the tile best bea method of preparing land for the wheat crop the exposure of the soil to atmos atmospheric dieric 1 and other influences for a whole season has an excellent effect but it is not necessary A crop may be grown and if rigl rightly itly attended to the succeeding grain crop ma may bo as its good as when preceded b by as a season sea son on of fa fallow how tho he good results of a fallow are the roost most evident upon clay land the mechanical texture of tho the soil ig 13 improved by the tile frequent plowing in and stirring thus opening the soil for tho the free entrance of tile air and the better circulation of the soil water these mechanical improvements facilitate the decomposition of somo some of tile constituents of the soil liberating potash h and ot other be r cs essential estial elements of p plant in t f food od from fron tile locked u epand and insoluble soluble iri chemical compounds compound Ts s of thestil the soil tho The ammonia of the atmosphere mo sphere wai which ich enters the soil with the rain is more readily absorbed and last but not least the tile vegetable ca matter in the soil is booro ore quickly u kin I 1 and thoroughly decomposed deco in iobe and if t thereby made available e for sustaining the growing plants all these points are art gained by a summer fallow upon a heavy clay soil but with a light soil there is no such demand for mechanical improvement pro and no corresponding advantage gained L in a chemical col point of view ay iy nearly all that can call be gained by a year of clean culture is obtained tear by y a hoed or root crop with it the weeds calbo can be killed as effectually as in the fallow the soil will receive enough culture to make it sufficiently open for the circulation of air there will be a large larze gain cain in the amount of the ni nitrates and other valuable nitrogen compounds in the fallow these are formed during tho hot lot months of the year and being very soluble are washed out of the soil by heavy rains while if there is a crop the nitrates etc are taken up as food and stored away to be used for some succeeding crop besides the root crop will furnish a large amount of excellent food for the farm stock and finally yield a quantity of valuable nure to be returned to the soil with a root crop introduced into tho the rotation there is seldom a demand for a summer fallow american merican el agriculturist zi for july |