Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1884-06-26
The fart1 aud fireside.
cow PEAsE FOR FERTILIZING LANDS.

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cow PEAsE FOR FERTILIZING LANDS.
The attention of our farmers has been Of
ten called to the importance of using cow
pease as q means of enriching the soil but
the subject will be more interesting If some
of the farming subscribers to the Jouriaatand
RevieW would give their views as to the use
of pease and still more so if much larger
number would make their own experiments.
No farmer should accept the dicta of any
writer upon agricultural subjects, but only
use them as incentives, and guides to lnves-
tigation and experiment. .....,
The time to plant cow pease is near at
hand, and, therefore, our farmers attention
is again called to the matter. The use OF
pea vines for manure is not by any means
a new thing in South Carolina. For many
the leguminous family possessed the valua-
BILE property of restoring fertility to impoV-
erished land and the common pease were
used for this purpose upwards of forty, or
more years ago. Clover has been so used in
Europe for centuries, and is now the far
mer's great dependence there, and in the
North. AS fertilizer for small grain, cow
pease are recognized as being OF unequafled
value They benefit the land in two ways,
the vines form dense shade, and protect 1t
from the heat Of the sun, which, in our eli,
mate is the great exhauster OF the soil, ana
they contribute great mass OF vegetable
matter that contains the very ingredients OF
which exhausted land is deficient. Nature
intends the land to be protected by herbage
during the summer months, and all Obser-
want farmers know that when a field has
been allowed to lie out and be overgrown
with weeds and grass, that its fertility is in
creased. The land is said to have rested,
but the true reason for the improvement is,
that it has been well protected from the heat
of the sun, and large proportion of the
ammonia brought down by rains has been
prevented by the herbage from being evap-
Grated, and IS retained in the soil. In addi-
ton to this is the more important effect,
that the grass and weeds have died on the
land, and added materially to the supply OF
vegetable matter in the soil. When plant
ed in June, pease will produce luxuriant
vines, that densely shade the soil, and when
turned under by the plow, in the Fall, they
add to the soil large amount Of vegetable
matter, containinga large percentage OF pot
ash and nitrogen, which are just the constlt-
uents needed by poor lands, and of essential
Importance to all small grain. s.' ..
Careful experiments made by practical
farmers have demonstrated, beyond doubt,
that the yield of grain from any field can
be doubled within year, by the use of COW
peas. Heretofore it has been the practice to
allow the stubble fields to remain as pas
lures, during the summer, for the farm
stock and doubtless this will be continued
in those unfortunate counties in our neigh
boring States, where the fence law is still in
force. But in progressive South Carolina
this relic of the feudal ages has been abol-
ished, and our farmers can no longer abuse
4. Co1I 1Ia NV, ,rsn
them, and perforce these fields, after the
grain is harvested in June, must lie idle for
five months, or be planted in another crop.
Here is the opportunity to make use OF COW
pease, both as fertilizer, and a food crop,
for the ripe pease may be picked in October,
and the vines turned under for manure.
There was formerly general impression
that some especial merit resided in the
green vines, but the late DIR. st. Julien Raw
enel demonstrated that this was mistake
and that the dead vines possessed all the es-
sential ingredients contained in the green,
and were in every respect equally as etfica-
ciOus.
Some sandy soils are naturally so poor, or
exhausted, that cow peas will not grow on
them the plants come up, but as soon as
they get three or four inches high, turn yel-
low, and die out Generally the cause OF
this isa deficiency of lime in the soil, and it
can be remedied by the application of lime
or ash element. Either Of these substances
will insure a crop of vines, which once OBJ
tained, and ploWed under, will form a basis
upon which more luXuriant growth may
be had next year, and thus lead to the per-
manent fertility of the soil. In all poor,
sandy soils lime and potash are the elements
most lacking; the application of lime will
cause the growth of pea vines, which in
their turn will supply the potash. About
the middle of June it is customary for far
mers to plant pease between their corn rows,
for the tWo-fold purpose of making a crop OF
peas, and increasing their supply of forage.
It is good economy to pick the peas but the
vines should never be pulled off the land
it is much more for the farmers interest to
leave them to die on the land, and increase
its fertility, than to endeavor to increase the
forage. Year after year, the average corn
field supply at the serious. expense OF the
soil in South Carolina receives no manures
whatever all Of the grass is kept down
the leaves and tops of the corn aretaken and
all of the pea vines are pulled up; in fact
all of the vegetable matter that the soil pro-
duces is removed. Under such circum-
stances it is no wonder that the average
yield of corn is only about 8 bushels per
acre. If farmers would sow peas thickly
between the corn rows and not pull up the
vines, but plow them under with large
plow in the fall, or winter, they would find
that their averag ge yield of corn would be
doubled within a season, or tWo.-A'fen
Journal and Review.
SUCCESS IN GENERAL FARMING.-A cor
respondent of the Connecticut Farmer writes
as follows upon very important topic: L
will admit that there are prosperous special
lists, but who are they? They are men that
make one particular business their life bust
ness; educate themselves to it and follow it.
They don't take one thing this year and an
other the next, according as it may pay, or
seems as if it might pay, nor whine when
bad year gives them turn; but all farmers
can't be specialists, and all farmers can follow
general farming and can make it pay. Not
have all of our eggs in one basket, but raise
horses, oxen, COWS, sheep, swine and poultry,
and if possible, enough grain to keep them
we'll; then what staple we can without
wearing out these bodies of ours making, us
old men before our time. Following this
plan each year, we shall hit somewhere and
lose but little if some crop fails to grow or
sell we'll, and none will be telling us that
farming does not pay. But shall all enjoy
the farm and feel satisfied when, on an occa-
sional leisure day, we peep around to see
how the rest of the world gets along, and
see what sameness there is to work except
farming-general farming. The good gen
eral farmer who carries it on in all its
branches is practical business man, and is
independent on a small capital.