Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1884-05-24

and cover with Thomas smoothing
harrow, which puts the ground in fine
condition for the mower. The vines
will not be long in taking possession of
the ground, giving the crop the appear
ance of having been sown broadcast.
| adopt this plan mainly to save seed.
My hay is cured in small narrow
cocks; and as the curing process ad,
vances, | reverse several cocks and put
into one. With good weather find
no difficulty in curing the vines splen-
didly in this way with nearly all the
leaves adhering to them. Better for.
age than this no man ever had. MY
horses and mules will not touch corn
so long as the pea hay is before them.
Its fattening properties are wonderful.
My COWS and calves are extremely fond
of it, and will not touch any other food
while this feed lasts.
Ordinarily, can count on two tons
of hay per acre, which is never worth
less than SIS per ton in our home mar
ket-frequently selling at 81 per 100
pounds for a choice article. Here we
have product worth at least $50 per
acre, made at little cost of time, labor
and money. Besides this, your land is
improved for another crop of something
say fall oats.
But | am not one of those who
would advise the farmer to sell much
hay of any kind. 1t would be better
for the land, and better in the long run
for the farmer, perhaps, to feed every
thing in this line to stock-the best
stock that his means will permit, and
to carefully save and judiciously use
the manure.
While every farmer in the South
who has given the COW pea a fair trial
for forage, or as a medium for improvs
ing worn lands, will readily acknowl-
edge its value; yet how many Of them
plant peas beyond small patch here
and there-now and then? That the
COW pea is not appreciated by those
whose climate and soil best suit it, is a
selfevident fact. The pea possesses
the merit of being the instrument
whereby Southern farming may in a
large measure be northumberland
that, too, in manner that will largely
increase the fertility of our lands, en-.
abling us to raise larger crops of corn,
cotton, small grain, hay, etc. If the
value of the pea was better understood,
and more largely utilized for forage
and as fertilizer, the good results
would not be long in becoming appar-
ent to all interested parties.
The Southern farmer, when his oat
crop is harvested and hauled from the
field, cannot do better than to immedi.
ately sow the land to peas. The crop
could be turned under in the fall, and
oats sown again. The peas will not
only fertilize the land, but benefit it
very greatly by shading it from the
hot summer sun.
If possible, it would be well for every
farmer in the South to sow peas in his
corn at the last blowing. Enough seed
can be saved for planting next year,
but with this exception the entire pea
crop will be left to rot on the ground
for the purpose of improving and keep.
ing up the fertility of the land. Care
full experiments that have been made
from time to time by competent men,
have demonstrated that there is but
little, if any, advantage to be derived
from blowing in the green pea vines
over the plan of leaving the crop to
decay on the ground before blowing.
There is an advantage in both plans
each over the other-which would
probably equalize the value Of each
system for the average farmer. If
the COW pea was more generally cult.
waited in the South for the purposes for
which it is so well adapted, it would
prove very important factor in en-
HANGING our agricultural wealth. In
fact we cannot afford to overlook the
pea crop. 1t is as much a necessity to
the tiller of Southern soil as red clover
is to the tiller of Northern soil. The