St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1890-01-25
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL.
The COW Pea ana Sheer.

SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL.
The COW Pea ana Sheep.
Whiting from Arkansas . correspond
emit asks: "HOw would It do to put
sheep and grow COW peas on rundown
land? Would the peas be valuable food
for the sheep and would they help en-
rich the land?" OF course it is well un-
derstood, we would say in reply, that
sheep are good to restore worn out land.
The pea would be good food for sheep.
and according to report Of the Georgia
Experiment Station, it is an excellent
crop to grow upon sach land for fertilix-
ing purposes. In the cotton States
there is great deal Of rundown LAM;
and the report referred to says
that tho substances lacking in
such soils, arc available nitro
gen, phosphoric acid, and to
some extent, potash. Abundant ex-
perience has shown that when they are
applied judiciously to such land, they
yield good crops. To supply these from
outside sources, that is in the shape Of
chemical fertilizers and manures, is too
expensive and beyond the reach OF most
farmers; they have tried the feeding Of
their crops from these sources to . mod
crate extent, but they are unable to en-
rich their lands from them. The plan
Of feeding crops on WORKOUT land is un-
certain in its results, and in the main
has proved disastrous. 1t pays to . lin
tied extent ON good, but not on poor
land. Therefore, how to make old. worn
land good; that is how to restore its
original physical condition (friability),
and how to accumulate in it full sup
ply of av ailable plant food, at least ex-
pense and in shortest time, is prob
lem of the first magnitude and impor-
lance.
II the soil Of these worn lands, to q
depth of two or three feet, is analysed
it is found that, almost without excep-
ton. large quantities Of phosphoric acid
and potash. and fair, though not SO
large, quantities Of nitrogen, are pres
ent in them; but to q greater or less ex-
tent these are in unavailable forms. Is
it practicable to get these substances
from the deeper soil, bring them into
available condition and concentrate
them near the surface, where the roots
of ordinary cultivated crops can reach
them? When lands are left uncultivated
and trees are allowed to grow upon
them, their deep roots slowly gather up
these materials, and transmit them in
large part to the leaves, and these drop
ping to the ground give such materials to
the surface soil in available forms, and
thus slow concentration Of the scarcer
forms Of plant food in tho surface soil.
goes on. Are there any plants that wild
do the same thing as the old field pine
and other common trees do in this re-
spect but doitmore rapidly? Experience
has shown that certain legumfnous
plants like clover and the COW pea, will
do it both rapidly and effectively. They
are adapted to this work, not only from
being deep rooted. but because they
have q special and characteristic power
Of gathering and accommodating nitro
gen. This is shown by the fact that a
soil will contain more nitrogen after a
crop of clover has been taken from it,
than before the clover grew upon it,
though the clover crop taken from the
land carried away with it an un-
usually large .amount Of nitrogen.
The pea has not been studied as
much as clover, but all the facts known
point in the same direction, and Indicate
that its action is similar to that Of clover.
At the Storrs School Experiment Station
in Connecticut, during the past year, OBJ
ssrvations were made upon the stubble
and roots Of cow peas to . depth Of forty
two inches. The crop Of green forage,
taken from same acre from which the
roots were gathered, was $3.50 pounds.
The following table gives total amount
of stubble and roots: also amount of roots
for successive depths. The soil to a
depth Of seven inches was . light loan
-subsoil yellow and compact. becoming
at . depth Of thirty inches loose and
gravelly in texture:
Per acre.
Stubblc and first six inches Of roots: sl2.3 h
Stubble and second six inches OF
roots, s to II inches deep. 40 rs
Stubb!e and third six inches Of roots.
ITO IS inches deep. 30 d
Snbbie and fourth six inches OF
| roots, IS to n inches deep ........ N.3 rs
| Stubblc and fifth six inches OF roots,
q to 30 inches deep 62.S Ba
| 0tubble and sixth six inches Of roots,
| 20 to 36 inches deep. ...-... 6S.9 bs
Stubble and seventh elk inches OF
| roots, IS to AZ inches deep. col rs
Stubble and roots to depth OF u
inches. ..................I,207 .s d
It will be noticed that while the stub
BILE and roots from first six inches OF
depth largely preponderate, nearly one
fourth as much more roots are found be-
low that depth-and if allowance be
made for the stubble proper found to
be nearly half the weight OF stubble
and root in first six inches). rs distinct
! from the roots-the ratio OF roots from
the lower depths would be very much
larger. In the same report the amount
- -;x-o~ox x,hocchor;c oc;d and not n a