The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1890-01-30
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL.
Tho Cow Pea and sheep.

ent asks; elbow 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 nm
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 a report of the Georgia
Experiment Station, it is an excellent
crop to grow upon such land for fertiliz-
ing purposes. In the cotton States
there is great deal Of rundown land;
and the report referred to says
that the substances lacking in
such soils, are 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 a mod
crate extent, but they are unable to en-
rich their lands from them. The plan
of feeding crops on WORKOUT land is UNI
certain in it's results, and in the main
has proved disastrous. 1t pays to linn
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 available plant food, at least ex-
pense and in shortest time, is prob
lem of the first magnitude and impor-
lance.
If the soil Of these worn lands, to a
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 a 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 the surface soil,
goes on. Are there any plants that will
10 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 leguminous
plants like clover and the COW pea, will
10 it both rapidly and effectively. They
are adapted to this work, not only from
being deep rooted, but because they
have special and characteristic power
of gathering and accommodating nitro
gen. This is shown by the fact that s
soil will contain more nitrogen after a
crop of clover has been taken from it,
than before the clover grew upon it,
Enough the clover crop taken from the
land carried away with it an I'M
usually large amount of nitrogen.
II AO PCS AAssO AON OCCh 5GAU4CA do
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
servations were made upon the stubble
and roots OF cow peas to depth of forty
two inches. The crop of green forage,
Fol SoI,
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 a light loan
-subsoil yellow and compact, becoming
at a depth of thirty inches loose and
grayelly in texture:
Peracre
Stubble and first six inches Of roots. 912.s ms
Stubble and second six inches of
roots, 6 to II inches deep. 40 rs
Stubble and third six inches ofroots,
IL to IS inches deep. $40 MS
Stubble and fourth six inches of
roots, Is to "a inches deep. 34.3 rs
Stubble and fifth six inches of roots,
"a to 80 inches deep. ..........' 62s ms
Stubble and sixth six inches ofroots,
80 to 36inehes deer: .............. 500 ms
Stubble and seventh six inches of
F0OtS, 30 TO ~ lncneS deep. 40.I lbs
Stubble and roots to depth of ~
lnches ....-.-.. ...-,...............1,20 7.8 lbs
It will be noticed that while the stub
,le 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), as distinct
from the roots-the ratio of roots from
the lower depths would be very much
larger. In the same report the amount
Of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash
in the stubble and roots of the pea on
an acre, to depth Of three and half
feet, were stated to be respectively a.
pounds, 2.s pounds and GA pounds. This
does not include still larger amounts of
these substances contained in stem and
leaves.
General experience corroborates the
above testimony as to the value of the
cow pea as renovating or enriching
crop. Not only this, its peculiar for
aging powers enables it to grow on land
so poor that most other crops would per-
ish on them. Superadded to these valu-
able traits is its entire adaptability to