St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1894-07-28
RENovATiNo WORN LANDS.

Extract From the Report Of the Mlssisslppl
A Experiment Station.
The sixth report of the Mississippi
experiment station says:
No sod can be- emide to produce good
crops without the presence OF fair
supply Of humus or decayed vegetable
matter. Freshly-cleared lands and
lands whi& Iave not $een Flowed fdr
many IearS Nsus1ly fo4tain an album
dance of humus, but when lands have
long been cultivated in hoed crops like
corn and cotton the humus becomes ex-
hausted. and must be replaced before
they can be made profitable. just how
this humus shall be supplied must de-
pend on the circumstances OF each
plantation. When it can be had in suf-
cient quantity there is NO better mate
rial for this purpose than is stable
manure, but rs this can seldom
be secured in sufficient amounts
recourse must be had to other
materials. Cotton seed for clay soils,
and cotton seed meal for sandy soils,
answer the purpose ferfec4lys but both
are expensive, md on nearly all paanta-
tions the most economical method for
securing a sufficient supply of humus is
by the growing and blowing under of
some green leguminous crop like lespe-
deza, cow peas, or red clover. On lands
where either Of these crops has been
grown, there is little trouble in making
satisfactory crops of corn or cotton by
the use Of moderate amounts Of COM
mercial fertilizers. LSespedeza will
grow on q soil which is too exhausted,
dry and hard for either Of the others,
and is undoubtedly the best plant for
use where the soil is in very poor
condition. It responds quickly to an
application of two hundred pounds of
cottonseed. meal per acre. and; by
making sAeh an applications & afair
crop Of Lespedeza can be grown on
almost any soil. II the soil is sufficient
ly fertile to make . fair crop Of Lespe-
deza without the use of fertilizer, cow
peas will be the better crop to grow, as
they make much heavier growth than
does the Lespedexa, their roots are
larger and extend more deeply into the
ground. and will so build up the soil
more rapidly.
When the soil is rich in lime, rs in
the entire northeastern prairie region,
melilotus is the best fertilizing crop
which can be grown. Its roots are
larger and extend deeper into the
ground than do those of any other
restorative plant which we can grow;
the plants die and the roots decay at
the end Of the second season. and 50
the plant adds more to the valu-
able plant Mood in the soil than does
any other Of the many which we
hare tested. II viii grow well on any
Of the black prsirie soils. even on those
which are too exhausted or in too poor
condition for making good c.vps of
red clover; It does equally .sell on
white lime lands, makes gosA hay and
pasture. being especially valuable for
winter grazing and 8 . restorative crop
Tor lime lands, is undoubtedly the most
valuable one we have. Cnfortunate;y.
II will not grow on soils which are de-
ficient in lime, as are most Of those in
the pine-wuods region, and for that sec
tiou Of the state, cow peas and Iespedexa
are the uost satisfactory restorative
crops
II is mn IA easier to keep field in good
condition than Il is to build II up when
It has become run down and exhausted.
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