The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-02-26

tilizers containing much nitrogen
h greatly lessons the expense for
commercial fertilizers, for nitrogen is
the most expensive element the farmer
has to buy. AS stated above, it costs
from 10 to 20 cents per pound, while
potash and phosphoric acid cost only
D cents to 4 cents, or less. Although
grains, grasses, corn, cotton, root
crops, ETC., cannot use the nitrogen of
the air, green %manuring enables them
to benefit by it indirectly.
SOME CROPS o GREEN MATURING.
Among the leguminous plants more
commonly used for green manuring In
this country and in Europe, are cow
pea, alfalfa, cloyers, melilotus, serra-
della, lupines, vetch and horse beam
Some of these are described below.
CoWPEA.
The cowpea is widely used as q green
manure in the Southern States. Ac-
cording to the North Carolina Expert
ment Station, "the cowpea being a
tender annual, should always be, sown
in the Spring. 1t will give a yield sown
as late as July l, but the earlier it is
sown after danger of frost is passed the
heavier the yield. The pea is usually
sown broadcast at the rate of two
bushels per acre and plowed or har-
rowed in. The cowpea is not affected
by heat, n is less sensitive to drought
than any of. the clovers."
Experiments have shown that cow
peas respond readily to applications of
potash and phosphates, and are able to
derive their nitrogen very largely from
the air. Inasmuch as cowpeas are
large ~gatherers of nitrogen and also
secure considerable amounts of potash
and phosphoric acid through their ex-
down to the subsoil, they have a high
fertilizing value. How to get the
greatest benefit from the fertilizing
constituents of cowpeas is one of the
problems on which the experiment
stations are working. If the cowpeas
are plowed under in the fall and the
ground left bare until spring. u large
share of the nitrogen will be leeched
away. BY sowing wheat or rye after
the cowpeas are plOwed under part of
this loss may be avoided. If the vines
are cut and allowed to lie on the ground
during the winter the nitrogen is rap
idly lost. In an experiment at the sta
ton in Alabama it was found that
vines gathered in October had from
Lao to 2.62 per cent. of nitrogen, while
II left on the ground until January,
they a only about 0.70 per cent. i. O.,
they lost two-thirdS of their most fer
tilizing Ingredient.
Experiments at the Louisiana Station
show that II acre OF Weld
ing 3.937.3S pounds of organic matter,
turned under, gave to the soil, 81. 95
pounds of nitrogen, 20.39 pounds of
p~hosphoric acid and 110.56 pounds OF
potash, Of which at least S.34 pounds of
nitrogen, 4.43 pounds of phosphoric
acid and ISL pounds of potash were
furnished by the roots. Analysis made
at the South Carolina Station show
that cowpea hay contains LAP per cent.
of potash, 0.39 per cent. of phosphoric
acld and I'll per cent. of NITROGEN
Cowpca roots contained 1.l9 per cent.
OF potash, OBS per cent. OF phosphoric
acld and Oh per cent. of nitrogcn; the
root and stubble two months after the
crop was harvested, contained O.S3 per
cent of potash, 0.26 per cent. of phos-
phoric acid and l.35 per cent. of nitro
gen. Experiments from elsewhere
showed that the vines from u given
area weighed six times us much as the
roots n were 81 times times as valua-
bic for manure.
Cowpcas and mclilotus have given
good results as green manure on the
c~ancbreak lands Of Alabama. Before
the land was sowcd in melilotus and
cOwpeas, 1T was not worth cultivating.
The season (lS90) it produced as fine q
a crop as the best lands OF the station
highly fcrtiliZcd.
GREEN MANURING ON MEDIUM RICH
SOILS.
Green %manuring on medium rich soils
mas mnrh lncS 10 ,,,n,l tl-. 80.
sandy soils. Although the green ma
nuring of lightsandy soils with lupincs
Is often OF vcry great advantage in en-
rlchlng the soil in humus, this advan-
tage does not hold good in the case of
better soils. There are other plants
better adapted than lupincs to serve as
fellow crops on these better soils. Ser
radclla does we'll, but as q rule is not
to be recommendation principal crop,
INT when sOwn with rye, giving Il good
yield, it is often checked out as to
amount to very little. But where it
can be grown to advantage as Il first
crop on better soils, it must be fed to
be utilized to the fullest extent as
pointed out above.
SUMMARY.
a. Green mannring improves the
physical properties of tho soil by max
ing the soil more porous and adding to
it's supply OF hurnus. 1t brings up the
dormant plant food from deep down in
tho soil and deposits it near the surface,
whore it can be used by plants feeding
near the surface.
Gu Green manuring with buckwheat,
hungarian grass and other non-legumin-
Gus plants, adds practically nothing to
tho soil which was not there before, eX-
cept mass of vegetable matter which
decays and goes to form humus.
(3.) Green manuring with clOvers, peas
brans, lupincs, etc. Neguminous crops)
actually enriches tho soil in nitrogen
drawn from the air. These plants can
grow with very little nitrogen. They
store up the nitrogen of tho air as they
grow, and when plowed under give it up
10 The soil, II to future crops. 1t is tho
cheipest means OF manuring tho soil
with nitrogen.
(.) Blu animals as WCli as plants re-
quiro nitrogen for food. By feeding the
crops of cloycr, cOwpea, etc, only about
One-fourth Of the ferliliHing materials of
the crop is lost If the manure is properly
cared for. AS tho nitrogen OF tho
air is the cheapest source of nitrogen for
plants. so it is the cheapest source of pro
tein nitrogen for animals. Tho logun-
nous crop is best utilized when it is fed
out on the farm and tho II saved
and applied to tho soil. TIL" greatest pro-
fit is thus secured and nearly the same
fertility is maintained as in green ma
uring.
(6,) For rcnovating worked or barren
soils, and for maintaining the fertility
where tho barnyard manuroi is not prop