Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1898-03-05
FARM AND GARDEN.
MATTERS Of INTEREST TO
AcRacULTUREsTS-


two crops as a fertilizer Is largely due i
10 their high per cent Of nitrogen and. /
further. upon the fact that though they 4
prefer good land they will grow On 4
either sand or clay that Is too poor 20 1
raise anything else
As the roots are small and nearly
nve-stxfhs OF the plant is above ground
the stnbble alone does not enrich the /
ground as much as do the correspond
ing parts Of alfalfa and Of clover. Sown
for fertilizer. the crop should be plowed
under. or. better yet, hogged down or
pastured on before blowing They are
Indifferent 70 fertilizers. except the
superphosphates
Yield.-Rhode Island reports yields OF
two or three tons of dry matter Of cow
peas and slightly less Of sofa beans
Delaware reports but q little over one
ton per acre Of COW peas. Louisiana
over one and one-half tons and South
Carolina over three and one-half tons
Of dry matter TO which ten per cent
should be added to express II in terms
OF hay. Ohio reports but one and one
half tons Of green foliage. but the land
vas poor. The yield of seeds varies
greatly In different localities, with diff
fsrent varieties and with time Of plant
ing. In general. COW peas and sofa
beans are capable Of about equal yield
in seeds. the former tending 70 excel in
the South and the latter In the North.
Both yield more In drills than when
sown broadcast; late planting tends to
increase seed production and early
planting TO excessive development OF
stem and leaf OF the many varieties
OF cow peas, the small upright growers
are most prolific in seed and the So
called trailers. Of longer growth, yield
most Of forage Yields of seed report
Cd vary from ten or twelve bushels 70
an high as thirty-seyen per acre,
though twenty-five bushels Is good
yield OF COW peas and twenty Of sofa
beans.
Farieties.-The two common varieties
OF sofa beans are the Black Medium and
the Early White, or Improved White.
OF these the first seems to give the
ranker growth Of vines and the latter
the heavier yield Of seed.
The sixty or more varieties OF COW
peas differ greatly in character OF
growth, in amount OF vine. in yield OF
I seed, and In the time required from
seeding 70 maturity. Some OF the
smaller varieties called bunch" varie-
ties are entirely upright. like sofa
I beans. others called .'trailers" send out
I long trailing vines fifteen or twenty
/ feet long. and still others called run
ners" send out upright stalks which az
I terwsrd from extreme development re-
sumo a horizontal position. The real
trailers produce heavy growth OF vine.
but the crop is difficult TO secure with
the mower, which rides over many Of
the lowest vines. leaving them attached
both 10 the ground and TO the tangled
mass OF vines about them. Because OF
this. the so-called runners are preferred
as being easier TO cut clean from the
ground. A few varieties will live in
the ground over winter in the southern
states and come up the succeeding
spring. The following supposed facts
will be of value 10 the prospective
grower: % means trailing: rl run
ming: (e) erect.
Very Early.-Sixty or seventy days:
New Erea (rl. Chocolate tr). Congo (r).
Vacuum tr). White Giant lrl.
Early.-whippoorwil te). Red
Crowder (r), Granite Cr).
Medium.-Coffee te). Large Lady tr).
Pony G).
Late.-Black Eye (rl. Eyerlasting ,r).
White Crowder lr).
Very Late.-Unknown Tor Wonderfully
(e). Black lr). Blue Hull tr), Purple Hull
Crowder tr), Clay tel. Conch %, Gorrd
(r). Calico (r). Quadroon (el. Redding
(r). Red Nipper trl. Rice tr). Speckied
Crowder lr).
North Carolina prefers Unknown and
Black for yield of either forage or seed
Clay for poor land and Red Nipper for
dry, sandy land. Nearly all except the
northern states place Unknown first
and Black second for general use, that
is, for both seed and vine. The Clay
recommended for poor soils has much
vine. but is poor bearer. The Blue Ii
small. with few vines, but good bear.
er. Whippoorwill is an early variety
OF great excellence, but is bunch
pea with few vines.
Culture.-Either of these crops viii
1 HT0W OH dlhh0cA a1f AaAa Nhtt 80 tAtS ~
wet. and may be sown broadcast a
the rate OF one-half to two bushels pei
acre. using least seed with the trail
J ing or running varieties. They ma.
also be planted in drills OF convenien
distance for cultivating, planting thu
eeeds Ave or six inches apart in thu
row. In which case a bushel of soj'
beans will plant about four acres, ans
OF COW peas four to six, according q
the variety. The yield of seed will b
best from drills, but the culture I
cheaper when sown broadcast OF
ground we'll prepared as for corn, II
which case the crop now takes posses
sion of the ground to the exclusion o
weeds. In the South COW peas are FIRE
uuently sown In corn at the last cult
waiting.
In general, the best time to plant !
Immediately after corn, though niue
depends on the variety, and upon tn
fact that the late planting favors see
formation, particulrly with COW peas
In all cases avoid cultivation when tn
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