The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-05-15

the country 10y storm. ne 'd''i'
feeders of Illinois and Missouri have
discovered in it a friend to ward OFT
danger from drought. and a producer
Of the finest hav for beef, cow or
horse. The Missouri Experiment
Station has advised the to
grow COW pea hay instead OF timothy.
and the feeders have declared that
nothing so finishes off an export beef.
while the breeders %Of&fine horses have
declared that it is the finest of foo
for growing colts. The IN OF
the South have been for many years
irving various cumbersome and labo-
rious ~expedients for curing the hay.
and generally had resultin" a black
cned pile of sticks without leaves. We
have demonstrated in the pages OF
the Practical Farmer and thousands
of farmers have proved by trying the
plan. that there is no hay more rea-
div cured in a perfect manner
And vet we are but at the thresh-
old of the evolution that the pea is
destined TO bring about in the South.
All over the coast plain Of the South
Atlantic States and the Gulf States
there are thousands upOn thousands
of fertile acres that will grow more
food for cattle in two or three months
than the boosted prairies of the West
will produce in two years of clover.
These same lands will grow Orn as
plentifully as any section. and with
corn and pea hay nothing is needed
to make all this region the feeding
ground Of vast herds of cattle near
the ports from which they 90 to
Europe. We verify believe that with
the aid OF the pea. the coast region
Of the South Atlantic States can com
pete advantageously with the great
West in the production OF fine beef.
while only scrubs are there's today to
any extent. The cattle there will lose
none Of their numbers nor fall Off
in flesh by eason Of great billiards.
They will not be driven before the
NorthernerS as on The plains OF Tex
as. nor will they suffer water while
the great arteSlan wells. called
SWampS. along this coast are over
flowin" towards the sea. Then. too.
there Will be no great railroad charges
10 pay. for the ports from which
cattle are shipper are right where
these cattle will be grown. The
Southern market gardener too has
learned that he can enrich his soil
and accumulate the humus that he
needs better b. growing pea with
the aid OF commercial fertilizers than
he can by buying the costly stable
anu He supplies the organic
matter ready spread over his land
without the hauling. and while it is
hardly good economy for the farmer
with the ordinary crops to sacrifice a
valuable o crop for anu direct,
the market gardener can afford to
manur far more laNishly than he
can as the products of his acres are
valuable. and he keeps no stock
TO eat mp the fOod and leave manure
in its place. But even the farmer.
who mows the peas and makes them
into hay at the same time. gets Il
deposit in his soil that Will aid the
following crop. while he gets food
that Will make manure for his acres
of far greater value than that from
inferior food. Therefore. while we
do not advocate green m%anuring in
the sense some use the term. we
know that there is no green manure
crop grown anywhere that can com
pete with the Southern pea for the
South at least. and there are other
sections that are getting tired of the
uncertainty Of red clover. where the
farmers are beginning to realize that
Il crop thai can produce an amount
Of food in so days that takes clover
over a year TO produce. while it at
the anne time IS fully as valuable for
600 as the clover. IS worth their
looking after. VI least il furnishes
them a refuge when the clover fails
to make a stand. aS il has for us.
LASTLY. our Western friends have
discovered the great value of the pea
aS Il pasture plant that stands
drought and the grazing TO perfec-
ton. One Illinois man wrote that
his peas were cut down by the frost
when just maturing. He turned n
bunch OF cattle on them and they got
rolling fat ON the dead peas before
snow came. The velvet bean doubt
less has q value for the extreme
South in Florida. but for the greater
part Of the South and a large part
OF the Northern States the COW pea
OF the South is without a rival among
le9ume$. And the Cow Pea Special
il without a rival or an equal among
all the paperS for the farm. for no
such compilation of articles on the
pea have ever before been gotten to-
@ether and II is 10 be hoped that they
viii he put INTO permanent form