St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1900-05-26
FARMER AND PLANTER.
THE VALUE OF THE cow PEA.
a Crop that Deserves to be Called
"the Glover of the South"
Briefly Discussed.

by Col. j. 3. Hillebrew, A. M. Ph. D.,
probably the highest authority in the
south upon the culture and uses of
forage plants. In writing of the COW
> pea he says:
No agricultural product of the south
has come SO rapidly into well merited
and almost universal favor within the
Il past twenty years. Cow peas richly
deserve to be called 1.-THE clover Of the
south They supply as much humus
to the soil as clover and may be sue
!. cessfully grown upon soils that are so
sterile clover would wither and die ON
them. One of the greatest advantages
which the COW pea possesses over
every other forage of fertilizing crop
grown is its adaptabi1ity to every soil.
The writer has seen it grew with
/ strong foliage upon dozen different
sells in Tennessee, but the cow pea
Is especially valuable for dry, sandy
soils, inasmdch as clover rarely does
we'll on such soils.
After mentioning the value of cow
peas for hay the author says, as to
their great value as soil restorers, not
| even clover suFpasses the cow pea as
q soil renovator. The most badly worn
/ and abused soil may be quickly
brought to a condition for profitable
production by planting succession of
I pea vine crops upon it. Nor are the
best results obtained by plowing i'm
/ der the pea vines when green Careful
tnX-r,ari m ants. wv Ala aao,,c.;o ~
ton show, first, that the best DISPOSE
tionHof field peas is to convert the pea
| into hay. Second, the next best is to
permit the peas to ripen and gather
them or pasture them. Third, turning
the pea vines under green gave the
| poorest economic results. To which
the director adds the following note:
As fertilizer it may be truly said
that the practice of turning under a
ercp of cow pea vines ready for the
mower and in few days ready for
the barn and the cattle, has no more
reason to sustain it than would the
practice of turning under a crop of
wheat, oats, corn or cotton at its most
vigorous stage of growth. Nearly
every form of stock food would be a
most valuable and effective fertilizer if
applied Immediately and directly to
the soil, but the farmer in an economic
sense can no more afford to manure
his soil with a crop of pea vines that
are ready 90 NOW than ne can to SOW
good, sound wheat bran on his land as
a fertilizer.
Prof. Stubbs, of the Louisiana ex-
pertinent station, says, as valuable as
this plant is for its vine and fruit as
food, its superlative excellence lies in
th property which it has of restoring
soils. This property it shares with all !
leguminous plants, but it surpasses
them all in producing the maximum
results in a minimum of time.
Much more might be written to
show the value of the pea croo Sum
ming, up its chief merits, we have:
/. The pea will grow on land too
poor to grow clover.
z ?. It will produce heavy and rich
crop to be returned to the soil in a
shorter time than any other green
manuring crop.
5. On the same land in one year two
crcps can be grown, but it requires
two years for clover to produce hay
crop; so it will be seen that four crops
of. peas may be grown in the same
time as one crop of clover.
{ 4. The pea crop feeds. lightly upon
the soil, but largely. upon the atlnos-
phere, appropriating nitrogen, through
the agency of the bacteria that infest
its roots.
5 1t is one of the best preparatory
crops for wheat, as it leaves the soil in
excellent condition, adding a large
content of nitrogen, which is an es-
sential element in the growing of
wheat.
6. The rapidity of its growth makes
it the only crop in the. south that may
be used as a manurial crop between
the harvesting Of grain and the SOW
ing of it on the same land
z. It grows as vigorous as clover,
ant1 in connection with that plant
makes the south peculiarly rich in
these vegetable agents that improve
the soil.
s. It may be grown in connection
with the corn crop, furnishing almost
as much nutriment as the corn crop,
itself, with a positive benefit to the {
land.
8. It is substantial factor in the I
production of cheap beef, pork, milk {
and butter.
1o. 1t doubles the capacity of the 9
and for wintering stock, and gives
double the material for making ma t
aure heaps. \
II. The CALLED and waste places in
he south can be more quickly and
,heaply restored by judicious cult
1ation of the pea and by proper ro-
.ation Of other crops with it, than in g
my other way.
Y. BY adding humus it preserves ,
he humidity of the soil. and SO en-
.bles the crops to resist dfoughts. :
1a. The vines of cow peas furnish ! !
he very best material for ensilage.
Il. The composition of COW peas and
lea vine hay shows that they have
cry high feeding value for all do :
nestle animals. =
HOGS ARE ON THE BOOM.
Fact to be Noted by the Farmer