The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-04-09
Agriculture.
cow PEAS.
yressive Georgia Farmer Urges the I'm.
portance Of the Crop.

L Ito SSdSoh 10 nD" Ou IOF pldnGlnS
forage and feed CROPS of many kinds
Among these, few, if any, surpass in
possibilities the COW pea. Thee 3eas
grow over wide extent of latitude
and longitude. They produce in
the pea valuable food for man and
beast If ground, or if fed with the
hull on, they constitute almost IA
complete ration. If the vine be
added, they furnish both hav and
grain to cattle. They are equally
adapted to fesh-producing in beef
cattle and to milk and muscle pro
duction in the dairy cattle. They
can be grazed by cattle, or mules, or
hogs, or by all three as once. Or
they may be cut with mower or blade,
and cured and fed with the pods on
Or the seed may be picked and the
vines fed alone. Or they may be cut
green and put in the silo.
In any of these ways they can be
fed with success. They give health
and strength and flesh, and milk and
butter. Again, the whole growth is
valuable for food, roots, vines, pOCs
and leaves. Not only ia this true,
but the plant has wonderful value as
q manure crop, whethered considered
directly or indirectly, or both If
plOwed in, the vines are worth five
or six dollars per ton for manure. If
permitted to die on the land and re-
main all winter, they manure the
soil. If cut and fed to cattle, and
the manure properly handled, it is
equal in feeding value to any other
plantS, unless it be cotton seed meal.
The peas are the very best manure
for sugar cane.
But while growing, the pea vines
have the power of gathering am
monia from the atmosphere and fix,
ing it in the roots, so as to greatly
increase the fertility of the soil. 1t
helps to feed and enrich the farmer
and his stock, and at the same time
feeds and enriches the soil. Because
the cow pea gathers food from the
air and enriches the soil, many con-
clude that the pea does not need any
fertilizing assistance. This is u mis-
take. The more vigorous you make
the pea plant, the larger and stronger
will be the roots, and hence the
greater benefit will result TO the soil
on which they grow. But we must
use discretion in fertilizing them.
They need phOsphOric acid and pot
ash to make them vigC rOus and
strong and full fruited. An average
appIication would be 300 pounds of
acid phosp hate and 300 pounds of
kainit. broadcasted and worked we'll
into the soil before planting. We
TINS see how we can help ourselves
doubly by applying fertilizers to
peas. We will get heavier crop OF
hay and peas, either or both, and
while doing so, will store away more
fertilizer for the next crop of corn,
wheat. oats or anything we wish to
plant.
Peas not only add to the fertility
of the soil, but they greatly improve
the mechanical condition of the soil.
They make it porous, so that 1t holds
the rain water and fills the soil with
humus. which aids the solution of
the plant ood already in the soil.
We will do we'll to plant large
crops of peas. Put some in rows
and cultivate, and SOW some broad
cast after grain crops. Sow them
broadcast in the corn when laying
by. The Whippoorwills are good
variety for this purpose.
You can rapidly build up your
farm by judicious planting OF COW
peas This should be done not only
on poor lands, but on our best lands.
They not only increase the fertility
Of worn and exhausted lands, but OF
all soils. A continued use OF peas
Will give renewed fertility to all
soils, and constantly improve the
tilth of the soil and continually yield
larger and larger crops of hay and
peas. We get two profits, each in
creasing from year to year. Ii we
feed them to our own cattle, we get
three large profits. Do not plant
TOO many per acre. A few vigorous
vines are better than many small
weak ones. J. B. HUNNICUTT.
Fulton Co., Ga.