The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-01-24

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To one who has been working with all
| his might to get our Southern farmers
| to realize what a blessing they nave IN
| the field of COW pea it is pleasant 10
note the great increase OF interest III
the plant not only here in the South,
| but in the other parts of the country.
! States north % us are really getting 10
realize the Gre at value of this forage
| faster thar the farmers in it's southern
home. 1t was my privilege to attend
! the meeting of the Maryland Hortlcul-
| tural Society n Baltimore during the
past week ana though the meeting was
mainly of fruit growers, the COW pea
came up for an animated discussion.
| This was Dr0ught out by an address OF
| Prof. Waite Of the Department or Az
| riculture IN Washington, on the use OF
| the cow pea IL orchards. The discussion
| that followed took a wide range and
covered the whole subject of the cow
pea. Of course, when the pea is talked
| about / was not going to bes silent, ana
| I had sometiling to say with the rest
One large farmer in southern Maryland
| told of his great success in using the
pea as a pasture plant; and said that
he could not get along without IT.,
| though he has to buy seed annually L
I remarked that he would probably nave
| to pay high price for seed the coming
spring, as the last summer crop was
very short He said that he could econ
omize in clothing and 10 some extent IN
| something to eat himself, but that ne
could not get along without the peas
at any price, for they paid him better
with his cattle than anything else. And
| vet here in North Carolina, where the
| pea is at home, we see farmers, or
! rather men who are working on the
| land, hauling home cotton seed hulls IN
bales to feed what little stock they
! keep, when t.ey could have the pest Oh
+ hay while making their land better py
| the growing of it, l suppose the cotton
seed hulls are little better food than
| pine shavings, but not much. In
! county which could produce the best
| of forage and feed the best OF beef our
| butchers have to send to the mountains
of Virginia or to Chicago to get beef tit
to eat, and men grow cotton year after
year on the same land and keep no
stock to make money with or or make
manure from. The Maryland farmer
whom / have mentioned told me that he
wanted to bpv 1000 bushels of peas for
the next springs sowing. Where is
there farmer in North Carolina who
wants to SOW 1000 bushels? 1t will not
be many years before the pea will be
standard crop with the farmers north
of us, and down here, where we can
grow them better than there, we will
be still buying the beef made from the
southern pea, while our farmers con-
tinue TO act as the distributing agents
I lit a fhGift lnF ~ &c
grow poorer and poorer. With bo-
nanza of wealth right at hand we
! scratch the land for cotton and fail to
find success. We keep hammering at
! this. for the coming farmer in the south
must be a pea grower if he is ever to
attain success in the restoration of his
purse.
From Wilson county: "WiH it pay
| to use cotton seed as manure, or is 1t
best to sell them and buy cotton seed
meal? How should Cearealite be used
for tobacco?' At the present price of
cotton seed it will pay far better to sell
| them and bny the meal with the pro-
| ceeds. The oil in the seed is of no man
ner of use as a fertilizer. and the meal
will be more readily available without
lit. AS know nothing about the articles
!
should be used for tobacco or whether
| it should be used at ali or not If you
| can tell me what it is made of | may
be in a position to advise. You can
! make a first class tobacco fertilizer by
mixing 900 pounds Of acid phosphate,
/ 600 pounds of dried blood, 100 pounds of
nitrate of soda and 400 pounds of high
grade sulphate of potash to make a
/ ton. This o.mula has been made fine
tobacco in Granville and Person and is
as good as any ready made article on
the market, if not better.
From Guilford county: II read your
| letters with a great of interest and
wish some suggestions as to the best
/ way to gaI a stand of clover. Mine is
considered tie best of red land, and
especially adapted to wheat and clover.
I have succeeded with clover in years
gone by, but for the past few years
while the yield of wheat has increased
per acre. il has Deen hard to get a
stand of clover | have field that was
in corn this year for the first time in
ten years | am now breaking it with
! a tWo-horce yloW and intend to sow
! spring oats ard red clover in the spring.
/ 1t is fairly good land as to fertility and
| lies well, and is protected by terracing
from washing. Now please give me the
benefit of your experience in getting
a catch of red clover" AS we have
heretofore sad: what do you want with
the clover? The COW pea is the natural
Ilegume of the south, and we can do with
| the pea all that can be done with red
clover and dc it in one-fourth the time.
| What we 1eed for the improvement of
our lands is !; short rotation, with peas
brought in frequently, and cut for hay
| to feed to stock and make more ma
nure. You propose to SOW spring oats
and clover in the spring, both of which
in nine times out of ten are dead fail
ures in this Innate. Red clover sown
in the spriog with oats will, if you get
| a stand, be p~etty certain to burn out
after the oats are removed, and the
spring sowY oats, seldom make paying
crop here The fall is the only time to
SOW oats and dover in this climate But
as I have said, we do not need the
clover at all. Peas sown at the right
time never fail to make a stand, and in
| a month or two they will make heav-
Ter crop of better hay than the red
clover will in year. and the land will
| 90 oroa ba ! =, eoo5 condition for the