The Elbert County tribune., 1903-04-02
FARMING MATTERS.
Cow Pea as a EertIIiz.r.


that there Is now sufficient fertility
IN tne soil 70 raise crops. since II hns
been demonstrated that the sugar beet
takes from the ground more plnnt
food thau any crop thar Is raised IN
the state. The farmer who expects To
be sucr,ssful must soon begin To study
the question as to what particular
kind OF fertilizer is adapted To his soil
ana climate The present condition
Is only temporary at best and II Will
be inuch easier 20 annually replace the
plant rood taken from the ground each
year thah II VIII he to build up the
soil aI'er lis richness has been taken
from ~ With the sugar beet Industry
Ia 'oioiaup has come u new method
or crop raising-intcnslvc farming.
Large iari'.~ are becoming the excep-
ton rather than the rule In the sugar
factory districts and the men who
work tem Intend 10 get every cent
possible Tor their seasons work. IL Is
often the case that the mnn who has
n small farm and works II lntelllgentiy
makes inorc money than the man with
a large tract.
Prot. A. II. Danlelson. In charge of
the farm department mt the Agrlcul.
tural college already has In progress
cNperiments with artificial fertilizers
and crop rotation with view OF be-
ing ready ta answer the question that
viii soon be- asked: What fertilizer
can | use with the least expense aud
the best rcsultsT"
The mosl popular method OF fertiliz-
ing lanti in new countries Is by rotat-
ing crops one season n crop OF beets
may be grown and followed by crop
Of alfnlfa The next year. hut the man
with II small tract of land cannot af-
ford To wait for two or three years for
an alfnlfa crop 10 enrich his land. and
II is Therefore desirable to get some
crop TINT viii do the work In less time
and also return profit,
The most rapid and economical way
In which vegetable matter can he got
ten into the soil Is by growing IL lcgli-
minous crop OF some kind For this
purpose, all things considered. there is
nothing better than the southern Held
pea. or what is known here ns the cow
pea. This plant, In common with all
the pen family. has tile power of cap
turing nitrogen from the air and lixiug
II IN the ground for succeeding crops.
Its heavy growth above ground fur
nishes larger amount of vegetable
matter than would he found In the
heaviest dressing from blrDyard fer
tihzcr. and In addition To enriching the
soil IL Is also an excellent profit-givcr.
The COW pea has been successfully
tried III the Arkansas valley by the
neld agent of the experiment station.
The varieties tested were the Whip
poorwill. Black. Clay. and New Era.
The first named proved to be the best
for all purposes. II yielded ms high as
TWO tons Of hay and ten bushels OF
seed per acre. This plant should be
sown In drills from twenty-five to
thirty-two Inches apart The work
may be done with beet or grain
drill. When intended for fertilization
purposes the sowing may he done as
late ns the last of July. II is an ex-
cellent crDp to SOW In orchards to pro
tcct the tyees from the reflection of the
sun IN late summer. The experiment
station reports the following Arkan-
sas valley test as an Indication of the
value OF this crop Ms n fertilizer;
~ one-ncre tract that produced COW
peas In 1900 was devoted TO the
growth of bets in 1901. The peas
We're cut with mower so that the
roots and stubble remained TO plow
under An adjoining plat OF the snii.e
was also planted to beets for compar-
lson. Both tracts We're given the same
treatment and planted to the same va
riety of beets. The plat that had
grown COW peas yielded at the end Of
the season sixteen tons of beets and
the other tract yielded twelve tons"
Many varieties OF COW peas are
grown In the United States. They are
all unlike in appearance ana growth.
In some eases the stems are short and
erect and in others they are long and
twining like those of the northern pole
bean. This plant was first brought TO
America from India where II was
known as the "cow lee" and from the
similarity Of sound 1t has com. to be
known as the Cow pea
Nitrogen OF soda is perhaps used
more than any other substance for fer
tlllzine II Is conrse salt found in
Chile and Peru. 1t is refined and
shipped In great quantities. The fol
lowing mixture has lieen found In the
East TO he a good fertilizer for crops
like p0tntocs aud beets: High-grndp
sulphate OF potash 800 pounds; dis.
solved phosphate frock. $50 pounds:
tanknge. f3o pounds: ground bone. 10
pounds; nitrate Of soda. 100 pounds:
dried blood, 100 pounds. This. mixed
together. makes 1000 pounds OF fertll-
izer and is sufficient TO supply two
acres ordinarily
The use Of artificial fertilizer In the
East has become so general that n
farmer there does not attempt to grow
n crop without liberal application
of plant food to his ground. The de
mand for il has become to great that
IN every stnte east of the Mississippi
II has ben necessary TO pass strict
laws regulating the sale of artificial
fertilizers protecting the purchaser
from fake fertilizers
Horticultural Report.
The annual report OF the State Board
of Horticulture. the fourteenth volume
OF which has just been printed. is re-