The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-05-20
SOFA BEANS.

One of the best of the leguminous crops,
both for forage and hay, is the Sofa bean.
1t has not as yet been cultivated to any
considerable extent in the Southern States
but it is destined in the future to play an
important part in Southern forage crops,
of which, fortunately we have so many
varieties. The Sofa bean is good drought
reslster, and makes good crops on fairly
fertile soil. The following letter from our
North Carolina correspondent gives some
valuable practical experience in handling
this bean. / think his letter should re
ceive the careful consideration of our
readers and therefore give it prominent
position in this issue;
Murphy, N. c., April %, 1903.
Agricultural Editor, Semi Weekly Jour
nall
Il am a subscriber to The Atlanta Jour
nal and am a farmer. | read your talk
with farmers with more interest than any
other part OF the paper. l have read what
you say about velvet beans. / have tried
them but abandoned them because /
could not get them to mature here in this
mountain region, and not getting any
grains or grasses or leguminous plants ma
tured hurts very materially as a feed.
When | commenced farming / was a great
advocate OF cow peas for improving my
lands and for feed for my stock. | had
great trouble in saving them in perfect
condition and / found that to save them
perfect / had to cut them just at certain
stage of crop.
Il lost most Of the leaves and the peas
shattered out, so | had to gather regard
less of weather and lost large quantities
if cut in rainy or cloudy weather and if l
left them for good weather | only had
the naked vine with but few peas. I stu
raise some in my corn fields. but do not
plant to NOW and save for feed. / COM
menced to plant SOFA beans in place of
COW peas for forage and / have succeeded
with fine success. Both in improving my
lands and for feeding think they are far
superior to COW peas to enrich land and
the richest known vegetable substance in
the world (that I have ever seen tried)
in actual feeding value. / consider one
bushel OF SOFAS worth more as a feed than
the best one and a half bushels of corn.
SOFAS will stand more heat and drought
than any other crop; in fact, drought
has never hurt my SOFAS, while my corn
and COW peas have been ruined on same
any hluQ VI SbOChs uOISeS,
mules, cows sheep and hogs do better
on them than any feed / can get. Three
years ago | made a crop on my farm, had
two mules and a mare that did not in ten
months eat ten bushels of any kind OF
grain except Sofa hay and kept fat at the
time hard at work. My hogs kept doing
well when fed Sofa. either green or
dry, and l see much Improvement in my
land in growing grain after SOFAS, much
more than after COW peas.
II prefer planting in drills, "a to 30
inches and ! to beans every IL inches in
drill and run a heel sweep through them
twice and hoe them out once.
yours respectfully.
~. A. BISAWER"
l think it would be well enough for more
small scale as a small quantity of seed
can be purchased from any reliable seed
store
Ny experience with the COW peas has not
been such that / can yet place it second
to any other plant for forage or hay or
for renoyating the soil, but Sofa beans
may be more suitable for other sections
than either the COW pea or the velvet
bean. The only way we can find out
which is the best is to buy few seed and
experiment at small expense.
HARVIE JORDAN.