St. Tammany farmer., 1903-04-25
FARMER AND PLANTER.
PEAS FOR A FORAGE CROP.
One of the Most Important and Prof
liable Forage Crops for the
South is Peas.

| The time has come when the south
ern farmer must grow large supplies
of cattle food. The very high prices
OF beef and butter, l,olA and lard
make it {, very important part of our
business to see what we can do to get
our part of the millions that are to
! be made in raising cattle and hogs
and chickens.
| When we begin to study-this ques-
ton we feel that one of the most
important crops is peas.
They grow readily all over the
south. They make such large yield
of forage or hay that it pays to grow
peas as a single crop. But such is
their rapidity of development that
they can be grown as a second crop
after the small grain has been har-
vested. In this way they come in as
al extra crop and thus greatly lessen
the cost.
Again, they grow with other crops,
such as corn and sorghum, without
any injury to them. They do not,
however, stop at this, but while they
are making good paying crop they
are also enriching the soil for other
crops which are to follow.
This gives them new and wonder
full value. They not only add plant
food to the soil, but they greatly I'M
prove the mechanical condition OF the
soil. aE.tE.a ..l. .F
This is a very important point in
the south Our farms are suffering
more from want of pulveriZation than
from any other cause. We have work
ed in our farms SO much when the
soil was wet that we have made count
less millions OF sundried brickbats.
These little clods seriously interfere
with the growth of all crops. This IS
serious question. Again, we have
scratched so shallow that we have no
| depth of soil in our fields.
Peas correct both of these condl-
tions. They help to pulverize the top
soil and they penetrate the clay with
their roots, thus deepening the SOIL.
Peas, then. can be truly called great
soil-improvers.
We first call attention to the use
les.; waste of seed in the usual way
of planting peas. If your object is
to get the largest possible yield OF
peas or hay, or to get the greatest
benefit to the soil, or both, or all, you
do not need to have them very thick.
A few large, vigorous vines will yield
more peas. make more hay and do the
land more good than a number OF
crowded. puny vines. If properly put
in YOU will rarely need more than
peck to the acre. We prefer drilling
in all cases except when laying by
corn and sowing in combination with
sorghum for hay. We are not sure
that drilling would not be best then.
Two rows of meas between each corn
row would give fine results. One
row of peas and one of sorghum IL
inches apart would be good way to
plant for hay.
After wheat and oats we always get
best results by breaking the land,
bury the stubb.e with two-horse turn
over and SOW peas with planter or
drill. It is generally best to have
rows wide enough GA to so inches)
to run a furrow between and to ploW
them once or twice.
Different varieties seem to do best
in different localities. For gathering
peas we like the bush or more rum
ming varieties. For making hay we
like the runners. AS a general rule
the running peas require more time
and must be planted earlier.
Where wilt and other diseases have
appeared the best thing to do is to
plant the most resistant varieties you
can get. The United States govern
ment is doing a good work in develop
ing these resistant or immune varle-
ties. The iron pea is thought to be
entirely free from disease.
White table varieties must be plant
ed early and cultivated to insure good
Grips. There are several improved
varieties of these. Some make three
crops "a season.
AS the pea SO greatly helps the soil
by gathering nitrogen from the air,
it seems superfuous to manure the
pea. But it is not. Manure or fertil-
izer will pay as large per cent OF
profit on peas as on any crop we
grow. As already stated, the more
vigorous the vine the more nitrogen
it can gather. Give them room and
fertilize them we'll with stable man
ure or acid and kainit.
There are thousands of acres OF
worn land that will not yield paying
crops in the present condition. These
lands should be plowed very deep so
as to hold all the water, and terraced
so as to prevent washing, and planted
in peas. By this treatment these fields
will very soon be in condition to yield
paving crops of any kind.
On such lands the peas should be
manured and cultivated. Then follow
the peas with oats or wheat, and then
follow these grain crops with peas.
By this method these lands will soon
be very fertile. Plow deep every
time between the crops. Always cut
your peavines for hay. 1t is great
waste to leave them on the land.
They are worth something as manure,
hut three to five times as much for
food. If fed to your own stock and
the manure saved you get both values
Peas should yield from 80 to so
bushels per acre, and from one and
one-half to three tons of hay.-South-
ern Cultivation.
Is This Business:
What sort of business is it for farm