The Grit-advocate., 1903-04-03
FARMING MATTERS.
&c" Pea as a Fertilizer.

| comm. . subject Of much interest to
Colorad" farmers. While ii is true
that th"r is now sufficient fertility
IN the T"-l TO raise crops. since it has
been dcl. 'IlStratcd that the sugar beet
| takes iiuu the ground more plant
| food tialI any crop that is raised in
| the sthlU. ih" farmer who expects TO
| he Succ' N~lnl must soon begin TO study
| me question as 10 what particular
KIND OF I'rllliz"r is adapted to his soil
! ana cIliHf". The present condition
Is o1liy 'rmporary at best and it Will
he mus easier Ia annually replace the
| PAM f"n'I taken from the ground each
| wear uHII il will h" tn build up the
| SOIL ai' It's richness has been taken
| from ~ With the sugar beet industry
! III to'oIIun has come Il new method
| of cfnp raising intensive farming.
| Large iiH'luS are becoming the rNcCp-
tion rht.mr Than the rule in the sugar
factory districts and the men VIII"
work ilrm intend 10 get every cent
possible for their seasons work II is
often tln case that the man who has
Il small farm and works it inIrlligcntly
makes NOR" money than the man with
Il large Ir;lrr
Prof. A. IT, DaniclSon. in charge of
the fhrW department nj the Agricul-
tural College. already has in progress
rNperimrntS with artificial fertilizers
and crop rotation with II view of be
ing ready 10 answer the question that
will sn"Ir be asked: What fertilizer
can ] lsu with the least expense and
the bes, r.Sultst"
The mo~I popular method of fcriliz
ing lnno IN new countries is by rotlt-
ing crop. one season Il crop of bccts
may be grown and followed by Il crop
of alfalU the next year. hut the man
with ii small tract of land cannot af-
| ford to wait for two or three years for
an alfalid crop 10 enrich his land. and
it is therefore desirable TO get some
crop tlal will do the work in less time
and alSu return Il profit
The most rapid and economical way
in wh'ch vegetable matter can be got.
ten into tn" soil is hy growing II lcgu-
| mnots crop of some kind. For this
purpose. all things considered. there is
nothing better than the southern field
pea. or what is known here rs til" COW
pea. This plant. in common with all
the p,a family. has the power of cap
| turing nitrogen from the air and liking
II in ,hc ground for succeeding crops.
| lis heavy growth above ground fur
LishcN larger amount of vegetable
matte. Than would he found in the
hcavitst dressing from harnynrh fer
tillzc1s and in addition to cnrichin. the
soil lis also an excellent profit givcr
Tl" COW pea has been successfully
tried in the Arkansas valley hy the
field agent of the experiment station.
| Th" varieties tested were the Whip
poorwill. Black. Clay and New Era.
The trst named proved to be the best
for all purposes. Ii yielded rs high as
two rons of hay and t<n bushels of
seed per acre. This plant should be
Sowu in drills from twenty-five 10
ihirty-twO inches apart. The work
may he done with beet or grain
drill. When intended for fertilization
purposes. the sowing may be done as
late aS the last of July. II is IN rX-
ccll'l1 crop to SOW in orchards TO pro
tcct the trees from the reflection of the
sun in late summer The experiment
station reports the following Arkan-
saS valley test as an Indication of til"
value of this crop As II fertilizer:
"a une-Acre tract that produced COW
peas in 1900 WAS devoted to til"
| growth of bets in 1901. The peas
were cut with u mower so tina, the
roots ana Stubblr remained to plow
under. An adioinin" plat of th" >anir
size lhnt had never grown COW peas
was also planted TO bcctS for compar-
iSon Both tracts We're given the sam"
treatment and planted to. the same va
ricty of beclS. The plat that had
grow COW peas yielded AT III" end of
| the season sixteen tons of bcrls and
| Il
Many varieties of COW peas are
| groWu in the United States. They are
all unlike in appearance and growth.
In some cases the stems are short and
erect and in others they are long and
twiuug like those of the northern pole
bean This plant WAS first brought TO
America from India where it was
known as the Cow lee" and from the
similarity of sound it has come to be
known as the Cow pea"
Nitrogen of soda is perhaps used
NOR" han any other substance for fer
| tiliZiHr. 1t is Il coarse salt found in
Chill and Peru. II is refined and
| shipped in great quantities. The fol
lowing mixture has been found in the
East 10 be good fertilizer for crops
Ike potatoes and bcctS: High grade
solved phosphate o frock. 80 pounds:
tnnka-r. 80 pounds; ground bone 10
pounds: nitrate of soda. l2u pounds;
dried blood. 12O pounds. This. mixed
together. makes 1000 pounds of fcrlil-
iZrr md is Sutlicicn, To supply two
acrrs ordinarily.
The use of artificial fertilizer in til"
Enst has become 50 general that Il
| farmer there does NOT Ditpmpt 10 grow
| Il crop without Il liberal application
of piant food TO his ground. The de
| mauI for 1t has become To great that
| in every state east of tn" Mississippi
| ii hg~ ben necessary to pass strict
| laws regulating the sal" Of artificial
| fertilizers protecting the purchaser
! from fake fertilizers.
| I'll" new regulations Of Tia" Depart
mcu' of Agricultur" provide for the