The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1905-01-27

SOILS tlaI rave Deen subjected 10
long cultivation and to which liberal
applications Of .armyard manure have
not been made become run together
sooner or later. The friability of vir-
gin soils is due to the large amount of
vegetable matter they contain. 1t is
like yeast to the dough which it leav-
ems. Vegetable matter gives life to the
soil. makes it friable and keeps it open
and easy to cultivate. 1t is dissipated
rapidly by cultivation, and in fact it
has been shown conclusively that the
loss OF vegetable matter is much great
er from erosion than from the draft
which crops make on the soil Espe-
cially is vegetable matter of import
ance in the South where the soils are
OF clayey nature and hence tend to
become compacted sooner than those of
loamy or sandy origin. This, coupled
with tendency to soil washing and
to the rapid dissipation Of the nitro
genous compounds in the soil through
the action of the sun, tends to exhaust
our soils of vegetable matter For these
ance to keep the land we'll supplied
with this essential element of plant
food, and besides, it is a very import
ant matter to keep the ground in good
mechanical condition as it has direct
bearing on the production of large
will enable these desirable ends to he
obtained without too great an expense
to the farmer will be of the greatest
benefit to him.
The desired end may be obtained in
one of several ways. First, through
the use Of farmyard manure. Unfor-
tunately, large supplies of this efficient
fertilizer can only be available on
stock farms. While our stock industry
is very considerable, only a compare
lively small number of farmers are in
terested in it. Hence some other means
for the retaining of the wornout soils
must be found. Of all the crops avail
able for this purpose there is nothing
superior to the cowpea. This is due
to the many peculiar attributes of this
plant whose power of enriching the
soil through it's ability to utilize atmos-
pheric nitrogen is now generally recog-
nized Thus, in the first place, it en-
ables the farmer to supply his crops
with the most expensive element of
plant food at a comparatively small
cost. By preparing the land early
in the spring and seeding as soon as
n IF 10 OF = hax
may be obtained which, as a food
stuff for horses and cattle, is unsur-
passed. In a favorable season a sec
ond crop will be produced heavily Ia
den with fruit from which the peas
may be gathered in considerable guam
tities-from eight to fifteen bushels per
acre. Then the refuse may be turned
under to enrich the soil for a succeed
ing crop. Wheat, barley, oats and rye
all do remarkably we'll after peas
plowed under. In fact, in enc instance
that has come to the writer's attention
blowing under a crop of cowpeas in
creased the yield of barley more than
twenty bushels per acre as compared
with sowing barley on corn stubble.
1t is not uncommon when wheat is
sown after cowpeas plowed down TO
obtain an increase Of from eight to ten
bushels per acre. These figures show
the remarkable value of this crop for
soil renovating purposes, and should
go long way toward disposing of the
altogether too common belief that it
will not pay to plow down cowpeas.
No one would advocate the blowing I'M
der of. cowpeas on rich soils. but on
land that is continuously cropped or
on land that is deficient in vegetable
matter, or on land that is lifeless, run
together and compacted through con-
slant cultivation, it will undoubtedly
pay to plow under cowpeas which will
more quickly restore it to a normal
condition than any other crop that can
be utilized.
The writer receives many, many
letters asking this question: What
shall / do with my land; it seems to
be deficient in some element Of plant
food; am only receiving eight bushels
of wheat and five to six bushels of
corn per acre?" This land will be ben
Gifted wonderfully by vegetable mat
ter. 1t will pay to plow under peas
unquestionably and along with the
peas liberal applications of phosphates
and potash should be made. Do not
hesitate to use the cowpeas for green |
manure. Use it judiciously. By plow-
ing under a crop every second or third |
year and following a systematic rota |
ton, you will be greatly surprised at
the increased yields obtained and the |
general improvement shown by your
soil. The land cannot grow profitable
crops unless you return something to |
it. "You cannot take something fromo
nothing unless you return something to