The new enterprise., 1905-02-09
TIE cowpea For Grcen Manure.

long cultivation and 20 which l!berai
applications OF .armyard manure nave
not been made become run together
sooner OF later. The frlahility Of Nir-
Gin soils is due to the large amount OF
vegetable matter they contain. 1t Is
like yeast TO the dough which II leaN'
ems. Vegetable matter gives life 10 the
soil. makes ii friahlc and keeps it open
ana easy TO cultivate. II is dissipated
rapidly by cultivation and in fact i
has been shown concusiyely that the
loss Of vegetable matter is much great
or from erosion than from thc draft
which crops make on the soil Espn-
cially is vegetable matter Of import
anCe IN the South where thc soils are
OF a clGyCy nature and hence tend 10
become c0mpacted sooner than those Of
n loamy or sandy origin. This. coupled
with a tendency 10 soil washing and
TO the rapid dissipation OF the nitro
EenouS compounds in the soil through
the action Of the sun, tends to exhaust
our soils OF vegetable matter For these
reasons Il becomes a matter OF import
arce to keep The land well supplied
with this essential element OF plant
food. and besides, IL is a very import.
aIt matter 20 keep the ground IN good
mechanical condition as St has q dir2c,
bearing on the production Of large
and uniform crops. Any means thai
will enable these desirable ends to be
obtained without too great an expense
20 the farmer will be Of The greatest
benefit 70 him.
The desired end may be obtained in
one Of several ways. First through
the use Of farmyard manure. Cnror-
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 o,heg means
for the reclaiming OF the wornout soils
must be found, OF all the crops avail
able for this purpose there is nothing
superior TO the cowpca, This is due
to the many peculiar attributes Of this
plant whose power Of emlchinC the
soil through its ability 20 utilize atmoS-
pheric nitrogen is now generally rccog-
nized. Thus. in the first place, it ell
ables the farmer TO supply bis crops
with the most expensive element o.
plant food at a comparatively small
cost BY preparing the land early
in the spring and seeding as sooA as
danger Of frost Is past Il crop Of hay
may be obtained which. as q food
stuff for horses ana cattle. is Unsur-
passed, In favorable season sec
ond crop will be produced heavily IA
den with fruit from which the peas
may be gathered in considerable quan.
eight TO lifteen bushels pcr
acre. Then the refuse may be turned
under TO enrich the soil for a succeed.
ing crop. Wheat, barley, oats aud rye
all DO remarkably well after peas
plowed under In fact, in one instance
thar has come to the writer's attention
plowing Guder a crop OF cowpcaS 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 10
obtain an increase OF from eight 10 ton
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
100 common BELIEF that il
will not pay to plow down cowpoas.
No one would advocate the plowing un.
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 llfeless. run
together and compacted through con-
stant cultivation, it will undoubtedly
pay to plow under cowpeas which will
more quickly restore II to a normal
than any other crop that can
be utilized.
The, writer receives many, many
letters asking this question: "What
Shall I 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
ehted 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 cowpens for green
Use it judiciously. By pIow-
ing under a crop every second or third
year and following a systematic rota-
tion, 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 from,