The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-11-20

misuse, or half starve them. humane owner is unwilling to sell a faithful old team to uEmcrciful men. and averse to shooting his faithful servants, and sometimes keeps them three or four years at a loss.--J. W. Ingram, in Southern Planter.
 The Cewpea, the Coming Crop of the
 south.
 The cowpea as paying crop has never been fully realized by the great mass of the farmers as it should bo and as 1t will be in the future. This is plainly obvious to the intelligent ob- server who travels among the pineland farms of the South. This is more planting about all their available land in cotton; the quickest and surest route to financial ruin that could be planned on the farm and while this class of farmers are running themselves, they are running their soil and contributing their part to injure all the other cotton planters by overproduction. The de- terioration of the soil Is probably the worst feature about 1t. Now to fully realize the facts take the average yield of cotton or corn per acre in the South; {; about one-third bale or eight or ten bushels corn per acre. This In ttself speaks louder than words that the soil is sadly neglected by the average farmer and the deterioration continues worse each year. This will be ca- lamity on next generation if radical change is not made.
 The great. remedy for sure and quick results for the better is the cowpea; 1t has all good qualities and no bad ones: 1t makes food for your family. your horses. cattle, hogs, chickens, and rest and food for your cotton-sick soil rx-A ~..tIl N rE cent. more after each crop grown. 1t will double your crop after two crops peas and enhance the value of the soil 100 per cent.
 Indeed 1t seems strange that so good a thing has been so commonly neglect ed to make a big crop of cotton or rather to increase the cotton acreage.
 Another convincing feature in favor of the pea crop Is it can be planted as a second crop after small grain and in corn, thus making two good crops, but there are thousands of acres that should be devoted to peas exclusively a year or two to enable it to make a paying crop.
 If one-half the cotton land in the South could have q good growth of peas each year the other half would produce in a year or two as much cot- ton as all do now to say nothing of the fine stock that would consume the crop. There is nothing that gives greater returns for the labor and money invested than the pea crop prop erly planted. To give my idea in figures I beg to give my expense and profit on peas this year.
 Having failed to make a good crop of peas last year due to insects, I bought and planted one-half bushel peas on each acre. corn at last work Ing, at cost of 80 cents for seed and cost of sowing no extra labor after wards. Results. benefit to land and next crop per acre, at lowest estimate, s5 peas made per acre 71-2 bushels; $7.50 clear of picking; total, $f2.5e. Cost of seed and sewing. $f; net profit, $1150.
 If had not made pea 1t would have paid well. Too much can not be said in favor of the pea crop.
 Mir. Editor. this is my first time in several years in trespassing on your readers patience. but have been reading your great paper.-W B. F.. Lewis, in Southern Cultivator.