The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-05-03
r,,e Souih's Great Variety OF Leguues,

,,,nts. and many have been tried as
rnnoyating crops. Some Of them ave
haar dropped ont, either because the
Y,raae made from them is moi good
or not reiished by stock, or because
tb,v have been found unsuited to va
ri0us sections.
The two legumes that have become
If the greatest value in most parts OF
the south are the cowpea and Grim
son or annual clover, the one for sum-
mer and the other for winter soil
cover and fertilization. These two
olants make a team that Will do more
for the general area of the South than
anything that can be grown. the one
for hay and the other for blowing
undcr ia the spring. after saving the
waste Of the soil all winter.
In tue far South the velvet bean
has a great value and may supersede
the cOWpea as a forage-maker. In
Florida the beggar weed has been
found valuable, but its value decreas-
IS RAPIDLY as we come noTthWard. un-
Ill IN the larger part OF the South it
% simply a weed. The velvet beam,
while Of great alu where it ma
lures, soon reaches q point northWard
uhara the cowDea will always beat it.
In favorable seasons it will mature in
fHo far southeastern section OF North
Carolina. and ever In the central part
Of the State ii will make an i'm
measo amount Of forage. Planted in
rows eight feet apart at Raleigh. they
made q mass over the whole ground
hall waist deep. l believe that in all
the warmer parts OF the South the
velvet bean can be made very profit
abe Tor green soilins to cattle.
Mach has been said in regard to the
Vetrhes. ana especially in regard to
what $ known as the Hairy vetch or
Sand Eetch. Where some grain like
wheat IS sown with the Hairy Vetch.
d sustain 1t off the ground, it will
make q fine nay crop from fall SOW
ing, and can be gotten off the ground
IN time to grow a crop OF coWpca hay,
and to leave the IAN IN CRIMSON
clover n the fail.
/ once sowed wheat and Vetch in
the fan, cat the crop IN May and
cured il for hay. sOwed the land IN
co~Deas and cut these for hay and
hay . fair stand Of alfalfa on the
i3nd before cold weather. This. o
course, with liberal use of acid phos-
9h2te n potash In the lower Miss
lssipp5 valley the station have found
thai he soil is plentfuily supplied
with potash, but eve there it will
moi 40 10 ignore the needs Of the
l-sumes for phosphoric acid. which.
VII nitrogen. Is the greatest def
CtencE IN all OF our old cultivated soils,
and is aDt to be the determining fac
tor in any fertilizer mixture.
Ia the lime lands Of Mississippi the
meEjotus or sweet clover has been
found 10 be & valuable legume for the
Improvement Of the soil. 1t grows
as a weed ali YER the United States,
h2t SO FAR as my experience goes. cat
tie viii have to be halt starved before
they viii eat it, and l think it has
b'.lo <elue as a forage plant.
3i1t The legune that has excited
more attention than any other in re-
cent years is alfalfa, or lucerne. as
1t vas formerly called. In the arid
section Of the West alfalfa has be
come the greatest of forage crops, and
syracuse, in New York, and at Hills
boro, \. G., alfalfa mas been grown
successfully for moro than a genera
1p1- The alfalfa region of Mississippi
ana Alabama seems defined to be one
81 the rlchet agricultural sections IN
7~iHeilca before many years.
Alfalfa. when we'll established, viii
'( Ahanr dill
~ Valuabie forage. But il Is not q
crop 10 bring up poor land, as the
.o"pea Is. for alfalfa demands a fer
1ia soil, a WeIl-drained soil, and one
/" which the subsoil will allow the
.pri6 to penetrate deeply. With q
lot near the barn where the farmer
IAN get the land into high condition
re can do well with alfalfa, but FOL
'"e rapid improvement of worn soIi'
INA crops to take into q short rota
t'oH the cOWpea and crimson clover
nave a far higher value in the Soutf
,nah alfalfa ever will have. The
"1Stern plains can beat Us with al
ana, but We can beat them out o
",9ht with cowpeas and crimson
LIVER. With a rotation OF corn
I'm peas among it, followed by WIN
oi oats. and these by peas and GRIM
ton clover, and back to corn with al
e"e idrfn manure, / can produce mor'
-|ta6e and feed more cattle on tn
a.eFage Southern farm than any on,