The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1910-09-30
STATES DEPART.
MENT or AGRICULTURE
Bureau of Plant Industry,
FARMERS COOPERATIVE DEMONSlRAINt
WORK

To Agents, Demonstrators AMI Cooperators:
A WINTER COVER CROP.
The farmer who does not try to get
| all. he can out of his land annually and
vet leave it in a condition to yield more
the following season has mistaken his
vocation.
One way to do this is to plant cow
PEGS in the corn at the time of the last
cultivation; harvest the corn in Sep
TENDER and pasture the cowpeas in
October. Early in November deep
break and plant in rye, using about
bushel per acre. Our reasons for pre-
ferring rye are the following:
2. 1t is hardy. 1t will terminate
and make a stand when other grains
fail. Oats and barley will winter kill
when rye will remain practically unln-
iured by the frost. 1t stands tramp
ing and grazing better than other
grains.
2. 1t takes kindly to poor soils,
which is an important factor on most
lands.
Where barry vetch will succeed, the
addition of aspeck of:vetch seed to a
buskel of rye is an improvement.
Where there are no boil weevil in
festation, rye or rye and vetch may be
planted between the rows of cotton in
October, and not later than the first of
November. 1t is better to use a mar
row drill in planting, but where farm
ers do not have this the seed may be
sown by hand and cultivated or har-
rowed in.
CRIMSON CLOVER.
On lands adapted to it, crimson
clover sown in the corr at the last
working has given excellent results.
About Is pounds to the acre is general
ly used and by the first Of the follow
ing April it furnishes q cutting of 1-2
to Pig tons of cured hay or, turned I'M
der, adds a great body of manure to
the soil. The territory in which the
crimson clover thrives best appears to
be from the latitude of the Northern
portion of the Gulf States to the lati-
tude of the Ohio river.
Oats are barley do well some winters.
When they succeed they furnish a
large amount of winter grazing and
humus for blowing under in the spring.
FACTS ABOUT A WINTER COVER
CROP.
/. A winter cover crop largely pre-
vents loss of soil fertility by washing
(erosion) some lands suffer greater
loss than others by washing. but all
lands ore more or less injured by it.
, 2. Soils without cover lose consider
able fertility by evaporation during
the fall and winter. A winter cover
crop reduces this loss to a negligible
quantity.
3. Such crops. to some extent, pre-
vent the seeding of the land to foul
weeds.
A. They increase the porosity of the
soil, and add humus so essential to fer
tility.
5. They make a valuable crop while
the lands would be otherwise idle,
which is a net gain to the land. We
mnst increase the vegetable matter in
the soil to an amount sufficient K
enable the soil to retain a much larger
proportion of the rainfall than at pres
ent and to greatly increase the me
chanical conditions of the soil.
6. A very important consideration
in the winter cover crop is the larg
amount of grazing that can be secure
from it at a time when it is especial
valuable for young stock, and its valu
is not limited altogether to the mer
supply of food. 1t adds to the healt
and vigor of the stock. On an averag
from 2 to 2 IL months grazing a b
secured at a nominal cost of a little !;
Dor in preporing and seeding the Liant
S. A. KNAPP,
Special Agent in Charge.