FORAGE CROPS. 4(W 



are occasionally abundant on sandy roadsides, are much relished by 

 slock. 



What hay is needed is largely afforded by crab grass (Syntherisma 

 (Panicum) sanguinale), which springs up abundantly and spontane- 

 ously in every truck field after the crop has been removed. If the land 

 is then allowed to lie idle, two crops of "crab hay "can be secured before 

 the fall-sown truck is put in. The first crop makes excellent forage, 

 while the second is inferior, and is chiefly useful for bedding. It 

 takes about ten days to cure crab grass thoroughly. After il has 

 been mown the stubble is usually plowed under, but sometimes is left 

 standing until the next crop of truck is to be; sown, when the crab- 

 grass stubble is burnt over. 



Cowpeas are the principal cultivated forage crop in this section, 

 and are usually planted with corn, but sometimes alone. Here, as 

 elsewhere through the southeastern States, this legume is more highly 

 valued for restoring exhausted soils than any other, as its roots pene- 

 trate deeper than those of clover, and it is better adapted to the 

 long, hot summer. It is said in one year to render "kind " and " mel- 

 low" soils winch were stiff and almost unworkable. When used for 

 this purpose the peas are plowed under. If the next crop is to be pota- 

 toes, however, the tops of 1 he vines should first be cut, as otherwise the 

 potatoes are liable to "scab." Cowpea hay is often cured in ricks. 

 The vines, either alone or mixed with crab grass, are stacked upon 

 wooden frames which consist of horizontal arms fastened to a vertical 

 pole, and are thus left to dry. In the Diemal Swamp region, and 

 near Newbern, the "Black-Eye" pea is the variety most frequently 

 grown. At Newbern the "Lady" pea also is sometimes used. 



German millet is frequently cultivated near Norfolk as a forage 

 plant and grows well in the lighl truck soils. The use of oats, rye, 

 and barley has already been mentioned. 



Timothy is successfully cultivated on the heavier soils, especially 

 those reclaimed from the Dismal Swamp (PI. LXXVI1). One field of 

 about 22 acres, at Wallaceton, which had been cultivated for about 

 five years, part of the time in potatoes, and had therefore been 

 treated with lime and fertilizers, yielded as much as -'tons of tim- 

 othy hay to the acre. 



Clovers, red and alsike, are frequently grown on the heavier inland 

 soils, where oats, barley, and rye thrive best. Crimson clover is often 

 sown upon somewhat lighter soils. 



It is probable that at some distance from the seashore, by selecting 

 soils which have a stiff clay bottom and therefore hold considerable 

 water, the cultivation of meadow grasses and clovers could be made 

 profitable if the land is given a preliminary liming. The luxuriant 

 growth of Kentucky blue grass {Poa pratensis), orchard grass (Dac- 

 tylis glomerata), timothy ( Phleum praterwe), redtop (Agrostis alba vul- 

 garis), and meadow fescue (Festuca elvtior), as well as clovers and 



