134 Peach-Growing 



the heads sticking up between the furrows or in unplowed 

 areas between the trees in the rows with a view to such plants 

 maturing seed and reseeding without sowing by hand. In 

 some instances satisfactory crops have been obtained in 

 this manner year after year and with practically no expense. 



Soybeans. 



The soybean has not been very much used heretofore in 

 orchards as an inter-planted crop for any purpose. As a 

 cover- or green-manure crop for peach orchards, it fills in 

 general very much the same needs as the cowpea and in 

 some directions has a wider range of usefulness. South- 

 ward its culture corresponds well with the cotton-belt; 

 northward, with the corn-belt. It is also recommended 

 for California conditions where a summer cover-crop is 

 desired. Light frosts in the fall that kill cowpeas do not 

 injure soybeans, though they do not withstand severe 

 frosts. Moreover, the seed germinates at a lower tempera- 

 ture and may be planted both earlier and later than the cow- 

 pea. 



In sandy soil, where clover frequently fails, this crop as 

 well as cowpeas has been found to do well. Where it 

 has not previously been grown, inoculation of the soil with 

 the proper nodule-forming bacteria is necessary. It is 

 also more drought-resistant than cowpeas. The seed is 

 sown either broadcast, using 1 to 1^ bushels to the acre, with 

 a grain-drill, using about the same quantity of seed, or in 

 drills 28 to 36 inches apart, requiring about half the quantity 

 as when seeded by the other methods. If the surface of 

 the soil packs a little, however, after seeding, the plants may 

 have difficulty in coming up, while cowpeas under the 

 same conditions would grow readily. For this reason, 



