FOR BETTER CROPS IN TEE SOUTH 55 



any part of the sandy, pine wood region. On suitable soils it 

 makes four to six tons per acre in about as many cuttings, and 

 the hay always commands a high price. A large part of the 

 good alfalfa lands are more or less set with Johnson grass, but 

 the growers regard that as an advantage, as the latter gives a 

 heavy cutting late in the fall after the alfalfa has nearly stopped 

 growing, and the total yield is considerably increased. Most 

 feeders prefer the mixed hay to that made from either plant 

 alone. Alfalfa always grows well on the sugar lands of Louisiana, 

 but is usually killed by root-rot at the end of its first season. 

 Many sugar planters, however, regard it as the best crop for 

 their rotation, not only because of its heavy yield of hay, but 

 also for its fertilizing and rejuvenating effect on the soil. 



The seeding of alfalfa requires more careful work than the 

 planting of any other forage crop. The ground should be plowed 



Cowpeas improve the soil 



as deep as possible at least two months before the seed is 

 sown, though the plowing or disking immediately before seed- 

 ing should be as shallow as possible to make a good seed bed. If 

 the ground is plowed deep just before seeding, the roots of the 

 fall-sown seed are likely to be pulled out by frost, while the 

 spring-sown seed is sure to suffer more from drouth than when 

 the subsoil has been well compacted. Seeding may be done in 

 either fall or spring, though fall is much the better time in the 

 South. The best preparation of the ground is by plowing deep 

 in the spring or early summer after a crop of oats has been 

 removed, and then growing a crop of cowpeas on the land. As 

 soon as the peas are gathered, in August or September, the 

 ground should be disked, or plowed very shallow, and then har- 

 rowed until the surface is fine and smooth, the seed sown at the 

 rate of about twenty pounds per acre, and covered with a light 

 harrow or a roller. The Arabian and the Peruvian are the best 



