136 



THE FORAGE AND FIBER CROPS IN AMERICA 



2. A ton of clover, alfalfa, or cowpea hay contains more 

 nitrogen than does a ton of timothy hay, maize fodder, or a 

 ton of the grain of maize or oats. Nitrogen being the most 

 expensive of the commercial fertilizing elements, manure pro- 

 duced from legumes is correspondingly more valuable than that 

 produced from foods of the grass family. The table following; 

 shows the percentages of the essential fertilizer ingredients in 

 legumes as compared with timothy hay, wheat straw, and maize 

 grain. 



Table Showing Fertilizer Ingredients 



3. Generally speaking, leguminous crops leave in and on the 

 soil a larger quantity of vegetation than do the cereal crops. 

 This organic matter contains a relatively larger quantity of 

 nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash which become available 

 to the plant with the decay of the vegetation. The land is 

 thus in a more suitable condition to grow a succeeding crop, 

 particularly a cereal crop, than if the leguminous crop had not 



