OF AGRICULTURE. Ill 



by tliis time the vines have lost part of their value. 

 The question as to the proper time of planting in, 

 resolves itself into this form : " When will the seed 

 and vines together generate the greatest amount of 

 ammonia in the soil ? " 



Chemistry would reply : " When nearly all the 

 seeds have become firm, but not dry." At this time 

 the most forward pods will be dry, but the vines 

 still retain much of their greenness, and contain the 

 largest amount of ammomVi -producing ingredients. 

 This is the theory which science would present to the 

 inquirer. The experiments of the most successful pea 

 growers of the South confirm these simple deduc- 

 tions of science. 



If the vines are to be used as forage, they may be 

 cut off close to the ground with sharp hoes, or still 

 better, w r ith short, stout scythes, and cured like clo- 

 ver hay. Another plan, is to put up tall, slender 

 shocks, supported by a small stake set in the ground, 

 to remain until cured enough to stack, or put away 

 in a house. 



Mr. Edmonston, of North Carolina, says : " As an 

 article of forage or fodder, there is none superior to 

 the pea vine. Horses and cattle eat it with avidity, 

 and in preference to any other kind of fodder. The 

 difficulty of saving these vines, is the chief objection 

 to their use. The writer believes that they can 

 easily be saved, in the month of September, by 

 placing forks in the ground, in a straight line, about 

 six feet in height, and poles on the forks, then place 

 rails, with one end resting on the ground, the other 

 u^on the poles, about six or eight inches apart, after 

 the manner of an old fashioned top-stack, as it is 



