QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 67 



there is at seasonable periods little fear of gorging the markets if the fruit 

 and vegetables be well chosen and well packed. Observe the use of the 

 expression "seasonable periods," as of course no Southern grower of 

 tomatoes, cucumbers, egg plant, or other garden products would ex- 

 pect to find a market for his goods in Northern cities when those mar- 

 kets were in receipt of the same class of garden truck from territory 

 adjacent, the products of which would be fresher and cheaper than those 

 from distant points. The shipper of fruits and vegetables from the South, 

 attempting to cope with the garden States of New Jersey and Delaware, 

 when their products are being sent to market, would only have his trouble 

 for his pay. 



379. Q. What is the advantage of cropping cow peas? Cow Peas. 

 A. To improve the fertility of the soil by the concentration near the 



surface of potash and nitrogen, seized upon and brought to the surface 

 by the roots vertically descending to depths below and by the accumula- 

 tion of nitrogen drawn from the air and held by the root galls — a notable 

 peculiarity of this crop. The cow pea, which la properly a bean, will 

 grow upon the poorest soils, and if the crop be repeated for two or three 

 years will fit them in an astonishing degree for ordinary farm crops. 



380. Q. How many families of cow pea are there? Cow Pea 

 A. There are two marked divisions ; first, the Crowder, in which the Varieties. 



seeds are packed so closely in the pods as to be flattened on the sides ; 

 second, the Kidney formed. These two classes are divided into forty or 

 fifty sub-varieties of various colors, habits, and periods of maturity. To 

 produce a dense mass of vine to cover the ground and decay or to be 

 plowed under green the best are the Calico, Black, Red Ripper and Clay. 

 If to produce a big yield of dry seed, the best is the Unknown and the 

 Clay. To produce a crop for ensilage the best are the Clay and the 

 Whip-poor-will. For all-around purposes the Clay is as good as any. 



381. Q. Is it advantageous to manure land intended for a crop of cow^j^^pg^g^ 

 peas? 



A. The primary object of growing cow peas is to add fertility to a poor 

 soil. Now if the soil is very poor but a small crop of cow peas can be 

 expected and consequently a small return of fertilization to the soil. It 

 is therefore advantageous to force them by manure if the soil be exces- 

 sively poor. The manure most elTective in the forcing of cow peas is 

 superphosphate of lime. 



382. Q. In what way does clover, cow peas, and plants of the bean i.egume 

 family improve the fertility of soil ? FamUy. 



A. On the roots of the legume family are developed certain organisms 

 which acquire and hold nitrogen faster than other portions of these 

 plants ; these are root galls or tubercles, the product of microbes or bac- 

 teria. These root galls vary in number in different locations, but on 

 plants of legume family are always present to a greater or lesser extent. 

 As they have the faculty of absorbing nitrogen from the air, those plants 

 which produce the greatest number of these galls are recognized as nat- 



