COVER CROPS. 



289 



touched by frost in Northern Florida, several inches in 

 depth of dead leaves and vines cover the ground. No other 

 legume will make such a growth in the same length of 

 time. In the full vigor of its growth it covers the ground 

 to a depth of two or three feet with a tangled mass of 

 vines, individuals of which are frequently upwards of 

 seventy-five feet long. Miller has estimated the amount of 

 green material on an acre to be 21,132 pounds, or 5,953 

 pounds of dry substance. As a cover crop it is difficult to 

 handle in regions remote from frost, as it continues grow- 

 ing and the plants in a green state are difficult to handle. 

 It can, however, be cut with a mowing machine and drawn 

 aside between the tree rows, if still green in the autumn, 

 for it is generally advisable to get the cover crop out 

 of the way before the picking season approaches. 



Nitrogen is collected in very large amounts by this 

 cover crop. The following table is given by Prof. H. K. 

 Miller in Bui. 60 of the Florida Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station, and shows the results obtained by the Ala- 

 bama, Louisiana and Florida Experiment Stations with 

 velvet beans as a field crop: 



Such results could not be obtained in the citrus 

 grove, as the whole space cannot be planted, but one 

 hundred pounds of nitrogen per acre would probably be 

 a conservative estimate. 



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