Lespedeza, One of the Best Hay Crops — 3 l A Tons per Acre 



Lespedeza 



Any notice of the agricultural resources of Louisiana and opportunities 

 in the State would be incomplete without mention of lespedeza, or Japan 

 clover, used both for pasturage and as a hay crop. 



On thin land it does not attain sufficient height to cut for hay, but on the 

 fertile lands it commonly grows from twelve to fifteen inches high, and sometimes 

 even higher. It demands plenty of moisture and does well on soil with good 

 surface drainage. It thrives on a great variety of soils, and where the proper 

 conditions of soil and climate are present, it will grow in timbered lands; thus 

 adapting itself to shady woodlands or to sunny fields. In Louisiana it seems 

 to do best upon the Bluff Lands and the Alluvial Lands of the Mississippi, 

 Ouachita and outlying bayous. The plant is an annual, but will re-seed itself 

 and thrive in the same soil from year to year. Lespedeza hay is very nutritious, 

 comparing favorably with alfalfa, and is much easier cured than alfalfa hay, but 

 does not yield as heavily. It is a valuable soil renovator and these three-fold 

 utilities of the plant — as a hay, for pasturage and for the improvement of thin 

 soils — make it of great economic value to the State. 



Velvet Beans 



No other crop which can be grown in the field with the corn crop will so 

 rapidly increase the fertility of the soil as velvet beans. The crop is not used 

 ordinarily for hay, but grown as a soil renovator and then pastured. After the 



Velvet Beans — a Soil Improver 

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