Food for The Alfalfa, Cow Pea and Clover Question. 



Plants 

 ~~~ . . . This class of plants has the property 



of taking inert Nitrogen from the air and 

 Legumes. 6 . ... . , . . 



transforming it into combinations more or 



less useful as plant food. This feature is of great value 

 to agriculture, but not so much from the plant food 

 point of view as from the fact that these plants are rich 

 in that kind of food substance commonly called 

 "flesh formers." Liberally fertilized, and not omit- 

 ting Nitrate in the fertilizer, we have a crop con- 

 taining more Nitrogenous food (protein or flesh form- 

 ers) than the Nitrogen actually given as fertilizer 

 could have made by itself. The most common plants of 

 this class are: alfalfa, alsike clover, crimson clover, red 

 clover, Japan clover, cow peas, lupines, Canadian field peas, 

 the vetches, etc. All these forage crops should be sown after 

 clean culture crops. The best method of fertilizing 

 is to apply from 300 to 500 pounds of fertilizer, 

 in the early autumn and every autumn; in the 

 spring, top-dress with 200 pounds of Nitrate of 

 Soda, and repeat with about 100 pounds after each cutting. 

 It is true that clovers may supply their own nitrogenous 

 plant food, but this is an experiment experienced farmers 

 do not often repeat. A fair green crop of clover, for example, 

 removes from the soil some 160 pounds of Nitrogen, while in 

 500 pounds of Nitrate of Soda there are less than 100 pounds. 

 Undoubtedly, the Nitrogen taken from the air is a 

 great aid, but we should not expect too much of it. The 

 method of seeding clovers depends much upon locality and 

 soil needs with reference to previous crops. Crimson clover 

 and Canadian field peas are usually sown in August, after 

 earlier crops have been removed, or even in corn fields. Red 

 clover is commonly sown in the spring on wheat or with oats. 



Wheat. 



The soil for this grain, fall planting, ranges from a clay 

 loam to a moderate sandy loam. For spring wheat, moist 

 peaty soils are used. Wheat is usually grown in rotation, 

 in which case it nearly always follows corn, or a clean culture 

 crop. The nature of cultivation is too well known to re- 

 quire mention here. Both spring and winter wheat are 



