108 AGRICULTURE 



GREEN MANURES; LEGUMES AND SOIL 

 INOCULATION 



Green Crops. Green manures are crops, such as rye, cow- 

 peas, and clover, plowed under when green to improve land. 

 Sometimes the green crop is grazed or fed to stock or cut for 

 hay, and the stubble is plowed under to improve the land. These 

 crops benefit the soil's texture and moisture conditions, add 

 humus and some plant food, and make available much food 

 already in the soil. Humus is especially needed by light soils 

 in humid climates. Without it, they never produce good crops. 

 Usually, the cheapest way to get it is to grow it on the fields where 

 it is needed. A soil is kept well supplied with it by proper rotation 

 of crops and by stock raising. 



' Catch,' or ' cover ' crops, as these are called, may often be 

 grown without interfering with other crops in a rotation. They 

 keep the land from becoming infested with weeds in summer, 

 and in winter they prevent the washing away of soil and the 

 leaching out of plant food. Cowpeas is an excellent summer 

 crop to follow small grain, such as wheat or oats. Where it 

 thrives, crimson clover is an excellent winter crop. It can be 

 seeded alone, or in such crops as corn, cotton, and tobacco, when 

 they are worked the last time; in spring it may be cut or plowed 

 under and the land planted in corn or other crops. 



Legumes. Both cowpeas and crimson clover are legumes, 

 which are the best green crops for soil improvement. What are 

 legumes, and how do they benefit the soil more than other plants ? 



Legumes, or pod-bearing plants, include cowpeas, vetches, 

 beans, peanuts, al fal'fa, and the clovers. They are valuable as 

 humus suppliers and as forage crops, but their greatest value lies 



