54 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



or wheat for a year or two. In the poor sandy soils of 

 south Jersey, the land, after being cleared, is brought into 

 a productive condition by sowing cowpeas in the early 

 spring as soon as ground and weather are sufficiently 

 warm, following with crimson clover plowed down the 

 next spring after it has made considerable growth. Grow- 

 ers at Moorestown, Swedesboro, Glassboro and other 

 New Jersey trucking centers employ green manures ex- 

 tensively. Crimson clover is the favorite crop for this 

 purpose, but if the season is too far advanced to give it 

 a good start before cold weather, rye is substituted. Peas 

 and beans are also grown, and after the green pods have 

 been picked and marketed the plants are plowed under. 

 Throughout the North clover sods are largely depended 

 upon, while crimson clover and cowpeas are popular 

 southward. 



93. The selection of crop. In the selection of crops for 

 manurial purposes the following factors should be consid- 

 ered : (i) Adaptation to climate; (2) adaptation to soil; 

 (3) character of plant whether a legume or a non- 

 legume ; (4) the amount of vegetable matter produced ; 

 (5) adaptation to system of cropping; (6) rapidity of 

 growth; (7) character of root growth; (8) hardiness; 

 (9) ease of incorporation with the soil. 



94. Red clover. In the North, red clover is excellent 

 to sow after the removal of the July or the early August 

 truck crops. The surface of the soil should be made very 

 fine and a firm seed bed established, and not less than 12 

 pounds of seed should be sown to the acre. The crop 

 may be plowed down late the following spring before 

 planting late cabbage and many other vegetables for fall 

 and winter markets; or it may be mowed once and the 

 second crop plowed down late in the fall preparatory to 

 starting crops early the next spring. 



95. Mammoth clover is practically an annual, which 

 makes a larger and more vigorous growth than red 



