CROPS AND SOIL IMPROVEMENT 



for corn. Light, sandy soils require little prep- 

 aration, and too often the seeding is made in a 

 woefully careless manner, the chief dependence 

 being placed upon sufficiently deep covering to 

 insure germination. The ground should be fitted 

 as well as it is for a cash crop, being made 

 fine and smooth. A grain drill makes the seed- 

 ing in a satisfactory manner, and the seed may 

 be drilled solid or in rows for cultivation. When 

 the crop is grown as a fertilizer or for hay, 

 solid drilling is good, and about five pecks of 

 seed gives a good stand of plants if peas are 

 sound. Much cowpea seed is low in germination 

 power, and the buyer should exercise caution. 

 When a seed crop is wanted, two to three pecks 

 of seed per acre, placed in drills 28 to 32 inches 

 apart, make an excellent seeding, as cultivation 

 can be given. The amount of seed varies with the 

 variety. In northern latitudes a warm soil is 

 to be desired, and cultivation gives better results 

 when a seeding to wheat will be made on the pea- 

 stubble. 



There is evidence that the cowpea can make a 

 heavy growth in soils too deficient in lime for red 

 clover, and it gained its first prominence in south- 

 ern Ohio on land that was failing to grow clover. 



[102] 



