MANURING AND WORN-OUT SOILS 339 



had added to them these materials: (1) Fresh 

 manure, at the rate of 20 tons per acre; (2) Clover 

 stems from an old field, dried and ground to meal; 

 (3) Ground wheat straw; (4) Ground peat. The 

 effect of these different forms of humus on the crop 

 grown in the soil to which they were added, was 

 very marked. Mr. Geller concluded, "Of all the 

 different kinds of organic matter applied, clover 

 liberated the most plant food"; and again, "The 

 greatest yield was obtained from the soil to which 

 clover was applied, it being three times as large as 

 the yield of untreated soil ; while the crop from the 

 manured soil was twice that of the untreated soil." 



The Cowpea is to the South what clover is to the 

 North. It grows anywhere south of the Ohio 

 river, and in some places farther north, especially 

 along the Atlantic Coast. It is planted only in 

 spring or summer, as frost kills it. Cowpeas may 

 be sown after wheat, oats, or rye and the crop cut 

 for hay in time for fall crops to be sown. The 

 roots feed almost as deeply as those of clover and 

 the plants thrive on a very poor soil, provided it is 

 not too wet. It is seeded at the rate of one and a 

 half to three and a half bushels per acre, either 

 broadcast or drilled in, and is cultivated two or 

 three times. The vines soon cover the ground. 

 They^are commonly cut for hay; rarely is it best 

 to plow under the entire crop. 



The cowpea is most valuable as a catch crop; 

 it fits in nicely after the harvesting of one staple crop 

 and before the planting of another. One of the 

 best ways of building up worn-out cotton land in 

 the South is to sow rye in the fall, plow it under 

 in spring, harrow and let the land lie fallow for a 

 month, then sow cowpeas. Cut this crop for hay 

 and sow rye again. Three or four years of this 



