22 BULLETIN 633, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



LEGUMES. 



From the standpoint of the farmer the most important character- 

 istic of the legume crops, like clover, alfalfa, cowpeas. soy beans, etc., 

 is the fact that each of them has the power of supporting in their 

 roots a kind, of bacteria that gets nitrogen out of the air. and thus 

 crops of this kind enrich the soil in nitrogen— one of the most im- 

 portant elements of soil fertility. 



Clover has been grown more or less in southwestern Missouri since 

 the country was settled. In some localities it is well established and 

 holds a place in the cropping system. But. generally speaking, the 

 experience of the farmers of this section with the clover crop has not 

 been satisfactory. In those regions where clover is grown regularly 

 the common practice is to sow it in the spring on winter wheat or 

 with some spring grain crop. This method has been tried many 

 times by the farmers of this region, sometimes with complete success 

 but more often with more or less complete failure. The trouble is 

 that in many years the moisture is not sufficient for both the grain 

 crop and the young clover crop, and the clover dies either before the 

 grain crop is harvested or immediately thereafter. 



A few farmers of this general region have been successful with 

 clover by sowing it alone in the spring en well-prepared land. It 

 makes a small crop the first year and a good crop the second year: 

 but this takes two years" use of the land in order to get a crop of 

 clover, which is not satisfactory to most farmers. If the farmer could 

 depend upon securing a good stand of clover by sowing it in the 

 spring on winter wheat, the clover crop undoubtedly would be stand- 

 ard in this section ; but since this method is not dependable, clover is 

 of very small importance here. 



Most of these farmers have tried alfalfa. Generally speaking, the 

 crop has failed, though a few farmers in these two counties have 

 grown it with greater or less success. It can not be recommended 

 generally as a field crop here, though it is probable that with a little 

 special attention a few acres of it might be grown to advantage on 

 almost any farm. In this region it should be sown only on the 

 richest land, and the land should be thoroughly limed and thoroughly 

 inoculated either with dirt from an alfalfa field or from a sweet 

 clover patch or with pure cultures of the alfalfa bacteria. If then 

 the land is well prepared and harrowed frequently enough to kill the 

 weed seeds in the surface, and the alfalfa sown at a time when the 

 land has proper moisture in it late in the summer or in very early 

 fall, the chance for a good stand of alfalfa is fair. 



The only legume which is grown from time to time with success by 

 practically all these farmers is the cowpea. All the land in this 

 region appears to be inoculated for this crop; that is,' it contains the 



