Cut-Over Pine Lands in the South. 



35 



be again sown in oats. Ferris, at the McNeill station, Miss., re- 

 ports the best yields of oats by using this method, and obtained 

 2 tons of lespedeza hay following the oats. 1 No other hay crop in 

 that section is more valuable as a feed. It can be grown with less 

 trouble and expense than any other hay crop and at the same time it 

 improves the land for future crops. (This subject is discussed in 

 Farmers' Bulletin 441.) 



The cowpea is the most common cultivated crop grown for hay 

 in the Piney Woods section. This crop commonly follows oats and 

 is sown broadcast for hay, as it smothers weeds and crab grass. (De- 

 tailed information concerning cowpeas is contained in Farmers' 

 Bulletins 318, 1125, and 1153.) 



The soy bean is an annual legume similar to the cowpea but is not 

 so extensively used. It makes a heavier growth of seed than the cow- 

 pea, but when sown broadcast cowpeas make a heavier yield, as well 

 as smothering the weeds. (Soy beans are discussed in detail in 

 Farmers' Bulletins 931, 973, and 1125.) 



Peanut hay is rapidly coming into use in some sections of the 

 Piney Woods, especially in Alabama and Georgia, and is now put 

 on the market as a commercial hay. Peanuts are grown as a forage 

 crop after the removal of oats or rye and the tops mowed for hay 

 the same as cowpeas or other legumes, leaving the nuts in the ground 

 to be harvested by hogs. The yield of hay is between 1 and 2 tons 

 an acre. Peanut hay is coarse but of good quality, is relished by 

 cattle, and has a feeding value equal to clover hay. (Methods of 

 growing and handling the crop are fully discussed in Farmers' 

 Bulletins 431 and 1125.) 



Table 4 gives the analyses of lespedeza, cowpea, and peanut-vine 

 hay as compared with alfalfa hay. 



Table 4. — Analyses of three southern legume hays compared with alfalfa hay. 1 



Kind of hay. 



Number 



of 

 analyses. 



Constituents. 



Water. 



Ash. 



Crude 

 protein. 



Carbohydrates. 



Crude 

 fiber. 



Nitrogen 



free 

 extract. 



Pat. 



Alfalfa 



Lespedeza . . . 



Cowpea 



Peanut vine . 



250 

 14 

 35 



7 



Per cent. 



8.6 



11.8 



14.8 



21.5 



Per cent. 

 8.6 

 5.8 

 7.3 



8.7 



Per cent. 

 14.9 

 12.1 

 16.5 

 9.1 



Per cent. 

 28.3 

 25.9 

 20.4 

 20.2 



Per cent. 

 37.3 

 41.6 

 37.3 

 36.8 



Per cent. 

 2.3 

 2.8 

 3.7 

 3.7 



1 Analyses from Henry and Morrison. 



Table 4 shows lespedeza hay to be practically equal to alfalfa hay. 

 It is slightly lower in crude-protein content, but is also lower in 



Mississippi Bulletin 180. 



