448 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



Cowpeas are frequently sown in corn in the 

 South at the last cultivation, either broadcast or in 

 drills, at the rate of two pecks of seed per acre in 

 the latter case. Most of the cowpea seed of the 

 country is gathered by hand from peas thus sown. 

 In a few instances, after the corn is gathered the 

 corn-stalks and cowpea vines are cut together for 

 hay. More commonly the vines are left on the 

 ground for their renovating effect. This crop is 

 very frequently sown alone, to be plowed under 

 in renovating worn-out lands. This is an excel- 

 lent practice, although where stock is available it 

 would be more profitable to harvest the crop, 

 feed it, and return the resulting manure to the 

 land. When a heavy crop of cowpeas is plowed 

 under, it is usually wise to wait until the following 

 spring before planting the land to another crop. 

 [See Cowpea.] 



Satisfactory grasses are much needed for the 

 South. Only two grasses have thus far been found 

 that are generally adapted to the cotton-belt, and 

 both of them are more or less objectionable because 

 of their weedy nature. They are Johnson-grass and 

 Bermuda. 



Johnson - grass (Andropogon Halepensis, Brot. 

 Sorghum Halepense, Pers., Pigs. 518 and 673). 

 Known, locally in South Carolina and parts of 

 Georgia as Means' grass. Johnson - grass was 

 introduced into this country from Turkey about 

 seventy years ago. It was hailed as a great hay 

 grass for the South, and spread rapidly for a 

 number of years before its weedy character was 

 realized. It is probably the most productive hay 

 grass in this country, and it is certainly one 

 of the worst weeds. The weedy character is due 

 to the remarkable development of its system of 

 rootstocks, every joint in which is capable of 

 producing a new plant. It is thus exceedingly 

 difficult to eradicate when once established. When 

 once started on a farm, it sooner or later spreads 

 over the entire farm. It is distributed more or less 

 generally throughout the cotton-belt. Northward 

 its distribution is limited by cold. It does not 

 spread into sections where the soil freezes to a 

 depth of three or four inches in an ordinary winter. 

 In recent years it is becoming established on irri- 

 gated lands in the Southwest, where it is giving a 

 great deal of trouble, particularly in vineyards, 

 where it is difficult to fight. 



Johnson-grass will grow on almost any kind of 

 soil, but it does best on rather heavy, moist land. It 

 spreads ordinarily from the seed, but in cultivated 

 land small bunches of the grass are spread more or 

 less from the rootstocks, which are dragged about 

 the field in tillage operations. In some sections 

 it is unlawful to sow the seed of this grass. No 

 very definite statement can be made concerning the 

 quantity of seed required for a good stand. The seed 

 weighs about forty-five pounds per bushel, and the 

 quantity sown varies from a bushel to a bushel and 

 a half per acre. 



Johnson-grass yields, in ordinary seasons, three 

 full cuttings of hay. All kinds of stock prefer the 

 hay to timothy, and it is somewhat more nutritious 

 than the latter. Because of its rather laxative na- 



ture, it is not well adapted to feeding livery horses 

 that are liable to be driven to the limit of endur- 

 ance immediately after a full feed. For ordinary 

 work horses and for cattle, the hay is entirely 

 satisfactory. Like all of the sorghums, however. 



Fig. 673. Johnson-grass (Sorghum Salepense). By some, all 

 the sorghums are included in the genns Andropogon. 



it is somewhat lacking in protein, and should be 

 fed with other materials rich in that material. 



When it is desirable to utilize a stand of John- 

 son-grass for the production of hay, it is necessary 

 to plow the land every two or three years in order 

 to keep the meadow productive. The best time to 



