THE COW PEA. 49 



Red clover has long been a standard crop, wherever it 

 could be grown, valued alike for its hay and its fertilizing 

 effect in the soil. It does not thrive on all soils or under 

 all conditions. Where it has been grown for a long time, 

 the soil becomes "clover sick" and fails to produce the 

 abundant yields of former years. It is a perennial and so 

 can not be made profitable in the South unless it occupies 

 the land at least i8 months; in the North it is expected to 

 occupy the land at least two years. It is not adapted to 

 growth over as wide a range of territory as the cow pea, 

 and on many soils comparatively sterile or in a bad 

 mechanical condition fails, while the cow pea produces a 

 heavy crop. In fact, cow peas are often grown on such 

 soils to prepare the land for seedingJ;o clover. 



Alfalfa is undoubtedly the best perennial legume for the 

 Western country where irrigation is practiced, and is also 

 of great value in the Southern part of the country where 

 red clover does not succeed, but it has many of the weak 

 points of red clover. Both crops are liable to " bad catch- 

 es," "winterkilling," "dying out," "root-rot," and other 

 troubles to which the cow pea is a stranger. It is rarely 

 profitable east of the Mis^sippi and north of the Ohio 

 Rivers. 



Melilotus is of great value on many soils in the South, 

 though little esteemed in the North. It only grows on 

 soils rich in lime, occupies the ground for two years and 

 yields a hay inferior to that made from cow peas. 



The beggar weed has the advantage of being a volun- 



