CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 



245 



gulf states are sowing crimson clover in their cotton and 



corn at tlie last cultivation. This wonderful crop will 



then occupjr the ground after the cotton or corn has been 



removed, will furnish 



excellent forage for 



sheep, pigs, and calves, 



will grow during the 



mild southern winters, 



stop the leaching of 



the nitrogen by the 



rains of winter, bloom 



in the early spring, 



and stand ready to be 



plowed under to make 



the soil fertile for 



another crop. It can 



not, however, be safely 



fed as hay after the 



heads begin to ripen as 



they are coarse, harsh, 



and often injurious. 



Thoseinterested per- 

 sons toward the east of 

 the line will doubtless 

 pass along the word 

 that they find the 

 cowpea growing in a 

 variety of places and 

 that it is doing won- 

 ders in adding fertility 



to the soil. The}' find it in fields with oats, either to be 

 used as hay or to become a pasture for hogs. They find 

 it sown after the regular crop has been removed. They 

 find it frequently sown in corn at the last cultivation and 



Fig. 107.^ 



Courtesy Iowa Slate College. 

 - An alfalfa plant. 



