22 BULLETIN 633, XT. 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 
