286 
REPLY TO REVIEW OF MARCH NO. 
week in May peas can be sown between rows of 
corn, these will cover the land entirely before the 
15th of September. The first frost will kill the vines. 
In September or October sow down rye or Egyptian 
oats ; these will feed stock during winter, will pro¬ 
tect land from rain measurably, and from washing, 
and can be turned under in February or March. 
Here are two crops; but if desired to turn under at 
different times, do so in fail, sow grain, and then 
turn under the grain. If desirable to turn under 
again another crop, sow oats in February and 
March; turn these under about June, when head¬ 
ing out, and plant for corn. Here are three crops 
turned under. But it is better to sow peas in 
March, say about the 15th; these will cover the 
ground in May, plow in, and sow again, and I be¬ 
lieve a third crop can be plowed in time enough 
for grain. Last year, and the two preceding years, 
I plowed in as much rye as my plows could turn 
under, in March, having had the pea-vine on it in 
the previous summer. I think that good lands can 
be kept good; and I believe I have land now with 
the twentieth crop on it, that will yield more corn 
or cotton than it did in 1830, or about that time, 
comparing with the best crops of the period. To 
prove it, my crop in my orchard, cut, gave me last 
crop, on one part, over 1,600 lbs of seed cotton ; on 
another part, about 50 bushels of corn. In 1833 
-’4, my cotton was 900 lbs. per acre. I remember 
that year, by my first experiment with Gulf seed; 
the past year I tried a similar one on the same land. 
And it is this that led me to remark on the negli¬ 
gent cultivation of my brother “ planters.” W e 
are “ planters” here, not because we are all large 
“ planters,” nor that “a farmer” is a disreputable 
name, but that we confine ourselves to one crop. 
To tell you what sort of planters we are, would 
require time; but we are a very clever set of fel¬ 
lows, and you Northerners may thank your stars 
that we are not more attentive to our own interests ; 
if we loved money more, you would see less of it; 
we make a great deal of money, and spend it in all 
sorts of “ Yankee notions,” and sometimes spend it 
before we make it—but this is personal—excuse 
me. You may ridicule, but, sir, as sure as you 
live, we can turn under a coat of cow-peas every 
year, fully equal in value to your best clover leys, 
and as it is killed by early frost, of course we can 
sow grain and plow that in, for March or April 
planting. 
The “ cow-pea”—we generally call all this family 
cow-peas—differs in every particular from the 
garden pea, which we country people call “ the 
English pea”—they differ in shape, color, and 
size. The black crowder is about as large as 
the marrowiat. The grey crowder nearly as 
large. These are rounder than the real cow-pea, 
which is nearly as large, but more kidney-shaped, 
and of a russet color. Then comes the red ripper, 
smaller, and not quite so long, but still kidney¬ 
shaped ; then the stock or tory pea, lady pea, cala- 
vanse, &c., the latter of greyish color, and about the 
size of a duck shot, a very delicate table pea, and 
to my notion is just ahead of any of your foreign 
English peas. The vine will grow, I verily be¬ 
lieve, 20 to 100 feet, in a season, if we take the 
branches, and add to the main vine. The stem is 
frequently as iara*e as a town Inrlv’c litrio fidw:—T 
have seen them, but never dared touch. It rises 
from 3 to 6 inches, and branches off, and continues 
to branch, until the close of the season. T have 
seen, on good land, where 8 to 12 quarts had been 
sown to an acre, the peas so rank that a horse as 
stout and fleet even as Boston, could not make his 
fou) miles through them, in a day. 
“What, good for?” “haulm.” You say too 
much. How know you -that they have a haulm ? 
But, never mind, I care not to ferret you out. 
“ What good for ?” Like the negro’s rabbit, “ good 
for ebery ting.” The vine, if pulled or cut before 
frost, and cured, will feed horses, cattle, and sheep. 
The pea, if gathered and kept from spoiling, will 
feed man and beast, will fatten superior to corn. 
We sow the pea, or drop it, either at second 
working of the corn, if in hills, or when we plow 
to lay by, which is generally done when corn is in 
bunch —that is, when the tassel is in a bunch of 
leaves at the top, but has not quite appeared—that 
is what we call “ in bunch.” The vine is cut or 
pulled as late as we can, to avoid frost. We 
seldom gather peas but for seed, and then when 
most are ripe, about frost or a little after, we feed 
the residue on the land to hogs, or by giving them 
the run of the field. Coke has to gather peas, for 
want of corn. 
Feeding hogs on cotton seed and peas, ground.' 
From February to August we have as much as we 
can all do to kill grass, then pull fodder, and then 
enough to gather our crop, that feeds and clothes 
one-half of you all, until February. We can make 
cotton at 4 cents per lb., and buy meat at4 cents, 
better than go to all that sort of work. But no 
need for it. I can show you clover two feet high ; 
I can show you feed for hogs without fences. 
“ This may be plain English in your latitude.” 
Why, sir, suppose my friend S. were to send me 
his boy, to live with me, and I was to direct him 
thus:—S. Jr., I wish you would not spend more 
time from the cotton field than would suffice to 
gather rye, oats, and peas, for seed, to plant our 
next crop. Would it not mean that we reaped and 
gathered for seeding alone, not for selling or for 
feeding ? Why, sir, at this very time, I have some 
10 acres, more or less, of rye, that will not be 
cradled, because l have cut enough for seeding all 
the land I desire to seed. The seed is the crop; 
the balance of the rye and peas is left on the 
ground for hogs or cattle. Is there anything mys¬ 
terious in this, only that we have no need to gather 
anything ? Have you never heard of the West 
feeding large fields of corn to stock, not gathering 
the crop ? 
The grass that follows oats and rye, is crab grass, 
and equal in nutritive qualities to any grass in the 
Empire State, or among the prairies, near the 
“ North Pole.” We cut our grain from the 5th to 
the 15th of June, crab grass then springs up oil 
good land, and will cover the earth before frost, so 
as to give nearly two tons of cured hay. 
I have no “ poor starved niggers.” So far from 
it, I guess they dine on as nice bacon, cabbage 
heads, beans, and Irish potatoes, these days, as any 
other man—white or black. Of course they cannot 
starve even if they get no other meal, as I can. 
prove by one white man, who is content with one 
P*ood rnpal n Hsiv 
