1 
American Agriculturist, April 14,1923 
337 
Legumes for Acid Soils 
Some Do Well, Nothing Beats Lime and Red Clover 
T he high price of 
lime in the past few 
years has led to some discussion of the 
subject of acid soil legumes; but as Mark 
Twain said of the weather, not much 
has been done about it. Moreover, with 
the gradual lowering in the cost of 
lime it is probable that the old stand¬ 
bys, red clover and alfalfa, will con¬ 
tinue to hold their own. 
It is interesting, however, to inquire 
briefly into this question of acid soil 
legumes, that is, leguminous plants 
which thrive on a soil which has an 
acid reaction and which has not been 
limed for years. 
I wish to make 
this last state¬ 
ment entirely 
clear, since ex¬ 
periments have 
recently shown 
that red clover 
will thrive in a 
soil showing 
somewhat of an 
acid reaction but 
which has been 
recently limed; 
even though the 
lime requirement 
has not been 
satisfied, red 
clover will thrive 
if there is ^‘free 
lime” in the soil. 
Experiments at 
the New Jersey 
Station on a soil 
with a lime re- 
quirement of 
2,000 pounds of 
ground limestone, 
showed that 
through a period 
of years for all 
the crops in the 
rotation, practi¬ 
cally as large 
yields were ob¬ 
tained with 1,000 
pounds of ground 
limestone as with 
2,000 pounds. It 
is probable that 
on most soils 
2,000 pounds of 
ground limestone, _ 
or its equivalent ———— 
in other forms of 
lime, is amply sufficient for success 
with red clover. Even at present prices 
for lime this would not involve a very 
large cash expenditure. 
Further, there is no legume which 
fits into the general northern rotation 
as satisfactorily as red clover. It would 
seem that it is worth spending a little 
extra money to insure success with this 
time-honored legume. Alsike will, of 
course, do better than red clover on 
land of medium acidity which has not 
been recently limed, but no one ques¬ 
tions the superiority of red clover where 
the two grow equally well. Still, alsike 
has won a place for itself on account 
of its acid resistance, and where the 
soil has not been recently limed it is 
highly desirable to include it in the 
mixture to displace, partly or wholly, 
the red clover. 
Getting away from the strictly north¬ 
ern rotation, we find certain legumes 
which are more or less acid resistant, 
some of which are valuable, others 
worthy of trial in certain localities, 
and still others of very doubtful value. 
We regard cowpeas as being somewhat 
acid resistant. This crop has found a 
place in southern New Jersey primarily 
for soil improvement. It will often 
make a satisfactory growth on land that 
is fairly low in productivity and which 
has not been limed for many years. 
Lespedeza is an annual plant which 
is distinctly acid resistant and which 
seems to give some promise for South 
Jersey and localities further south. Its 
place in South Jersey is as a pasture 
crop and a soil impi’ovement crop. Be¬ 
sides the common Japan clover we are 
trying out a related species known as 
Korean lespedeza. The latter is a shorter 
season plant than the former and, from 
a limited experience of one year, it 
moks more promising than the former. 
•Dr. A. J. Pieters of the U. S. Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture suggests that the 
two species be seeded in combination 
Give Them a Trial 
By HERBERT R. COX to lengthen the pastur¬ 
ing season and make 
reseeding more sure. Certain it is 
that lespedeza will make some growth 
on poor soil which has never been 
treated with lime, fertilizer or manure; 
the principal question is whether "The 
crop will make enough growth to be 
worth while. 
Kudzu is a plant which is, in many 
respects, unique. It will grow on acid 
soils and at times will make a stem 
growth which is remarkable. The 
famous Jack, who had interesting re¬ 
lations with a certain beanstalk, may 
have had prelim- 
inary tryouts 
with kudzu be¬ 
fore making his 
notable climb to 
fame. A stem 
growth of from 
25 to 50 feet 
in a single year 
is frequently 
made by the kud¬ 
zu plant. It is 
sufficiently winter 
hardy after it 
once gets estab¬ 
lished. Although 
it is not all im¬ 
pressive the first 
year, it gets 
under way the 
second year, roots 
from the nodes 
and thickens its 
stand. A high 
percentage of 
mortality may be 
counted upon 
from the original 
setting of plants; 
in our own plant¬ 
ings w e have 
secured only from 
ten to fifty per 
cent of the stand. 
You can also 
count on a period 
of three years 
before kudzu is 
ready for heavy 
pasturing and 
cutting. It will 
never be a crop 
for the tenant, 
therefore, or for 
the man who does 
There is a ques- 
I have 
kUITE a few letters which, we have 
recently received show an increas- 
creasing interest in legumes which will 
grow on sour or acid soils. Because of 
this interest and because the subject is 
so important, we have made consider¬ 
able investigation and inquiry as to the 
so-called acid soil legumes and their 
practicability in eastern United States. 
The articles on this page by Prof. Cox 
of the New Jersey Experiment Station, 
and John H. Barron, of the New York 
State College of Agriculture, you will 
find valuable if you are at all interested 
in the great problem of growing more 
protein at home instead of buying it 
in grain. 
We believe that the farms are 
mighty few where clover or even al¬ 
falfa cannot be grown if proper atten¬ 
tion is given to liming and other 
needed factors; but in addition to these 
old stand-bys, it is possible that there 
are other legumes which can be grown 
on acid soil without the necessity of 
heavy liming. Some experiments on 
your own farm on a very small scale 
with them would not cost much, would 
add to the interest of farm work and 
might find you something that would 
be a valuable addition to the dairy ra¬ 
tion, if you have had experience, suc¬ 
cessful or unsuccessful, with soy beans, 
vetch, sweet clover or other legumes, 
tell us about it in a short letter.—The 
Editor. 
not stick to farming, 
tion as to its feeding value, 
been told that cows turned up their 
noses at it when they had the choice 
between kudzu ana clover or alfalfa. 
It is apparently a valuable plant for 
unsightly places such as steep banks, 
where a permanent cover, requiring no 
attention, is desired. For the north it 
is not a proven crop as far as practical 
application is concerned. 
Serradella and beggarweed are two 
other acid soil legumes, both annuals, 
and both advocated for forage and 
green manure. The former has been 
tried at a number of the experiment 
stations, but at only one, Massachu¬ 
setts, did it make a good showing, being 
considered almost as good as soybeans. 
It is reported that lime is even harm¬ 
ful to the growth of this plant. Florida 
beggarweed is, I suspect, worthy of a 
little more attention than it has re¬ 
ceived north of Florida. It makes good 
hay and if cut early enough it will 
produce renewal growth. In Florida, 
if it shatters its seed it will often pro¬ 
duce a good stand by self seeding the 
following year. 
SOY BEANS AND VETCH PAY 
WELL 
JOHN H. BARRON 
The only acid soil legumes with which 
we have had experience are vetch and 
soybeans. Personally I am thoroughly 
convinced that there is a large place 
for these legumes in the agriculture of 
the northern states and in particular in 
the sandy regions of New York State. 
Vetch sowed with oats and the reg¬ 
ular application of grass seed on the 
sandy soils, on the average, increases 
the yield of new seedii^ by about one 
ton per acre. About 110 pounds of 
winter vetch are requiled to do this. 
{Contimied on pme 342) 
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