The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1889-10-24
She gerala aud Ugeus~ 8
PUBLISHED
EVERY THURSDAY AT
NEWBERRY, S. c.
Value of the Cow Pea.

uses. Anything from MI. De1GA-
mans pen or connected With ms
store of useful experiences is read
With interest and accepted as au-
thority.
According to Mr.. Berckmans
any land which can be ploughed
will grow COW peas. with some Ger
tainty ofa crop, but every variety
of COW pea will not succeed equally
well on all soils. The red, black,
ciay, tory, brown-eye, yellow, etc.,
viii give better results on a compa-
ratively poor soil than the crowder,
lady pea, or white field. If for for
age crop the land should be
pIoughed in February or March,
especially if an early crop is de-
sired.
Cow peas should not he sown be-
fore the middle or enc Of April;
they viii not germinate until the
ground becomes warm. For an
early crop SOW broadcast at the rate
of one bushel per acre for ordinarily
fertile land; this quantity may be
slightly increased for poor land.
The peas may be lightly ploughed
with one,horse or a gang plough,
and the surface narrowed; or the
land may first he ploughed with a
ztwo-horse plough, and peas Sowed
or narrowed in afterward.
Early sown crops may be cut for
forage in July, ifneeded, and should
the weatherb be favorable in August,
the stubble will soon grow again
and give a second crop by Septem-
Der. This, however, is not always
to be depended on, as a second
crop Of forage from one sowing is
incidental to a favorable season in
midsummer. When the COW pea
is sown as renovator Of land, the
crop should he put in the ground
in April; let it grow until the end
of June, when the whole should be
turned under, first sowing guam
tity Of land plaster over the vines.
a new crop can be sown a few
DAYS after the first is ploughed
under, but it has been found adsis-
able to let the vines be turned under
to undergo partial decomposition
before sowing again. Peas intended
for forage may be sow,l i'll drills
between other crops, as corn, CT
melons, when the latter are laid by,
but, whenever practicable. the best
results will be obtained by sowing
broadcast. Bush peas are best sown
in drills. either ia q field by them
selves Or between corn rows. They
will produce a large yield if
ploughed and hoed while growing.
vines are usually considered
as IN proper state for cutting when
the peas begin to turn yellow; still
much depends upon the variety
sown, as some kinds retain their
foliage long after the pods begin to
mature, while others shed their
2eaves before the turning point of
the eSpods; thus a little discrimina-
tion must be used, as general rule
cannot apply to every variety or
case: The crop is usually cut with
scythes, as the vines, if thrifty, are
often too much lodged to admit the
working of a moving machine.
When COW pea forage is grown
for sale, it is advisable to bare it
when being brought from the field,
as repeated handling will cause the
leaves to fall off, and only the stalks
will remain. When well cultivated
and on good land, two tons ofhay
may safely be relied upon; in very
favorable years, when two crops of
hay are cut from one sowing, double
that amount has been produced. In
ordinary years, and in the majority
of cases, the average yield may be
put at one ton per acre.
4 The value of pea vine hay and
peas, so far as quoted in the market,
ranges from rs cents per hundred
pounds in the fall, to 81 80 in the
spring; the averaged cash value
being about $50 per ton. AS to the
value for feeding stock, taking we'll
cured hay as the standard, every
farmer who has used the provender
must admit that it is better than the
best quality Of Northern hay which
is brought to our markets, and,
when comparing the cost of produc-
ing one ton ofcow pea hay with the
same quantity of purchased North
ern hay, the calculation will show
large balance in favor of the pea
hay. Taking the seed at ST per
bushel, cost of plowing, narrowing
land, sowing, cutting. curing and
storing, all under average seasons
and circumstances, the net cost of
production will not be above s. per
ton, allowing one ton as the product
ofone acre.
AS forage for stock well cured
pea hay is more nutritious than any
nay produced in the South from
summer grasses, nillet, corn or
sorghum. Especially is the value
increased when the pods were filed
before the vines were cut. When
feeding horses or mules with pea
vine hay some care must be used in
not giving an over allowance, and
the rations of corn or oats must be
diminished accordingly. Pea hay,
containing large proportion Of
peas, if fed too literally, is apt to
create hatulence and collie in horses
and mules, and full and regular
allowance of salt should always be
given with it. The forage may be
given whole, but whenever practlc
able it should be cut up, moistened
with water and salt, and Sprinkled