The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1894-06-07
ALittIe More About Cowpeas.
(By Director, R. J. Redding.)

By Director, r. J. Redding)
In Press Bulletin No :. published in
April, a typographical error made me
say. 1T is decidedly the most prof.
table disposition of the crop to gath
er the ripe peas" 1t should have been
1t is decidedly the most profitable to
convert the pea vines into hay; and that
the next most profitab BILE disposition of
the crop is to gather the ripe peas"
The context, however, agrees with this
correction, and would hardly notice
it but for the fact that it was intended
to refer to the subject in this bulletin
IN order to still further impress the re-
suits of the experiments in Bulletin
No "a. The conclusions reached as the
result of that experiment are here re-
peated
l. That the best disposition of crop
OF held peas is to convert the vines into
hay.
2. The next best is to permit the
peas to ripen and gather them Cor pas
ture them).
3. Moving the vines and permitting
them to lie on the surface until No
vember list, and then blowing them I'M
der, was decidedly better than turning
under the vines III August.
4. Turning the vines under green
gave the poorest economic results.
ION request, copies of Bulletin
No. "a, which contains the full details
of the experiment, will be sent free, to
any farmer.) AS the season is at hand
for sowing cowpeas, especially after
small grain, wish to press the sub
ject still farther. The following ex-
tracts are from Farmers Bulletin No.
10, United States Department of Agri-
culture:
1T will thus be seen that by green manurire
with leguminous crops 1t is possible to manure
the soil with nitrogen from the air, free and
iuexhauStable source and thus avoid buyfnp fer.
uliZers containing much nitrogen. This great
ly lessons the expense for commercial fertili-
zers, for nitrogen is the most expensive element
the farmer has to buy. AS stated above, 1t costs
from Is to 20 cents pound, while potash and
phosphoric acid cost only to cents on even
less. Although grains, grasses, corn cotton,
root crops, tobacco etc, can notuse the nitro.
gen OF the air, green manuring enables them to
benefit by it indirectly
Experiments have shown that cowpeas re.
spond readily to applications of potash and
phoSphateS, and are able to derive their nitro.
gen very largely from the air. Inasmueh as
cowpeas are large gatherers of nitrogen, and al
30 secure considerable amounts of potash and
phosphoric acid through their extensive root
system, which reaches down to the Subsoil,
they have high fertiliZing Valne. How to get
the greatest benefit from the fertiEzing CON
etituents of cowpeas is one of the problems Oh
which the experiment stations are working.
the ground left bare until spring large share
of the nitrogen will be leached away. BY SOW.
ing wheat or rye after the cowpeas are plowed
under part of this loss may be avoided. If the
vines are cut and allowed to lie ON the ground
during the wintnr the nitrogen is rapidly lost.
In an experiment at the station in Alabama it
was found that vines gathered in October had
from 145 to 2.05 per cent. gf nitrogen, while If
left on the ground until January they had only
about OF per cent, /. e., thoy lost two-thrdS Of
their most valuable fertaliZing ingredient,
Experiments at the Louisiana station show
that one acre of cowpeas, yielding 1919. 3S
OF organic matter, turned under, gave to the
soil 6495 pounds of nitrogen, 20.39 pounds of
phosphric acid and 1866 pounds of potash, of
which at least 1874 pounds of nitrogen 443
pounds OF phosphorus acid and Isl pounds of
potash were furnished by the roots. Analysis
made at the South Carolina station show that
cowpea hay contains 142 per cent. of potash
039 per cent of phosphoric acid, and 27l per
cent of nitrogen. Cowpea roots contained l. 1e
per cent. of potash, OPS per cent of potash, 02s
per cent OF phoSphorlc acid and 094 per cent.
Of nitrogen; the roots and stubble, two months
after the crop was harvested, cootained @. SO per
cent: Of potash, o26 per cent. of phosphric acid,
and 1.35 per cent of nitrogen Experiments
elsewhere showed that the vines from given
area weighed six times as much as the roots,
and were S75 times as valuable for manure.
Cowpeas and melilotus have given good re-
suits as green manure on the canebrake lands OF
Alabama. Before the land was sowed in NELL
lotus and cowpeas 1t YVES, not considered worth
cultivating This season 1890 it produced as
fine crop as the best lands of the station
highly fertilized.@
l wish to urge upon every farmer to
SOW cowpeas in every cornfeld, and on
all land that may be available between
this date and July !, and which is to be
planted in corn, cotton or small grain
In the North and in England the prac-
tice is to SOW wheat and other small
grain on "clover sod,'' as many ex-
press it; that is, after a crop of clover.
In the south we.may just as well SOW
sPall grain after a crop of COW peas.
In this case it is advisable to sow peas
in corn at the last plowlng, pasture
them off when ripe Tor gather the peas
turn under the stubble in September
and sow the small grain in October and
November. Where the peas are sown
in oat or wheat stubble, and it is not
desired to sow in wheat or oats again,
but rather to plant in cotton next
season, a good practice is to convert
the peavines into hay, Immediately
turn under the stubble and harrow in
two to four pecl<s of Georgia rye per
acre. The rye will at once commence
to feed on the decaying peavines and
other plant food left in the soil, and
will hold it until January or February
when the rye may be turned under in
preparation for corn or cotton.