The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-07-13
WEEKLY DIGEST
Of Experiment Station Bulletins.
No. 79.
THE COW PEA

treats of the COW pea. AS we have no
record of the discovery of the wild
form OF this plant, it's origin is un-
known. Tt has been cultivated for 3 600
years. There is even no record of its in
PRODUCTION into this country, but it has
been grown here for more than @ cen
tury.
No plant varies so readily and rap,
idly with varying conditions of soil and
climate, as the COW pea, and hence
there are more varieties of this plant
than of almost any other staple field
crop. Some are best for hay, others
are best for grazing, and still others are
best for softening and fertilizing land
When seed is very cheap and labor
scarce and high, SOW them broadcast,
early in the season, using one to two
bushels of seed per acre. But in most
cases it pays to drill them with com
planter in rows two or three feet apart
and give level shallow culture with q
five prong cultivator till they shade the
land. Use no hoes. The grass that grows
in the drill will add to the quantity of
hay. In this way one to two pecks of
seed per acre are suff 3ient.
For hay, plant Unknown, Clay, or
WhippoorWill, not too early in the sea-
son. For pasture, or to be left on the
ground over winter, plant Unknown
Black or Red Ripper, and plant early
as possible. For seed to use as feed,
Black Clay, Unknown, and Speckled
Crowder are best For table use, the
Rice, Small and Large Lady, Sugar and
Blackeye are best.
In all the Southern States, no other
crop equals the cow.pea aa a catch
crop. Drilled between the corn rows
at last working, or planted after oats,
wheat, or early Irish potatoes, they
make fine crop of hay, rich grazing
and enrich the soil for the next crop.
On fairly good land COW peas need no
fertilizirg. On tight clays, stable ma
nure or cotton seed give a heavier
growth. On looser lands, acid phos-
phate and potash are beneficial, and if
very poor in nitrogen, cotton seed meal
may be added in small quantity at
planting time to help the young plants
{. II they get large enough to gather nj
trogen from the air.
On very poor land the growth will
be so light as to give small return for
the labor of harvesting and curing, and
hence the most profitable use to make
, of the crop is to ploW it under in fall
and SOW winter oats But when hea-
Wy growth is secured, the roots, stub
BILE, and shattered leaves will be suffi,
cient to greatly improve the land, and
the tops should be harvested and used
as stock feed and the resulting manure
applied to the same or other land. In
case of either, a light or heavy crop,
grazing is advantage GUS as the result
ing manure will be left on the land. At
the Louisiana station it was found that
crop yielding two tons of hay, left in
the soil with the roots, 6 pounds OF
phoEphoric acid, 13 pounds Of potash,
and 81 pounds of nitrogen.
The value of this plant for hay in
creases very rapidly as the vines ap'
proach maturity, but if allowed to get
ripe they are tough and indigestible
Cut when the first pods begin to ripen.
The hay is considered difficult to cure,
but for four successive years the Miss
J issippi station has had perfect success
by the following method: As soon as
the morning dew is off, start the NOW
} or and cut till noon. After the vines
have Wilted on top, run tedder over
them; turning the bottom ones up to
the sun. The following afternoon put
into cocks and If the weather is fair lei
these stand two or three days. Ifrained
on, wait till the top ones dry and again
, run the tedder over them. a light rain
does little damage to even cured hay,
and heavy rain Of two or three days
duration does not injure freshly cut
vines. The essential points are to avoid
handling the vines when wet with dew
or rain, and to work rapidly. Always
put in barn or in stack topped with hay
and let them dry out a few weeks be-
fore baling.
The feeling value of pea vine hay, &C
cording to chemical analyses at the
!. Connecticut station, as compared with
. that of other common feed stuffs, fol
r productive acre of land liz as follows
D Oats, 40 bushels, $40 II; Timothy,
? tons, $50 90; Red Glover, Q tons. $92 40
Z Corn 80 bushels, $24 80; Cowpeas,
D tons, &25 30. When we consider thai