The Advocate and news., 1898-04-06
sOla Beans and Cow Peas.

klOn lS DelnB ulTecleus anu WHICH nave
been overlooked by farmers-cow peas
and sofa beans. There are several va.
rleties Of them, and 1t Is possible that 1t
may be necessary to experiment some
before the kinds best suited OF either
will be found for the particular farm
upon which they are grown. 1t is not
that the farmer will be able to grow
more of the peas and beans than he will
Of corn, or that they will give a larger
profit, but they will assist In providing
not only variety, but a more nitro
genous food, while at the same time ben
etiting the soil to a certain extent, as
they belong to the legumlnous family
Of plants, the same as clover. Cow peas
have been grown with excellent success
in New Jersey, and the sofa bean Is even
harder. In the Northern States the
black variety Of cow pea has been pre-
ferred, but there are many varieties, and
no doubt those flourishing best in the
South will also do well here, as they
seem to thrive on any land that will pro-
duce corn. The sofa bean contains more
protein and fat than the cow pea, but Is
not so well known. One Of the advan-
tages with both crops is that the vines
are highly relshed by cattle, and where
crops are grown and hogs turned in to
do the harvesting the results have been
very satisfactory and the land improved.
COW PEAS.
Cow peas may be broadCasted, and, as
they grow rapidly, will soon cover the
ground. They are bushy in growth, and
stand up firmly. II cut for ensilage just
when the pods are forming, they make
cheap and valuable addition to the con-
tents Of the silo, or may be plowed under
as a green manurial crop. The vines will
grow to the height of from two to four
feet, according to the quality Of the soil,
but they also grow on very poor land,
a frequent expression in the South, when
referring to piece Of poor land, being
that 1T will not grow cow peas" infer
ring that any kind Of land should pro-
duCe such crop even when no other can
be grown. In Virginia, after the corn is
laid by" cow peas are then planted be-
tween the rows as catch crop; but
they do not seem to affect the corn crop
in any manner, and two crops (corn and
peas) are thus secured the same season.
The same can be done In this section, or
the peas may be planted separately and
cultivated. There is no market of con-
sequence for cow peas, but a market is
unnecessary If they are fed to stock.
Like clover, they have the ability to uti-
lize the free nitrogen Of the air and as
sist in adding nitrogen to the soil. The
pods may be picked off the vines by
hand, when dried, and on the field, or
the vines may be pulled up, stacked and
failed on the barn floor later on.
SOFA BEANS.
The sofa bean has but few beans in
pod, while the cow pea (Which is really a
BEAM may have dozen; but the sofa
bean has many more pods than the COW
pea. The sofa bean grows from two to
four feet and ripens about the 1st Of
October but If the vines are preferred
for hay they may be cut down about the
latter part of August. AS much as forty
bushels per acre have been grown on
good land under favorable conditions
There are several varieties, some being
dwarf and others what are termed man.
moth, but the latter go mostly to vine
The sofa bean Is quite hardy, and can
stand slight touch Of frost, but the COW
pea thrives only under the climatic con-
ditions favorable for garden beans. It
is better to procure seed grown In the
North. If possible, as seed from very far
South is liable TO DrOduce more vine