The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-08-24
AGRICULTURAL.
Why Cannot Cow Peas be Grown
In the North u


and seemingly thorough trial was
made of the COW pea in the State, but |
it seemed to be of no value whatever.
This of course was quite discouraging,
and we are not aware that any attempts
have been made since to grow the COW
pea here. Nor can we speak confidently
of any successful efforts to grow this
plant in any State north of Massachu-
sets. The Amherst station in report
for 1894, p. 242 says, "The southern
COW pea was sown May 9. The crop
made good growth. The prominent
varieties (Clay and WhippoorwilD have
been successfully raised for number
of years, and have served us well as
fodder crops either green or in the
form of silage. None of these varieties
mature seed in our section of the coun-
try" 1t needs to be borne in mind
that there are many varieties of the
COW pea. They vary greatly in size
both of grain and vine, also in color,
earliness, and productiveness. While
the plant is native of warm or hot
climates, it does seem as though it
might be acclimated to all the New
England States. Its great value lies in
it's quick growth, and in the fact that
it contains large amount of protein,
nearly or quite as much in the dry
State as red clover. But red clover re-
quires year and half to make
growth suitable to be fed or plowed I'M
der. In the south the cow pea is
sowed usually from the last of May to
the first of July, but is sown in small
quantities until near the end of August.
In two months it covers the ground
with mass of thick heavy vegetation
and is ready to be fed or plowed under,
but this last is seldom done on account
of 80 much green material being apt to
sour and injure the land for long
time. The COW pea makes this dense
growth in seven to nine weeks in the
south, while clover is twice as many
months in making the same growth
in the north. Southern farmers cut
their wheat and oats in the end of May
and up to the first of July, and then
put in crop of COW peas on the same
land. This can be used in several ways.
1t can be fed off like pasture, care of
course being taken that the cattle be
not allowed to gorge themselves 30 as
to bloat. 1t can be cut for hay when in
bloom or when the pods begin to form.
But this could only be done in the
north under exceptional conditions.
Every one who cuts second crop clover
or rowen of any kind lknow how difficult
it is often to cure it in the cool, damp,
fall weather. But one can imagine
what it must be to cure mass of
growth covering the ground thickly and
growing three feet in height, some
times even more. In the south it is
quite hard TO cure as the stems are
large. Usually it is put up in pens
made of rails, but if handled rightly it
can be cured very much as the best
farmers cure clover hay in the north.
Still another very common way in the
south is to do nothing whatever with
the vines, but simply let them lie on
the ground all winter or till they rot or
decay, and then pillow them in. This is
really the best way where the vines are
wanted only for fertilizer, and this
might be a good way to do in some
cases in the north.
1t will thus be seen that this plant is
very valuable one, and that it would
be most desirable addition to the
crops of the north. All the manure
most soils need is light dressing of
acid phosphate, and crop of COW peas.
If the land was very deficient in potash
it might need little muriate of potash,
but for humus and nitrogen there is
probably no crop grown which will
make more of these in the same length
of time than COW peas. Then it would
make such splendid feed in August,
but the first touch of frost would spoil
its growth and probably it's feeding
value. But in most places it would
have from the last of May till the first
of September or later, and in that time
it ought to make heavy growth. Why
then can it not be grown? First the
variety which was tried in Vermont
might not have been suitable. We be-
lieve the plant is now grown success
fully as far north as New Jersey, that
is, that it goes to seed there. Now
seed brought from state as far north
as seed will mature would grow much
better in Vermont than seed from a
gulf state. So we would put as the
first requisite northern grown seed.
The second is a soil inoculated with
the bacteria of the COW pea roots. 1t
is now pretty we'll known that one rea-
son for the non-success of growing the