The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1900-12-14

Aside from small plats, purely ex-
perimental, cow peas do not seem to
have been grown to any considerable
extent in Kansas, except by Hon. Ed
win Taylor of Wyandotte county,
whose experience has been published
by Secretary Coburn of the State Board
of Agriculture. A portion OF MT. ray
lor's observations is given herewith:
Several of my neighbors are natives
OF the mountain portion of Tennessee.
For years I have listened to their
stories of the value Of COW peas and,
at last. some five years ago, was
''agrivated" by their iteration into try
ing the COW pea myself. planted five
acres OF upland with them. had the
peas all right, estimated at from hf-
teen to twenty bushels per acre, and
now came the question of gathering
them. l couldn't get 1t done at all, for
the reason that all the available pick
ers in the neighborhood were picking
potatoes.
All the agricultural writer's were
singing the praises of the cow pea, and
last summer (1S99) surrendered
again and gave the peas a second
trial.
l planted the first section, about ten
acres, the 5th of July. The peas came
up quickly, were we'll narrowed when
about four inches high, had no other
cultivation, grew rapidly, but kept
company with a good many weeds.
We pushed the potato digging and neg
!ected the pea planting, so that when
we were done digging two-thirds OF
the field was yet to sow, the ground
hard and dry. About half was broad
casted; the other half planted with the
corn planter. 1t was Aug. 10 before
we finished On the broadcast sowing
fully one and one-half bushels of seed
to the acre was used; on the portion
put in with the planter, about half
bushel per acre, and on that portion
also was the best yield. The seed in
the first instance cost ($1.5O per
busheD $2.25 per acre; in the second
rs cents. About five acres of the por-
ton put in with the planter did not
have the rows doubled, thus giving an
opportunity for cultivation. 1t was
gone over twice with wheel Guilt
vator, and the resulting crop, so much
stronger and ranker than any OF the
rest, convinced me that. on rlch
ground, the peas should be soWn IN
lows wide enough apart to admit OF
thorough cultivation. The saving IN
seed over broadcast sowing will much
more than pay for the cultivation
while the yield, judging from one
years operations, will be considerably
increased. The first week in September
cut few loads of peas and ran them
through the cutter to seal" the en-
silage which we had just finished put
ting UP. 1t served the purpose the best
of anything l ever used. We fed the
peas green, dried and half-dried. The
cows seemed Indifferent to the prep
aration, so long as the supply was am
pie. Not only was there the increase
of milk noticed, but the access of thrift
in the animals themselves was most
apparent.
had two varieties. the Whippoor-
the earlier variety; 1t makes less
vines and more peas than the latter.
There were more or less peas on most
of the vines we fed. Nothing was
weighed, but guess the yield to have
been around three tons of dry vines
the Whippoorwill, planted July 5, not
cut, had matured their pods the latter
part of September. My conclusions
are: First, the Whippoorwill pea,
planted in rows thirty inches apart and
well cultivated, will make fine feed in
sixty days and ripen full crop of
seed in eighty days, and the Clay will
follow on some fifteen days later. Sec
ond, that so long as they can be hauled
from the field they are about the fin
est COW feed known. and I see no
reason why, when dried thoroughly,
they might not be treated as other hay
and retain their value. Third, If, when
have farmed that field another year,
find that my Tennessee friends are
indicated as to the increased friability
and productivity of the soil from the
cultivation of this legume as fully as
they have respecting its value for feed
ing cows, then 1 shall want to add my
mite to a subscription for a monu-
ment to the man who invented cow
peas.