Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1901-03-28
THURSDAY. MAR CHI %, 1901
THE COW PEA r.
y HERE TO STAY.

ed to learn that my article of re-
cent date in the MESSAGE on the
COW pea has taken with the read
ers of your paper so well. a num-
Der of people have spoken to me
about it. also have letter from
Mr.. J. +. Wright, of Carrolton,
Mo-, who saw my article in the
MESSAGE and wants to know more
about the COW pea. He puts four
questions as follows:
Twill COW peas fall down i'll rich
soil9"
TO this question | will say that
my experience with the cow pen is
limited, and | know of no one in
this latitude who has had extern
sivc experience with them. Mr..
J. X. Schell, Laddonia, Mo-, east
of this place some IL miles, has
had more experience with them
than anyone | know of in this
part of Missouri. He had some
100 acres in cow peas the last sea
son, but | have not learned from
him if they will fall down. In my
own experience | think that my
soil is as rich, or much more so,
than will be likely in field ground,
as | have MANFRED the ground
from the stable for the past ten
years, and the cow peas do not fall
down SO that cannot harvest
them. Even if they should fall
down some, so that one could not
gather them all, they are worth all
they cost to further enrich the
soil.
"How to plant to get results"
For feed, plant about June 10 to
Is. The Clay makes a little the
most hay, but takes little longer
to mature. The Whippoorwill
makes good hay and bears little
more of the peas than the Clay
and does not take quite SO long to
mature.
"Can they be sown broadcast
and cut with mower and let stand
and be fed from shock!"
This is really several questions
in one. They mature more seed to
plant in rows and cultivated at
least twice, and take from one to
two gallons of seed per acre, ac-
cording to how close planted. If
sown broadcast, from . bu. to
II bu. is recommended per acre.
Rich soil taking more seed so as to
make it thick, and rich soil will
maintain more than poor soil. One
writer in Southwest Missouri rec
ommends pulling the vines, but
for a large field would consider
this n herculcan task, besides, |
think the stubs and roots are
worth more as n fertilizer to the
soil than they would be for feed,
so | would certainly nov them.
They should be put up i'll small
cocks and let dry and then to stack
them under roof is the best, but
they may be stacked ont, but
would have to be topped with
hay or straw, as they will not turn
water. If cut for hay they should
be cut before but very little seed
natures or they will shatter, also
the leaves will shatter.
"How much seed per acre."
| have already answered this
question. However, soil and time
planted should regulate the amount
of seed per acre somewhat. The
early maturing kind may be plant
ed or sOwn after oats or wheat is
cut. This would be somewhat late
for this latitude, but | think they
would have time enough to mature
for hay. In all events the ground
should be fresh and well prepared
and if to NOW, level. While they
will come up promptly, weeds if
given a chance will hinder or in
lure them. Another writer giving
his experience says, that "they
make the best COW feed | know of"
and this meets with my own eXpe-
rience. The COWS will eat them
green or put up in silO or dry, rs
in hay, and it does not seem to
make any difference with the COWS
how or what shape they are in so
they get them, and where fed it
increases the flow of milk.
The cow pea is here to stay, as
it is a splendid feed for all kinds
of stock. Good yielder, rs from
two to three tons of hay per acre