The Banner-Democrat., 1901-09-21


the steady. persistent. progressive
breeder, and not the outcome O.
booms to be passed around among the
adventurers who may happen to take
up the business just when a boom il
attracting attention.-E. p. Smith. IL
Germantown Telegraph.
Growing tho Cow Pea.
The cow pea Is well known In the
south, and has been grown so lonf
that it Is almost a surprise to the
southern farmer that 1t ia now receiv
ing so much attention In other por
tions of the country, not that the COW
pea is unworthy Of the consideration
bestowed upon 1t. but because It's use
fulness has not long ago carried Il
into every country in the Unitee
States where corn can be grown. a.
it will flourish in any climate where
corn can mature: in fact. as a green
manurial crop it can be grown even
where corn will not prove profitable
Although known as the COW pea" II
is really a bean. and there are &c
many varieties as to render classiflca
tion difficult. The COW pea Is whole
some food for man and beast. and 10
as nourishing as the ordinary whitE
navy bean. Owing to the fact that
when it is cooked 1t darkens the pote
and kettles. while the liquid is almost
black, it is unpopular with those who
test it; but in the south. where it is
a staple article of food, the white va
riety having black eye Is the kind
used on the table. The white va
riety Is perhaps not so well adapted
for green manurial purposes as the
black pea. but it thrives on all soils
and is sure to produce crop. even
under adverse conditions. The COW
pea is picked for the table when the
pods are yellow. At this stage the
seeds are soft and on the table are
highly relished. Later. when the pods
are dry, they are picked, shelled and
the dry seed stored away for use In
winter. The pods are not used on
the table. On good land yield OF
from Is to Is bushels may he expect.
ed, but to harvest the crop in order to
save the seed is considered laborious.
as considerable hand work Is re-
quired.
The cow pea, like clover, belongs
to the family Of legumes, or nitrogen
gatherers, and as it will grow on soils
that will not produce clover it is some
times known as poor mans clover"
In the south it is believed that the
COW pea will grow where no other
plant will thrive; hence 1t is not un-
common, when describing the poverty
of a piece of land. to assert that 1t
will not even grow COW peas" and to
ascribe such to the plot means that
land must be extremely low in fertil-
ity IL the COW pea cannot be produced
upon it. This characteristic of the
COW pea-that it will grow on poor
soils-is one of its strongest recon-
mendations, for with its aid poor land
can be restored to fertility. This is
the month for planting or sowing the
seed, and as 1t makes rapid growth
after 1t starts it is never caught by
frost unless planted quite late in the
season. It will thrive either in rows.
and cultivated, or may be broadcast
ed. AS it is capable Of deriving its
nitrogen from the atmosphere through
the agency of its particular micro-or-
ganisms (as is the case with clOver)
it requires little or no fertilizer of a
heterogeneous nature, though very
small quantity of nitrate of soda,
about 25 to so pounds per acre. will
influence its growth in its early
stages. Such fertilizers as the potash
salts, wood ashes. air-slaked lime and
manure will give excellent results. es-
pecially IL assisted by soluble phos-
phate. Lime broadcasted in the fall
and the COW peas seeded the following
summer will often induce a heavy
crop without the aid of any fertilizer.
and such is perhaps the cheapest
mode of growing cow peas II the OBJ
ject Is to improve the land at the low.
est cost for the crop.
While it must be admitted that out
side Of the nitrogen derived from the
the cow pea adds nothing
to the soil, yet 1t cannot thrive with
out the aid Of the mineral elements
potash and phosphoric acid-but 1t
secures these materials from the soil
and stores them in the plant. II the
plant is returned to the soil these
substances which were for.
merly in an inert condition, are then
in an available form. and II lime has
been used to render the soil alkaline
the land will be in better condition for
clover; but those who begin q system
Of green manuring find it profitable to
sow COW peas and plow them under in
time to seed the land with crimson
clover about the first week in Septem-
ber, so as to have the ground covered
with crop during the winter. II pre-
ferred one may use rye, which may
be seeded quite late. II the farmer
has manure he should apply 1t on the
land which has received cow peas and
crimson clover Tor rye) as green ma
nurial crops. and in the spring the
land can 60 in corn, to be followed
by wheat in the following fall and
seeding to clover the next spIs1g. In
this manner the land can be greatly
but it will always pay to
apply fertilizer containing potash
and phosphoric acid on the land for
corn, and lime will always assist such
crops as clover and cow peas. The
cheapest way to use cow peas where
cattle are kept is to feed the hay and
return the manure to the soil. The
vines are moved after the pods are
yellow (not iry), cured and stored
under cover. Some experience Is re-
quired to properly cure the hay, but
one soon learns. The vines are high
ly relished by cattle. horses and sheep