Mexico Missouri message., 1902-01-16
THE COW PEA.
Their Value, Varieties and
Culture.

|
time since in the Journal of Agri-
culture. He thinks the article
worthy of close study by every far
mer and stock man. Mr.. Rouse
says he knows Mr.. Faith person
ally; he is a practical man an d an
extensive writer on agricultural
and horticultural subjects. His
article follows:
Ny experience and observation
in growing cowpcas the past eight
years with several varieties, show
that the Whippoorwill leads for
profit. Yield, twelve to twenty
five bushels per acre, and one and
one half TO two tons of the best
hay. They are the earliest to rip.
en-. have planted them on land
after the wheat was cut and stack
cd, plowed the ground and planted
and ripcncd them in time to SOW
To wheat They ripencd in fifty
five days, and left the ground III
good condition to drill IN wheat.
Thus two crops in one year. The
Whippoorwill may be called IA
bush pea, but they also vine. Next
i'll early ripening, yield Of seed
and hay, is the Black; not the
blue black. The Wonderful is u
wonderful hay produccr-morc
than any variety that know Of;
yields two to three and a half tons
of hay per acre, but some years
poor in pcaS--four to ten bushels
per acre. They require about l2O
To mature. After three years
testing, | discarded all the rest
and grow only the three named.
No crop is more profitable for
the amount of work required, none
will endure more drouth and ma
turc the crop in so short Il time us
cowpeas. No hay is equal to it
for horses, cattle and sheep; no
food will increase the flow of milk
as cowpea hay does with peas left
on. 1t is relished by all beasts if
well cured.
| see some writer's overvalue
cowpeas in their green state. Green
clover is better food for hogs, cat
tie and horses than green cow
peas. | think it is a waste to pas
ture green cowpeas. Cowpeas are
less molested by insects than any
other vegetation | know Of. Cow,
peas are used by some families in
place of navy beans. No vegeta,
ton will enrich the soil as cowpeas
do. 1t is the only crop | want In
my orchard. Observation leads
me to believe "A good crop of cow
peas on thin land is worth as Il
fertilizer five dollars per acre fol
the crops following. Cowpeas
will grow on land too poor to grow
clover. | predict that more than
ten acres will be planted to one
acre now, as soon as their value is
better known.
To plant, prepare ground as II
for planting corn; drill in rows IL
to 20 inches apart; cultivate twice,
or until vines cover the ground
too much. Two or three pintS
will plant an acre. If sowed for
hay, three pecks; for pasture etc.
one and half bushels. Ground
should be worked level or rolled,
SO they can be cut with moving
machine close to the ground.
They should not he planted before
the last of May, AS they want
warm weather to grow. If plant
ed too early weeds sometimes will
grow before peas shade the ground
n few years ago, to experiment,
we planted ON thin land on IA side
hill where top soil was washed off
and ground partly shaded by trees,
ten rows each, corn, Kaffir corn
and cowpeas. The yield of each
per acre was: Corn I bushels
katiir corn IL, cowpeas Is. On
rich bottom the yield was: Corn
80 bushels per acre, Kaflir corr
~, cowpeas -. Cowpea hay a
bout one-fourth more than on thin
land. This proved the value %
planting cowpeas on poor, worn
out land to say nothing of the
renovating of the soil
The harvesting is the most I'M
satisfactory. Cutting with NOW
ing machine is wasteful, as the!
shatter. Hand picking the peas
and hand pulling the vines is saw