The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1904-04-23
FARMER AND PLANTER.
EXPERIENCE WITH COW PEAS.
They Make Better Hay For Both
Beef and MIX Production
Than Anything Else.

Having spent the first fifty-two years
OF my life in northern Pennsylvania
and southern New York my acquaint>
ance with the cow-pea has been limit.
ed to the last few years. Five years
ago obtained few bushels of seed,
and in the spring of 1899 put in three
acres for hay with a wheat drill, SOW.
Ing one bushel per acre. Also sowed
one and one-half acres for seed, using
the same drill, using but two hoes
making the rows three feet apart.
The lot for hay made only a fail
growth and was cut during hot and
rainy spell OF weather. thought the
hay ruined, but the cows ate it so well
l took courage to try again.
The one and one-nalf acres for seed
were cultivated and taken good caro-
Of. and gave thirty bushels of gooh
seed.
The next year I had ten acres OF pei
hay and eighty bushels of seed. HAY ,
tried the last two years sowing n fesi
for pasture and find they make spler-
did grazing for COWS and hogs. Horst !
do not like them green.
About October 1, some years ago,
began feeding both cows and horse 3
on the pea hay. Never saw team pick
up SO quickly. Two months after I
changed feed on horses, giving them
corn fodder, still continuing the pea
hay 20 the cows, and using the refus
to bed them with. After a few day ;
it occurred to me that perhaps tn .
horses would eat the refuse from tn
cows. After feeding this once and theJ
heard me getting it next morning they
showed more anxiety to get it than
ever to get their corn. Two years ago
we had fair to good Jersey COW 4,
fresh in December; on one gallon O.
feed per day, composed of corn, buck
wheat and wheat bran and what pea
hay she would eat, made ten pounds
Of butter per week.
have fed the different kinds of hay;
from my experience I much prefer the
cow-pea hay to any other. both for
beef and milk. am often asked what I
feed my horses that makes them SO
we'll. I can only answer cow-pea hay
and little corn. The last man to
whom l made that answer said, will
they ear it" In company with several
neighbors the other day, talking of
cow-pea hay. one said. st is bad stuff
unless you have plenty of it, for if
you feed to stock for a time they will
not eat anything else
] find it no more trouble to cure cow
pea nay than heavy growth of any
other hay Some complain that it
hangs together, so that it is hard to
handle. My way is, after it is raked
into windows, with a wheel rake, to
put three rakefuls in a bunch. First
fold together the middle rakeful, then
either of the other Two aud lay one at
a time. A bunch put up in this way
will pitch apart nicely in three fork
fuls, and after a little experience, if
to be taken off by hand, the loader
need get il tangled up but little
/ like them very much 10 grow be-
tween a corn and wheat crop. Think
the wheat does better and looks far
better without the piles of old stalks
and roots all over the field. AS land
renovator l consider them equal to
anything 1 have ever tried. They
seem to be just the thing to precede
q crop of wheat.
When we plant for seed we put them
IN the last of June, and are never
troubled with bugs unless we keep
them over the second year. If we had
plenty of barn room would prefer to
NOW them away ana thresh in winter,
then we could feed most of the straw.
Not being so fortunate we lay a floor
of plank on the ground and thresh
with fails as soon as ripe. However,
they will keep well IN stack until next
spring. Can thresn them at a cost OF
five cents per bushel in this way.
Lately friend told me of the sue
cess some boys had threshing cow
peas with an old wheat thresher. They
took out all the eoncave teeth, then
kept taking teeth out of the cylinder
until only few remained. Then sufti-
GENTLY reducing the motion, proceeded
to thresh over 700 bushels, cleaning
them nicely and not breaking any
more than if they had been threshed
by hand or the floor.
thought had ioeen quite enthusiast
tic in sounding praises for the cow
pea, but find neigh5ors getting far
ahead of me in this respect. Do they
pay? Yes, in every way.-Cor. Practical