The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-09-19
SOUTHLAND
COW PEAS
4 Southern Crop That Is Good For
Man and Beast

South At this season OF the year he
would be surprised at some Of the
crops he would see, and some of the
methods Of doing the field work Oil
b plantations. Cotton in the South
Is the crop OF the first magnitude.
Probably the next thing In import.
1nce is the cow.pea. The satisfied
Northern mind is OF the opinion that
tiuoshy hay Is the great thing for
stock feeding when supplemented by
\ grain ration. The Southern cow
pea is as much ahead OF timothy hay
as It is possible to imagine. Horses
fed ON cow-pea hay with no grain
win keep in as good condition as
horses fed on timothy hay and oats.
The cow-pea is rich In those nitro
Eenous elements that make grain so
essential In the feeding ration of the
Northern farmer. Tests at the ex-
periment stations rank cow-pea hay
about with wheat bran as a feed.
All over the South this curious
product is cultivated for stock feed.
and everything on the place, from
the planter TO the chickens, takes to
The cos-pea when the crop is ready
20 use The cnw-pea Is a variety of
bean from India. 1t was brought
nsto the South with the first settlers
who came to Georgia, and from
there II has spread to the extreme
limits OF the Cotton States, and is
gradually getting across the Ohio
river. MS varieties are originated
that viii stand the colder weather
Of that section.
cow-peas are sowed broadcast in
May or June. and In a short time
they begin to come up, looking much
like any crop Of beans. Presently
they commence to vine. n the
stalks on reasonably fertile soil will
run fifteen feet or more. Leaves
shoot u at frequent intervals, and
by the latter part Of August the flow
ers have come and the beans are be-
ginning to develop. Soon after the
berns are well set the harvester o e
forth and cuts the vines, sometimes
with a machine and sometimes with
q scythe. The yield of hay is enor.
NOUS, the Louisiana Experimental
Farm reporting as high as ten tons
Of green feed to the acre. The stalks
are coarse and large, hut are eagerly
eaten by horses and cattle, while the
peas or beans are greedily devoured
by everything o the place. Cooked,
the peas much resemble the flavor
II he garden pea Of the North, and
ire in high favor at the table.
The cow-pea belongs to the same
class OF plants as clover, and with
the others Of its kind has the power
Of Improving the soil. This class
Of plants has the ability to absorb
nitrogen from the air. and to leave
tnl the soil, after using enough for
5s own wants, a plenty for the crop
That follows ii. One of the problems
with the farmers is how to supply his
crop with sufficient nitrogen. In
the North he buys guano, and sim
Har costly fertilizers, or he sows
clover to pillow down. In the South,
Instead OF Clover, the planter sows
euw-paas. Without the cow-pea the
South would be required to pay more
for fertilizer than the cotton crop or
other crop would warrant. With
rnE-peas the fertilizer bill can be kept
IN reasonable bounds. The fertiIiz.
ing powers of the cow-pea make the
cotton crop of the United States pos
sibie, and afford to the whole world
cheap clothing. Were It not for the
power of this plant to gather nitro
zen from the air for the use of
Itself a S well as for the crops
tllat follow. the nitrogen of the cot
tou plant would have to come from
somc costly source. n the price of
cotton and cotton goods would be
rrohibitive as compared with he pres
mt figures.
Or were the live stock of the South
compelled TO depend for winter feed
on some OF the less nutritious grasses
the amount OF stock raised in the
SCUM would be much less, for no
other feed nearly SO good can be
produced for anything like SO little
money Cow-peas AXE no costly
fertilizer to make them grow, being
content with the cheaper stimulants
Of piiosphates and potash when they
get anything.
Following the example of the man
who profted by the introduction of
The cow:pea others have tried innu-
1erable new things from the Old