The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1906-06-28
Using the cowpea.


soil. This has been shown to be the
most profitable way of handling the
crop. by direct experiment. An acre
Of cowpeas will maintain a cow for
40 days while producing two gallons
of milk a day, which at fifteen cents a
gallon would be worth $40, while the
,1roppings and refuse left on the ground
would be almost if not quite as valua-
BILE. to the succeeding crop as If the
whole crop had been plowed under.
There are many poor farms that are
clearly Improbable to cultivate, and
on those farms where barnyard ma
nure or live stock are not available,
it will be better to plow under the cow
peas as a means of soil improvement,
using in conjunction liberal applica-
lions of phosphates and potash. In GER
tain investigations made with wheat
where cowpeas were ploWed under,
they increased the yield nine S
per acre in two years.
Thus it appears that the cowpea fur
nishes the cheapest form of nitrogen
the farmer can use. FOr example, II
his wheat crop yielded twenty bushels
to the acre, it would require thirty
four pounds of nitrogen to supply that
removed from the land by the crop.
If he had to buy this at the present
price of nitrates of soda, it would cost
him about SIS FER acre, whereas, a
good second CROP of cOwpeas would
| furnish him from fifty to s~eventy-fve
pounds and enable the and to produce
hay worth from $50 to $50 an acre the
same year A good average crop OF
cowpeas yields about two tons OF nay
per acre; it would cost about $3.50 per
ton to produce the hay, bale it IL put
it on the market, giving the two tons
a farm price of So and a market price
of about $40. The blowing under OF
the second crop of cowpeas should
furnish enough nitrogen for two TWEEN
ty-bushel crops Of wheat, which II
purchased il the form of nitrate OF
| soda would cost $40 per acre, an
amount no farmer could think Of apply
| ing in a commercial way. The after
math of the cowpeas would furnish it
for much less than this, so that by
growing the pea under the two crop
| SN d SUl1G1C4I AAlAOS$A O
humus supply can be obtained for the
soil and a satisfactory crop made from
the land the same year.
1. The area devoted to the cultiva-
ton of c6wpeas increased 1852 per
cent in the last decade.
2. The peculiar value of the cow
pea is due to the nodules which grow
on it's roots and in which certain forms
of bacteria live which have the power
of a~ssimilating atmospheric nitrogen.
3. AS the cowpea is a tap-rooted
plant it is very important that the land
be deeply plowed and SUBSIDIZED if
clayey in nature; otherwise the root
growth win be seriously restricted.
4. The cowpea is best sown in drills
tw~enty-fouri inches apart.
5. Whilerth cowpea can supply it
self with nitrogen, it also requires
large amounts Of phosphates and
potash; these it can only obtain from
the soil, hence they must be literally
supplied in artificial forms.
6. A good mixture for cowpeas on
clay soils would be about 250 to 800
pounds of acid phosphate and 100
pounds of nitrate of potash; where
kainit is used $50 to 400 pounds should
be substituted for the muriate; on
sandy soils the amount should be in
creased one-third to one-half.
Z. Some of the best varieties of cow
peas for hay are: WhippoOrwill, Clay
and Unknown, Black, Whippoorwill
and Clay; for pasture, Unknown, Black
and Red Ripper.
s. Cowpea hay can be made for s.
per ton where the ground is plOWed
and the fertilizer used charged up to
the first crop. AS two tons per acre
can be produced on fair soil and the
market price is $40 to So a ton. it is
a profitable crop to grow for use on
the farm for sale.
9. The cowpea is usually valuable
as a green manure because it decays
so readily. No difficulty will be ex-
perienced in blowing it under if it is
lone in a rational manner
10. The cowpea is particularly valu-
able as a grazing crop for hogs and
cattle; drilled peas having produced
from 300 to 600 pounds of pork per
acre, worth SIS to $50.
IL. The cowpea combines admirably
with corn, sorghum, ETC., for produc-
ton of silage or forage. When seeded
with these crops from ten to fifteen
per cent. of the total yield may be
composed of peas, which balances the
food up and vastly improves it's feeding
quality.
II. Either the grain or hay from
cowpeas is very rich in protein, and
experiments that have been made show
that it can be substituted to advantage
for a portion of the grain ration in
feeding either beef or dairy cattle.
Ii. The wide adaptability of the
cowpea makes it the most valu; bic
legume cultivated at the present time.
News Notes. d