Marble Hill press. (Marbel [sic] Hill, Mo.) 1881-1923, 1906-05-10

Il -7IITii -f77TT ~ III
much surer than clover, requiring
only 90 days to make 4 crop IN
stead Of two seasons, and unless
properly cured, the hay Is less
dusty and just as nutritious. Tne
disadvantages lie ii the greater
time required TO cure and tho NJ
sulting uncertainty Of securing 1
well cured bay.
II has been tho practiceat the Ok
pertinent station when sowing peas
for hay to put them in with q grain
drill at the rate Of 4 or s pecks pei
adre every hoe Of the drillrunning,
In this case the ground is thickly
covered and weeds kept down. The
thick planting also gives . much
finer texture to the hay but IT has
the disadvantage of not giving ss
much seed as where the plants are
thinner. For large production Of
hay per acre however Il is superior
to planting in rows or to thinner
planting, II one wishes to 30 to
- . 80. .i Il : l4II : d
the expense Of cultivating, q saving
of seed is effected by planting in
rows. In this case a corn planter is
often used, doubling the rows and
drilling the peas In At the rate Of 2
pecks per acre. This brings therows
close enough together TO cover the
ground well, II allows Of the pro-
duction Of q large amount Of seed
and the cultivation makes growthy
plants. Two or three civilizations
are usually given in this case. On
good, clean land peas may readily
be planted in this way and the culti-
walton omitted but under average
conditions weeds are apt to gain
considerable headway between the
rows.
When grown for seed, peas are
always planted thin, usually in rows
and cultivated. The method just
recommended Of planting with q
corn planter.and cultivating is rec
commended. Or they may be put
in as wide apart as corn rows, on
good land. The difficulties in the
way Of handling seed thus far, are
in getting the peas properly harvest.
ed and threshed. Ordinarily they
are picked by hand and failed out,
but the bean harvester or mower can
be used with fair results There is
necessarily loss when harvested in
this way butt 1t is usually not enough
to Offset the saving in labor. They
may be threshed with an ordinary
thresbing machine by removing the
concave and substituting q board.
A small pea huller is also coming
into use which will undoubtedly
lessen the cost and labor Of thresh-
ing.
The curing of cowpea bay is
rather difficult unless the weather
is very favorable. The large green
stems dry out slowly, about twice
the time being necessary as for
curing red clover. If the hay is
allowed to dry out thoroly in the
swatb the leaves break off badly in
raking SO that it is the custom at
the experiment station to rake them
into small windrows before they
are quite dry and allow them to
cure. 1t is sometimes recommend
ed also to cure IN shocks, and this
method is satisfactory in favorable
weather, but difficulty rs usually
encountered IN making the shocks
tnrn water. A little experience in
handling the hay will usually ena-
bic one to produce a fair quality Of
hay even under unfavorable condi-
tions and since the feeding value is
so high, no one should be prevent
ed from growing peas for bay sim
ply from this reason.
The pasturing Of cowpeas with
sheep or hogs is coming to be 8
common practice in many sections
of the state. Sown with drill or
drilled in double rows with o corn
planter they will cover the ground
sufficiently for this purpose.
Young growing animals may be
turned on soon after the plants get
well started, but if the object be to
fatten IT is best to wait until the
peas begin to 1pen. In either case
some caution must be observed moi
to allow the animals to eat too
ravenously as there is some danger
of bloat and over-feeding. Cattle
may also be pastured on them
altho they are not as well suited
for cattle as for hogs and sheep.
In fatteniHg hogs If a little corn be
fed at the same time better results
will be obtained as the peas are a