The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1912-04-18
COWPEAS.
Bulletin Mo. state Boari OF Agriculture.
Sowing Cowpeas After Wheat

Bulletin MO. stare B0erI OF Agriculture.
Sowing Cowpeas After Wheat
Cowpeas may be sown after wheat
or oats with good results where these
crops can be gotten off the GROUND
early. Thousands of acres of cow
peas are sown after wheat in the bot
tom lands of Southeast Missouri, but
in this region the land is sandy and
can be quickly turned, while the sea
sons are long. In Central Missouri il
is usually necessary to either set the
wheat off the ground or it may be
threshed from the field early so as to
allow the land to be plowed by the
last Of June, in order to let them in in
sufficient time. This, therefore, re-
stricts the sowing Of cowpeas' after
wheat in North or Central Missouri to
rather small areas; moreover, most
farmers follow wheat with clover or
timothy, which, of course, prevents
the sowing of cowpeas. Cowpeas
may also be sown after oats, especial
ly where the oats are cut in the milk
for hay, as this gets them off the
ground in sufficient time.
Where cowpeas follow either wheat
or oats there is frequently trouble in
getting the land broken on account of
! the land being hard and dry at that
time. It is usually necessary, how
ever, in most parts of Missouri to re-
break the land after these crops, al
though, as has been already men,
toned, in seasons of abundant rain
fall, when the ground is soft at harvest
time, it is sometimes possible to 60 in
and prepare the ground by double
disking. This is, however, limited to
rather exceptional seasons. The
variety of peas to use where sown as
late crop in this way, is usually one
of the early Sorts, like the New Era.
Cowpeas for Green Manuring
The use Of cowpeas as green
manure crop for the building up OF
organic matter in the soil is one which
is sure to become more common as
our lands decrease in their organic
matter content. The fact that it is a
crop that can be thrown in after the
other crops without very much ex-
pense, and which will mature in a
short time, makes it especially valu-
able for this purpose. Care should
be taken, however, in blowing in
crop of cowpeas in the fall to be fol-
lowed by crop like wheat, to pillow
them early enough to allow of consid-
cradle decay before the wheat is sown.
1t is usally necessary also, to roll the
land in order to give it sufficient COM
pactness, and if they can be chopped
up some with disc before blowing,
this is advisable.
In using cowpeas as green manure
or a pasture crop it has been found
that on lands where clover fails to
grow, this is one of the best methods
of making clover growth possible. In
fact, couple Of crops of cowpeas,
either pastured off or plowed under,
and then followed by wheat crop in
which clover is seeded, will 60 long
ways towards insuring clover stand.
The time is coming, too, when num-
Der of our farmers will undoubtedly
turn to the use of cowpeas and clover
to be plowed under, in order to main
tain the supply of organic matter
rather than to depend entirely upon
the feeding Of crops back for this pur-
pose. In other words, tits impossible
for all farmers to handle large quanti-
ties of live stock, and we must make
a wider use of legume crops of this
kind to be plowed under if we are to
continue to supply the worlds de-
mand for grain and at the same time
maintain the supply Of organic matter.
The cowpea offers exceptional oppor-
tunities, therefore, for the man who
is to farm his land to the best advant-
age, and it behooves every Missouri
farmer to so study the character of
this plant as to be able to handle it
in his farm practice.
Varieties
There are great many varieties
of cowpeas, differing greatly in their
habits of growth. The earlier varie-
ties are as a rule more stocky and
stand more erect than the later varie-
ties, which tend to vine. As a rule,