The farmer and mechanic., 1915-03-09

TO confine the gas The vaDor is |
highly inflammable, and no fire OF |
any natures hould be allowed where |
thls substance is beng used. It may
De necessary to follow with a seconl |
treatment a few weeks later, as it
often happens that some forms OF
the WeeVll are not checked by the
first treatment
Although there are large num-
Der of varieties of coWpeas grown.
comparatively few are of prime i'm
portance. Some of the extensively
cultivated varieties are known under
various names in different sections OF
Of the country Varieties OF cowpeas
are distinguished most readily by the
color and size Of the seed, though
they differ in habit, maturity, disease
resistance, etc. The use to be made
or the crop should determine to a
large extent the variety to be selected
The Croft, Brabham, New Era, Whip
pOOrWlll, Iron, and Early Buff varie-
ties are most suitable for seed produc-
ton and also are very desirable for
hay production. The Unknown, or
Wonderful, and most varities Of the
Clay, Red Ripper, and Black ground5
are somewhat late and vining varieties,
rather poor in seed yields, and are
more suited for forage and green ma.
nure. The Bradham and Iron varie.
ties should be grown wherever wilt
and roOt-knOt are prevalent, as these
varieties are practically immune to
these diseases. Varieties Of the
Blackeye and Crowder groups and
! those with white seeds are used most
COWPEAS-GAL TWO
| commonly for table purposes.
| Rotations.
| The cowpea succeeds under SO
| different conditions that it can be
used in almost any system Of rota-
| tiOn.The place usually assigned to
| COwpeas is that of a partial crop
planted between the corn rows at the
last cultivation or that of a second
crop on land where oats, wheat, OF
rye have been harvested.
| Mixtures.
Cowpeas for hay production are very
advantageOuSly grown In mixture
with other crops, giving a greater va
riety and larger yield Of forage. Corr
is also used very extensively in mix
ture with cowpeas, but only to small
extent for hay purposes. The mos
widely used crop is sorghum, includ
ing both the sweet sorghums and ka
frs. Other crops that can be use'
, in mixture with cOWpeas are so
: beans Sudan grass, and Johnso
grass.
+ COwpea Hay.
. Well-cured cowpea hay is mos
' valuabl and nutritious dry forage
lbeing nearly equal to wheat bran i
:, feeding value It is satisfactory fo
s work stock and for beef or milk pre-
= duction. and it gives good result
when fed to poultry. COWpea hay
rather difficult to cure. especially
s the weather is not favorable. A
p though there are many methods
# curing the hay, two are cOnmonl
n used. One method, suitable for ar
| of al
G cross pieces or of triangular frame
d about which the green coWpea 70
a age is placed and left until cure
: The method most used is to let tt
# vines lie in the swath until thorough
IT ly wilted, then rake into wind-row
l. and throw into small. loose cock
e which after drvino somewhat can
t. placed in large cocks. In curing, ca,
W should be taken to guard against IL
n loss OF leaves the most valua bic pa
ID Of the plant.
as The seed Of cowpeas is a rich fee
,e hut on account of its high price it
We little used, except to a small eXte
for poultry Only a few localiti
produce seed on an extensive sea
Is and the industry has been found We
lie profitable. In addition to the val
az Of the seed. the benefit to the lal
st and the thrashed vines as source
re feed, the benefit to the land ana [
be thrashd vines as a source of feed a
he important factors to be considered
or the production of a seed crop.
a the present time the price of Sc
is ranges from S1.50 to $500 a bush
an higher prices being obtained for il
proved varieties, such as Brabha
Croft, and Early Buff.
nv Pasture.
lly The cowpea is an excellent pls
nd for pasture. and with its numerc
lily varieties affords good grazing FRI
en- early summer until the late fall Co
il peas are very commonly planted
Try corn, and profit is realized both fr
Of the animals pastured and from
In. increase Of soil fertility from the n
,ut nure and refuse vines. Stock
mt usually turned on cowpeas about
nd time the crop is ready for hay.
ar Silage.
lii Alone the cowpea does not mak'
an first-rate Silage. When cOmbil
q with CORN if makes an excellent Sila