The Little River news., 1916-08-02
FORAGE CROPS FORARKkNSAS
No. G. CoWpeas and Soy Beans

By Earl Fitzpatrick, Extension Agro-
 nomist, University of Arkansas.
 The native home of the soy bean and the cowpea is probably central Africa, but both of them have become important crops in many portions of the world, and especially in the cot ton belt of the United States. The seed are used for food for both man and beast, while the vines make splendid pasture or hay.
 The uses of the plants are nearly the same, so that at times it is a question which one should be used. Although there are many varieties of each which vary a great deal, soy beans and cowpeas may be compared in general way. Soy beans STOW upright, do not have the vining habit, and mature their seed at aboat the same time, while many of the cow peas form vines on the ground, tan gle up so that handling is hard, and ripen some seed while blossoms gre still forming for other pods. Soy beans withstand frost and drv Weath CT somewhat better, and when cut late can be cured for hay more readily because the steam does not contain so much moisture. Cowpc2s ara ada pted to 9 wider type of So;is. are likely to make more rapid grous.h on q poor soil. a4d will shade the ground better and keep d0#n the weeds % 2 greater degree than soy beans will. Where soy beans are grown for tho first time inoculation of the Sod is Of ten necessary, which is not true Of the cowpea. Soy beans arc usually heavy seed producers, and, although they pop out badly when ripe. n v will lay on the ground for a long time without growing, Snd may be picked up by grazing hogs.
 There are many varieties oG cow peas, but only few are grown nx- tensively, among which are Whippoor- will, New Era, Iron, Brabham. ~Gy. Red Ripper and Blackeye. The Iron and Brabham are resistant to wilt and to root-knot, and should be grown where these diseases are prevalent.
 Among the soy beans, the ones most commonly handled in commercial way are the Ito San, Medium Yellow, Haberlandt, Hoilybrook and Man. moth Yellow, although there are sev- eral other splendid varieties. The little Ito San is extremely early. ma turing seed in about seventy-five days The Mammoth Yellow is the latest of hem all, but will mature seed | n0t planted too late in the summer.
 The method of planting these crops depends upon the use that ia n bn made of them. For pasturing of taay may be planted in the corn row at he second working, by broadea9ting pr drilling between the rows 3 ne ast working, or by making the rows of corn wide apart and planting row of cowpeas or soy beans between them. The yield of corn is not do. creased much, if any. and the al li- tional pasture is source of profit. When seeded alone, soy beans should be planted in rows and cultivated, while cowpeas will shade the ground sufficiently to keep down the weeds. Sorghum is> often mixed with coWp"as. especially for hay and for grazing; but if cut for hay care must be taken to use varieties of each that will rn ready to harvest at about the same ,ime-for example, the New Era COW pea and the Amber sorghum. The usual rate of seeding cowpeas and soy ie, oh Tn in, rows, or a bushel when broadcasted ,r drilled thickly, although the amount may be little lighter for hose varieties that have the smaller seeds.
 1 One or both of the crops should be grown on every farm in the South because they are not only profitable rom a feed standpoint, but they play big part in keeping up the fertility of the soil. For every ton. dry weight, or crop grown on average soil at least $6.00 worth of nitrogen will be taken from the air and stored up n the soil and the plant, or as much as would be added in 1900 pounds of ordinary 8-2-2 fertilizer.
 Tests show that the roots of these plants constitute only about 10 per gent of the whole, so that the great est amount of fertility can be secured only by pasturing them off on the rol, by turning them under, or by teeding and returning the manure. A relatively small amount of vegetable matter will be left in the soil if the srop is cut for hay and removed.