\0L. VIII. So: 18S. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



•21* 



THE HISTORY OF THE COWPEA. 



All interesting account of the Cowpea with its 

 history from earliest times, and an account of its 

 iiitroducticii into the New World was'piiblished by the 

 Bureau of Plant Industry of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture in Bulletin No. 102, part 

 Yl, from which tlie following notes are taken. 



It i.s very difficult to discover the urigin of the cowpea 

 (Vli/mi inii/iiii'ii/ala), owing to it.s grcLit similarity to other 

 leguminou.s plants, and the inadeiiuati> way in which these 

 plants were described by the ancient authors. It i?, how- 

 ever, certain that bean-like plants were cultivated in southern 

 Europe before the discovery of America, and it would seem 

 that at Ica.st one of these plants resembled closely the common 

 or kidney bean (P/iaseo/us indi/aris). Authors writing during 

 the century after the discovery of America tried to identify 

 the beans grown at that time with those described by Theo- 

 phrastus and Dioscorides. De CandoUe, \in the Ori'jiii of 

 Cidtiiiated Plants doubts any such identity. It is known, 

 however, from early accounts of discovery in America, that the 

 natives of the New World u.sed leguminous plants e.\tensively. 

 Hariot, 1.5.58, mentions two kinds uf beans : (1) Okind- 

 guer (whicii was either a large form of kidney bean, or the 

 Lima bean), (2) Wickonzour. John Smith, 1(112, mentions 

 ' [lease ' called ' Assentaniene,' which were the same known 

 in Italy as Fagioli. This is probably a .species of Laflii/nix 

 or Vk-ia, and this bean, he irentions as being the same the 

 Turks called Garnanseo, and whicli was probably a vetch 

 resembling the chick-pea. Josselyn, 1 G75, describes four 

 kinds of beans or peas : French beans, or rather American 

 lieans ; Ronavis, Calavance.s, and the kidney bean that is 

 proper to ' Roanoke, which may be the Lima bean. Ronavis 

 is derived from the Italian jjuouo vista, and was first u.sed 

 in America [New World] by Richard Ligon, 1657. {A true 

 ttnd e.rcwt llistori/ ofthc Idnnd of Jhiylxiihix: ' Males and R(Mia- 

 vists planted between the boughs, the trees lying along upon 

 the ground ; so far short was the ground then of being c'e ired.' 

 Romens, in his natural history of East and West Florida, 

 1775, gives the ttrst unmistakable reference to Vigna mu/iii- 

 ciiluta as having appeared on the mainland of America. His 

 di.scus.sion indicates that although grown for several j-ears in 

 the southern colonies, in Virginia they were not cultivated, 

 or only to a small extent, at so early a date. 



Washington was accustomed to grow seeds of new plants 

 from England and other countries that might prove of agri- 

 cultural value. There is reference in M. D. Conways ' George 

 Washington and Mount Vernon ' to his planting Indian corn 

 and potatos in intermediate rows, but no reference anywhere 

 to the cultivation of peas or beans with corn. His first 

 reference to cow peas is in a letter dated February 27, 1797. 

 Dr. James Greenway, in an article on Cassia clM)naecristii, 

 1793, as a soil renovator, refers to the common corn-field 

 pea as being preferable to anything tried for this purjwse. 

 The pea vines left on the ground quickly moulder and fall to 

 pieces, forming a covering for the ground, which mingles 

 readily with it. 



Ph'isKolus viilijaris appears to have reached central 

 Europe about 1536. Certainly a plant resembling the dwarf 

 form of Pluiseolus riuhjaris was cultivated in Southern 

 Europe, in the Mediterranean region, before the discovery of 

 America. 



The Viijna iiiir/uiridatn. first became known to central 

 and northern European botanists by its being grown at 

 Prague. These seeds were probably brought overlaiul direct 

 from Persia or India, and not from Italy, as it was known at 

 Pmgue before Vienna. 



The figure in the Vienna Dioscorides Codex, supposed to 

 be the p/tasio/us of Dioscorides corresponds closely with the 

 description of Dolichos hdda. Koernicke believes this species 

 to have originated in centra! Africa, as it grows wild there. 

 This, however, so frequently happens with plants imported 

 into the tropics, that it cannot be taken as conclusive evidence. 



Indian works refer to the ancient cultivation of luhiya 

 in India, and Reede describes nine different preparations of 

 the seed of the Vufna catjaiKj which were used in medicine. 



The cultivation of )'. ui/.i/i(icid(ita extended to China at 

 a very early date ; and at the beginning of the Christian era 

 to Arabia, Asia Minor, and some of the Euroiiean Mediterra- 

 nean countries ; but did not become known in central 

 Europe until the middle of the sixteenth century. 



COLONIAL EXHIBITION. 



The next Fruit ami Vegetable show under the 

 auspices of the Royal Horticultural Society will be 

 held at the Society's Hall, Vincent Square, Westminster, 

 December 1 to 4, 1909. The attention of the perma- 

 nent Exhibition Committee?, and of fruit growers 

 generally, is called to this opportunity of exhibiting 

 West Indian grown fruit and vegetables, both fresh and 

 preserved, in competition with similar products from 

 all other parts of the empire. 



All entries must be in, not later than November 

 17, but the Secretary hopes that as many as possible 

 will be in previous to that date. 



It should be borne in mind that the exhibits are carried 

 freight free, there is no entrance fee, no chargs, fpr space, 

 and tabling is [irovided free. If desired by the exhibitor the 

 Committee is prepared to unpack and stage the exhibits but 

 cannot undertake to repack and return any exhibits. The 

 Society will receive any exhibits and store in their celMss 

 M'hich are cool, but not cold. Mr. A. E. Aspiuall, Secte- 

 tary of the West India Committee, in a letter to the Lnperial 

 Commissioner of Agriculture, forwards the printed circulars 

 of the Royal Horticultural Society, which have been issued 

 by the Socretarj'. These circulars give all necessary inform- 

 ation in regard to the conditions under which tne exhibition 

 is to be conducted and an entry form to be filled in by the 

 exhibitor. Mr. Aspinall states that his Committee will be 

 jileased to receive and stage any exhibits if so requested. 



This would seem to be an excellent opportunity for 

 West Indian fruit to be exhibited under the most favourable 

 conditions, at a very low cost. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 

 The Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture return- 

 ed to Barbados from St. Vincent on June 29 by the 

 R.M.S. ' Esk. ' ]\[r. Biffen also returned to Barbados 

 by the same boat. 



With the approval of the Secretary of State for 

 the Colonic.^, the Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture 

 will proceefl to England on duty leave by the R.M.S. 

 ' Magdalena ' on July 1.3. During the absence of 

 Dr. Watt's, Mr. J. R. Bovell, LS.O., F.I.C., F.C.S. will 

 sign for the Commissioner. 



Mr. J. Chisnall Bloore, Agricultural Superinten- 

 dent of St. Lucia, has been granted six months' leave 

 of absence, and has sailed for England. 



