9 



Feeding ixilue of cowpeas compared with red clover and alfalfa. 



Article. 



Cowpeas: 



Green . 



Hay ... 

 Red clover 



Green . 



Hay... 

 Alfalfa: 



Green . 



Hay... 



Fresh or air-dry material. 



Number 



of 

 analyses. 



10 



8 



43 



38 



23 

 21 



Water. 



8;). ti 



10.7 



70.8 

 15.3 



71.8 

 8.4 



Ash. 



1.7 

 7. 5 



2.1 



G.2 



Protein. 



2.4 

 II). ti 



4.4 



12. 3 



4.8 

 14.3 



'Nitrogen- 

 Fiber. | free 

 extract. 



Fat. 



4.8 

 20.1 



8.1 

 24.5 



7.4 

 25.0 



7.1 

 42.2 



13. 5 

 .■!3. (1 



12.3 

 42.7 



O.Oi 

 2.9 



1.1 

 3.9 



1.0 

 2.3 



Cowpea.s: 



Green . . 



Hay... 

 Red clover: 



Green . . 



Hay.... 

 Alfalfa: 



Green . . 



Hay.... 



Article. 



Calculated to water-free substance. 



Ash. Protein. I Fiber. 



1U.5 

 8..") 



Nitrogen-' 



free ; Fat. 

 extract. 



7.3 



9.4 



8.1 



2.6 

 3.2 



3.9 

 4.9 



3.4 

 2.4 



A study of the percentages here given will show that the green 

 vines contain more water, less protein or nitrogenous, muscle-making 

 food, and less of the fat-forming crude fibers, fats, and nitrogen-free 

 extracts than either the green alfalfa or red clover. The air-dry hay, 

 however, contains more protein than either of the others, less fiber, 

 more nitrogen-free extracts than the red clover, and more fat than tlie 

 alfalfa. As is the case with leguminous forage plants in general, a 

 ration of cowpeas, to be well balanced, requires the addition of some 

 coarse fodder, such as corn stover, sorghum, timothy, Bermuda, or 

 prairie hay, otherwise a portion of the protein will be wasted. 



FERTILIZERS. 



It has been found that, as a rule, it does not pay to use high-grade 

 commercial fertilizers on cowpeas; this, however, depends a good 

 deal on the soil and on what crop is to follow this green manurial one. 

 It is usually unprofitable to fertilize with expensive nitrogen, in the 

 form either of nitrate of soda or of guano, and even the organic 

 nitrogen of cotton-seed meal does not act upon this crop as rapidly 

 as upon cotton and the cereals. The nitrogen of the fertilizers seems 

 not to influence the percentage of protein in the crop, and the general 

 opinion of agriculturists in the South is that it does not cause a 



