28 The Bulletin. 



I. Culture, Varieties and Fertilization of the Cowpea on Piedmont Red 

 Clay Loam, Red Clay and Valley Soils and on Mountain Soils. 



II. The Uses of the Cowpea. 



Preparation and Cultivation. — The cowpea will thrive under very 

 unfavorable conditions of soil and preparation except where the 

 land is wet and cold. Where peas follow grain or other crops it is 

 practically impossible in many cases to break and prepare the land 

 well on account of season and pressure of other work, and under 

 these conditions they should be put in in the best way possible and 

 will frequently pay well for the expenditure, even under unfavorable 

 conditions. While the above is true, there is no plant that delights 

 more in a thoroughly broken and well-prepared soil or that returns 

 gi'eater profits for the expense and time in putting the soil in good 

 condition before planting. 



The cowpea and other leguminous plants are of more value for 

 soil improvement than plants not belonging to this class, because 

 they are able, through the bacteria that live on and in nodules on 

 their roots, to gather a portion or all of their nitrogen from the air 

 and use it in their growth. This nitrogen is taken from the air, 

 which circulates in the soil and which comes in contact with the roots 

 of the plant. The more deeply and thoroughly the soil is prepared 

 the greater will be the root development of the cowpea or other plant, 

 and the more air will circulate in the soil, thus enabling the crop to 

 make a greater growth and accumulate more nitrogen for its own 

 use and for the use of crops of corn, cotton and grains which follow. 



Peas may be planted broadcast or drilled with a grain drill, when 

 one bushel per acre is a good quantity of seed ; or they may be put 

 out in rows 2| to 3| feet apart, when one-half bushel per acre will 

 give good results. When planted in rows peas should be cultivated 

 two or three times with weeder, harrow or cultivator. The extra 

 growth of crop and increase of nitrogen gathered from the air give 

 profitable returns for the cultivation. 



The size of seed of the different varieties of peas vary, some being 

 twice as large as others, and it is not necessary to use so large a quan- 

 tity of the small as of the large seeded kinds. The following table 

 gives the results of three years' test of different quantities of seed 

 in 3^-foot rows, the variety used being the New Era, the seed of 

 which are small. These results show one-half bushel in rows of the 

 above width to be a good seeding. 



