158 PRINCIPAL INTRODUCED NONGRASSLIKE TORAGK HERBS 



Cowpeas. — Cowpeas ( Vigna Sinensis) are grown more widely 

 in the cotton region than any other leguminous crop. There 

 are several varieties, some of which produce long, trailing vines, 



without tendrils; but 

 others are erect and 

 bushlike. Some vari- 

 eties reach maturity 

 in two months, and 

 others require nearly 

 six months. They are 

 adapted to all types 

 of soil, but on wet 

 lands they do not 

 thrive. The leaves 

 are trifoliolate and 

 similar in appearance 

 to those of the garden 

 bean; in fact, the cow- 

 pea is more closely 

 related to the garden 

 bean than to the gar- 

 den pea (Fig. 51). 

 It is thought that the first cowpea plants were introduced from 

 tropical Africa, where various wild forms abound. The plant 

 is believed to have been under cultivation for more than 2,000 

 years. Although cultivated in the United States for nearly a 

 century, until recently cowpeas have not been popular in the 

 Northern States. They are not of great importance in States 

 where alfalfa or red clover grows well. 



Cowpeas are sown broadcast in pure stand, or in rows 36 to 

 48 inches apart, or between corn rows, or with certain other 

 widely spaced crops. When sown alone broadcast i to 2 bushels 

 of seed per acre is used; when planted in rows 3 or 4 feet apart 

 2 to 3 pecks of seed per acre is sufficient. If they are cut for 

 hay, the harvesting should be done as soon as the earliest pods 

 become yellow, for at that stage the vines cure well. For hay 

 the upright varieties should be sown, but for pasture any of the 



Fig. si- 



iU. S. Dept. of Agr.) 

 GENERAL VIEW OF A FIELD OF COWPEAS 



(Vigna Sinensis). 



