242 



THE FORAGE AND FIBER CROPS IN AMERICA 



the lateral ones short-stalked and oblique. The yellowish flowers 

 are few on long stalks. The pods are cylindrical, fleshy, nearly 

 straight, and many-seeded. 



299. Variable Characters. This plant is noteworthy on ac- 

 count of its variable habit of growth under different conditions 



of climate, soil, and cul- 

 ture. There are in this 

 country about 70 named 

 varieties, some of which 

 are probably synonyms. 

 The cowpea has natural- 

 ly, perhaps, a trailing 

 habit, but varies from a 

 bush with an erect single 

 stem one foot high and 

 short lateral branches to 

 a vine with prostrate 

 stems and trailing 

 branches 15 to 20 feet in 

 length. The cowpea does 

 not twine as in the case 

 of pole field beans, nor 

 does it have tendrils as 

 in the case of field and 

 garden beans. 



The seed may be smooth or wrinkled, though the former type 

 is much the more common. The seeds vary from about 75,000 

 to about 270,000 per bushel. With Clay, Whippoorwill, and 

 Wonderful (Unknown) varieties, there are about 150,000 seeds 

 per bushel. The amount commonly sold for a bushel is 60 

 pounds; the actual weight per measured bushel may vary from 

 51 to 61 pounds. The Arkansas Station obtained with Warren's 

 Extra Early 44 per cent, of shelled peas from the cured plant, 

 while with Red Ripper 17 per cent, was obtained. 1 In the case 



1 Arkansas Sta. Bui. No. 70 (1901), p. 95. 



Leaf and pods of the cowpea 

 (After Smith) 



