26O THE FORAGE AND FIBER CROPS IN AMERICA 



for hay because they are more easily cut, handled, and cured, 

 and hold their leaflets better. Usually the scythe or mowing- 

 machine is used, but difficulty is experienced in cutting the mass 

 of trailing and tangled vines. So far as the writer knows, 

 the pea harvester used commonly for harvesting field peas in 

 Canada has not been tried. (281) 



323. Curing Hay. Although the principles are the same, 

 curing cowpeas is more difficult than red clover or alfalfa. 

 Handling the crop before the leaflets become brittle is essential. 

 According to the Alabama Station the leaflets constitute 30 per 

 cent, of the weight of hay, and are about twice as high in protein 

 as the other portion of the plant. With different varieties from 

 51 to 75 per cent, of the weight of the entire plant was ob- 

 tained in hay, the remainder being in roots, stubble and fallen 

 leaves (leaflets). When stored in a tight place in a half-cured 

 condition, as sometimes recommended, fermentation and rotting 

 were excessive and the product unsatisfactory. Wilting, placing 

 in small cocks and covering with hay caps produced good re- 

 sults and the method is recommended as economical. 1 



The Mississippi Station 2 has found the following a practicable method of 

 curing hay: The crop being mown in favorable weather in August or Sep- 

 tember, the vines are raked up the same or the following day, and put into 

 cocks of the size that two men can handle with a fork when cured. The hay 

 is left in the cocks for four or five days, meanwhile being turned over once 

 or twice, then hauled to the barn or put into a stack. When put into stacks 

 the sides of the latter are built straight up, while a good covering of grass 

 is used. When harvesting falls in rainy weather the vines are left to cure 

 on the ground, when they are hauled directly to storage. 



For storage, rail pens made of ten-foot rails are often used. After filling 

 in three or four feet of cowpea hay, a layer of rails is put across when another 

 quantity of hay is added, followed by a layer of rails, and so on until a height 

 of ten or twelve feet is reached. The pen is then roofed over with straw, 

 hay, sorghum, or other cheap roofing. In feeding, two or three rails are 

 removed so that the live stock can feed upon the first layer; when this has 

 been eaten a layer of rails is removed and hay allowed to settle down where 

 live stock can reach it. 



1 Alabama Sta. Bui. No. 118 (1902). 



2 Mississippi Sta. Bui. No. 84 (1904), p. 16. 



