LEGUMES 219 



produce little seed if the conditions are favorable for the pro- 

 duction of vine. The Unknown is a striking example of this 

 sort, and the Clay has the vining tendency to a marked degree. 

 There are other varieties which are upright and fruitful on thin 

 or sandy soil, but vine and fruit sparingly on rich land. The 

 Black is an example of this variety. Therefore the variety or 

 type chosen should be selected for the particular purpose for 

 which the crop is to be grown. If the maximum quantity of 

 organic matter is desired, a rank-growing, vining variety like 

 the Unknown, or Clay, or Black should be chosen. If hay is 

 desired an upright sort, such as the Whippoorwill, New Era, 

 or Warren's Extra Early, is to be preferred. For a catch crop, 

 either for hay or as a green-manure crop after wheat or oats 

 or with corn, one of the earliest-maturing sorts like the New 

 Era or Warren's Extra Early should be chosen. 



286. Time and rate of seeding. The cowpea is more sensi- 

 tive to cold wet weather than to any other unfavorable con- 

 dition. It should not be sown until late in the season, after 

 corn-planting time, and may be sown as late as July 1 5 in an or- 

 dinary season. When cowpeas are grown for seed, they should 

 be sown later than when grown for forage, as late sowing favors 

 fruitfulness except in parts of the southwest where a lack of 

 rainfall in late summer may reduce the yield of the late-sown 

 crop. The rate of seeding varies from two to ten pecks of 

 seed per acre, depending upon the variety and soil. 



287. Harvesting cowpeas. The crop should be harvested for 

 seed when one half to three fourths of the pods have turned 

 yellow, but before any have opened. For hay, they should be 

 harvested when the first pods turn yellow. For green manure 

 the growth should be turned under as soon as possible after 

 growth has ceased. 



It is common in the South to pick the pods by hand and 

 thresh the peas with a hand thresher or a small power thresher. 

 All in all, there is no very satisfactory way of harvesting and 

 threshing the grain or of cutting and curing the hay and these 

 are the factors that limit the use of the cowpea plant. Owing 



