62 PEAS AND PEA CULTURE 



farmers have failed. Wait until the ground is thor- 

 oughly warm before starting cowpeas. If sown in 

 drills, rows are made 18 to 30 inches, and seed is 

 covered two inches deep. The Mississippi experi- 

 ment station reports that the increased yield of 

 both seed and hay obtained by drilling the seed is 

 more than sufficient to pay the additional expense 

 of drilling and cultivation. If the crop is sown 

 broadcast and harrowed in, no cultivation is neces- 

 sary. 



As with field peas it is necessary to apply a 

 nitrogenous fertilizer. Potash and phosphoric acid 

 will give good results. The Delaware experiment 

 station used 160 pounds muriate potash to the acre, 

 and it doubled the yield of vines. Best yields in 

 Georgia were obtained when phosphate was used at 

 the rate of 200 to 400 pounds per acre. A dressing 

 of 100 to 200 pounds acid phosphate, with about 

 the same amount of muriate of potash, applied to 

 each acre should give satisfactory results on average 

 soils. 



Harvesting cowpeas is not a simple operation, 

 especially if damp weather prevails. If cured for 

 hay, vines are cut when pods begin to ripen. They 

 are cut with a mowing machine in the morning after 

 the dew is off, and when the vines have wilted the 

 hay tedder is run over the field. A second tedding 

 may be given to hasten curing. Ordinarily, peas 

 cut in the morning and tedded in the afternoon will 

 be ready to go into the small bunches the following 

 afternoon. They are left in these bunches, or cocks, 

 for two or three days before being hauled into the 

 barn. If it rains in the meantime, these bunches 

 have to be opened up. Such are the methods in 



