PEAS AS FORAGE AND SOILING CROPS 63 



vogue at the Mississippi experiment station. The 

 North Carolina experiment station advocates 

 putting them into the barn when dried out enough 

 so that no juice will run out of the vines when they 

 are twisted with the hands. This station advises 

 leaving the vines on the ground where mowed un- 

 til they are half cured. It is argued that the crop is 

 liable to mold if put in bunches. 



Cowpea seed can be harvested for grain by pick- 

 ing off the pods when ripe and thrashing with a 

 flail or machine. Farmers and experiment stations 

 agree that the most economical way of using cow- 

 peas is to feed the vines and peas to stock, and 

 return the manure to the soil. Stock is frequently 

 turned into the field and allowed to do the harvest- 

 ing. Swine are especially proficient in this con- 

 nection. Then again, the crop is frequently plowed 

 under as a green manure. This practice is 

 especially commendable on heavy soils. Various 

 analyses show that a good crop of cowpeas plowed 

 under will add to the soil fully no pounds nitro- 

 gen to the acre, which has a cash value of $14 to 

 $16. It has also added about 24 pounds phosphoric 

 acid and 100 pounds potash to the acre. The 

 Georgia station found that mowing the vines, per- 

 mitting them to lie on the surface, and plowing 

 under in November, was better than turning the 

 green vines under in August. 



There are 65 or more varieties of cowpeas, and 

 certain varieties are best adapted to specific locali- 

 ties. Good advice from a local seedsman and actual 

 experience of the grower, are desirable in determin- 

 ing the best variety for each section. King is a 

 good variety to plant in corn. Pea is of medium 



