CORN TILLAGE 181 



170. Sowing cowpeas in corn fields. It is customary 

 among the best farmers throughout the cotton-belt to sow 

 cowpeas during the cultivation of corn. The objects 

 aimed at are : 



(1) Soil improvement, or an increase in the next year's 

 crop on the same land ; 



(2) The production of cowpeas for seed or for pasturage ; 

 and 



(3) The making of cowpea hay, which is rarely the main 

 object and which usually requires that the corn rows be 

 about 6 feet apart. 



There is need of investigation to determine whether 

 there are any disadvantages resulting from the planting of 

 cowpeas between the corn rows. In at least one experi- 

 ment in a very dry year, the yield of corn was materially 

 reduced by the presence of broadcast cowpeas. This in- 

 dicates the possibility of cowpeas making undue demands 

 for moisture in a year of scant rainfall. With ample rain- 

 fall cowpeas in the corn apparently do not reduce the yield 

 of the latter. As a rule cowpeas should be sown in the 

 corn field, using one of the customary methods. 



171. Broadcast planting versus drilling of cowpeas in 

 corn. Both broadcasting and drilling are extensively 

 used, but drilling is much more prevalent. The advantages 

 of drilling are the following : 



(1) It permits earlier sowing of the cowpeas; 



(2) It permits later cultivation of the corn ; 



(3) It economizes seed, 1 to 2 pecks sufficing for an acre, 

 or less than half the seed necessary for broadcast sowing ; and 



(4) The cowpeas are more certain to produce a crop of 

 seed. 



