98 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



sorghum. This includes both the sweet sorghums and the kafirs. 

 The sorghum serves to support the cowpea vines, and its use usually 

 results in increasing the yield of hay considerably. An additional 

 important advantage is that the hay is more easily cured, as the 

 sorghum prevents the matting together of the cowpea plants. Corn 

 is also used very extensively in mixture with cowpeas, but only to 

 a small extent for hay purposes. The two are grown together very 

 satisfactorily in cultivated rows. Other crops that have been used to 

 grow in mixture with cowpeas are millet, soy beans, and Johnson 

 grass. 



Cowpeas and Sorghum. In the Piedmont region of the South 

 a large percentage of the cowpeas planted for hay is in mixture with 

 sorghum, and the practice should spread rapidly, as this mixed hay 

 is very nearly a complete ration and is relished by all farm stock. 

 The mixture has given excellent satisfaction on the Arlington Ex- 

 perimental Farm, near Washington, D. C. The variety of sweet 

 sorghum most used is the Amber, as it is not as coarse as the others 

 and hence cures more rapidly. The seeding is best done with a 

 grain drill on well-prepared land, the two kinds of seed being well 

 mixed and sown at the same time. The best rate is one bushel of 

 good seed of cowpeas to one-half bushel of sorghum to the acre. If 

 a grain drill is not available for seeding, the cowpea seed should 

 be disked or plowed in and the sorghum seed should then be sown 

 while the land is rough, and covered with a drag harrow. The 

 Whippporwill, Iron, Unknown, and Clay cowpeas require about the 

 same time as sorghum to mature and therefore should be used 

 instead of the early varieties. In general, the planting may be 

 done from June 1 to July 15. 



Growing cowpeas and sorghum together in cultivated rows 

 gives excellent results. They should be planted together in rows 

 2% to S 1 /^ feet apart, three pecks of cowpea seed and about one- 

 third of a bushel of sorghum seed being used to the acre. The 

 Sumac and the Orange varieties are fully as good as the Amber 

 sorghum for this use, as they grow larger and stronger plants. 



Cowpeas and Corn. Cowpeas are most widely used at present 

 for growing with corn. When grown in this way a farmer secures 

 a crop of corn, sufficient cowpea seed for use the next season, and 

 either a hay crop or a certain amount of grazing for his stock. The 

 cowpea is an excellent plant to grow with corn for ensilage, and is 

 being used quite extensively for this purpose on many dairy farms, 

 especially in the northern part of the cowpea region. When planted 

 in the cornfield it is usually at the last cultivation of that crop. 

 The quantity of seed used to the acre ranges from a half bushel or 

 less to two bushels, depending largely on whether the planting is 

 broadcast or in rows close to the corn. Generally the best results 

 are obtained by the use of about three pecks of seed and planting 

 near the rows of corn, preferably with a corn, cotton, or other 

 planter, immediately after the last cultivation of the corn. Usually 

 the peas are allowed to ripen a fair percentage of pods, which are 

 gathered for next year's seed, and the vines are then pastured. 



