GRASS AND HAY 101 



at $20 a ton a yield of 2^2 tons of cowpea hay would mean a return 

 of $40 an acre for the crop, based on its feeding value. Cowpea 

 hay is equally as good as bran for producing a flow of milk. 



Cowpea Seed. The seed of cowpeas is rarely obtainable at a 

 low enough price to be used as a feed. Its composition indicates 

 that it is a richer feed than wheat bran. The Alabama Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station fed cowpeas to fattening pigs with excel- 

 lent results. More lean meat was found in the bodies of the pigs 

 fed cowpeas than in those fed corn meal only. A great many people 

 have tried feeding the seed, either whole or in broken pieces, to 

 poultry. Splendid results are obtained, the fowls being kept in 

 good condition and producing a good supply of eggs, even in the 

 winter months. Very good results are also obtained by feeding the 

 hay, as the fowls eat all except the hard, coarse stems. 



Cowpea Straw. Now that cowpea seed can be secured by run- 

 ning the vines through a- thrashing machine the straw is coming to 

 be quite an important feed. While no authentic data are at hand 

 in regard to this straw, farmers and stable keepers who have used 

 it claim that it is an excellent feed, some even preferring it to ordi- 

 nary pea-vine hay. There have been no ill effects reported from its 

 use. The straw sells for about the same price as the hay. 



Growing Cowpeas for Seed. The greater agricultural use of 

 cowpeas has been seriously handicapped in late years by the high 

 price of seed. Until the last few years cowpea seed has been almost 

 entirely gathered by hand, though that harvested by machinery 

 makes up an increasing percentage of the commercial seed each' 

 year. Cheaper seed will undoubtedly bring about an enormous in- 

 crease in the culture of the crop. 



Cowpeas when grown for seed or for combined seed and hay 

 production are nearly always sown broadcast or with a grain drill. 

 Occasionally fields are planted in rows and cultivated. Experiments 

 generally prove that the largest yields are secured by planting in 

 rows and cultivating, .but in many localities this increased yield 

 is not sufficient to offset the additional cost of cultivation. 



The planting of cowpeas for seed production should always be 

 thinner than for forage purposes. When the seed is broadcasted 

 the quantity ranges from 3 to 6 pecks to the acre, depending on the 

 soil, the method of seeding, and the size of seed. Heavy clay or 

 light sandy soils require more seed than loam soils. If sown with 

 a grain drill only about two-thirds as much as for broadcasting is 

 required. Of the smaller seeded varieties, such as the New Era and 

 the Iron, 2 or 3 pecks will give the best results; while of the larger 

 seeded varieties, such as* the Black, the Unknown, and the Whip- 

 poorwill, the quantities range from 3 pecks to 5 pecks to the acre 

 a bushel generally being the best amount to use. In most of the 

 cowpea region planting for seed production should be rather late in 

 the season, since late plantings as a rule give much better seed yields 

 than early plantings. This is not the case, however, in Oklahoma 

 and northern Texas, where early seeding gives the best yields, owing 



