GRASS AND HAY 107 



more into prominence. The seed is mottled chocolate on a buff or 

 reddish ground color. 



Unknown, or Wonderful. This is another field variety which 

 is grown to a large extent. It is the largest growing and most vig- 

 orous of the cowpea varieties, but is late in maturing, it being diffi- 

 cult sometimes to secure seed of it as far north as Washington, 

 D. C. The principal objection to this pea is its light seeding. It 

 is nearly as erect as the Whippoorwill variety; hence, it is quite 

 readily handled by machinery either for grain or hay production. 

 The seed is large in size and of a very light clay color. 



New Era. This is the smallest seeded of the cowpeas that have 

 found a wide use. The seed is bluish in color, owing to the innu- 

 merable minute blue specks on a gray ground. The New Era is 

 the most nearly erect of any of the varieties, rarely having any 

 prostrate branches. It usually produces a heavy crop of seed and 

 matures in from seventy-five to ninety days. It is one of the earliest 

 of the cowpea varieties and is the most easily handled by machin- 

 ery. The small seed is not usually considered an undesirable char- 

 acter, as a smaller quantity is required for seeding than is the case 

 with other varieties. 



Groit. The variety known by this name has been much con- 

 fused with the New Era cowpea. In habit the two are much alike, 

 but the Groit is a little superior, as it makes a larger growth and 

 fruits more heavily. The seed is quite similar to that of the New 

 Era, but has chocolate mottlings in addition to the blue specks. It 

 is quite certainly a hybrid between the New Era and the Whip- 

 poorwill varieties. 



Iron. The Iron variety is coming rapidly into prominence. 

 In its habit it is only slightly different from the Unknown, though 

 it is not quite as vigorous or as large. It is earlier than the Un- 

 known, and the seed, though nearly the same color, is much small- 

 er, being but very little larger than that of the New Era. The 

 characteristic of me Iron cowpea which has been instrumental in 

 bringing it into prominence is its resistance to wilt and to root-knot 

 caused by eel worms. It is the only one of the cowpeas which has 

 been found to resist these diseases. Where they are prevalent in 

 the soil, the Iron cowpea is the only variety which can be success- 

 fully grown, and since the diseases are spreading the distribution of 

 the Iron cowpea is also increasing. This seed is hard and retains 

 its vitality better than that of most varieties. It will lie in the 

 ground through the winter and germinate the next spring. This 

 variety and the Unknown hold their leaves better than any others. 



Clay. This is more variable in its habit than any of the fore- 

 going varieties. It is the most pronounced trailer of any of the 

 peas grown quite largely, and is consequently in very slight favor 

 where the pea crop is handled by machinery. The plants are very 

 vigorous but low growing, and tney usually seed sparingly. Since 

 seed is such an important item at tne present time, a variety which 

 has but poor fruiting qualities is not apt to remain popular, even 

 though it may be harvested readily by machinery. The seed is of 



