FIELD CROPS 527 



tends to lessen the productivity of the soil and makes necessary large 

 outlays for nitrogenous fertilizers. With a leguminous crop grown 

 at frequent intervals, the productivity may be maintained or even 

 increased. The cowpea is at the present time, and probably will 

 continue to be, the most valuable legume for the entire cotton 

 belt, and can be depended upon to succeed on practically all types 

 of soils. It has been well said that the cowpea is to the South what 

 red clover is to the North and alfalfa to the West. 



It is safe to say that no one thing can add more to the agri- 

 cultural wealth of the South than the more extensive growing of 

 the cowpea. This will supply the southern markets with much 

 of their hay, which is now shipped in from the North and West. It 

 will tend to increase the production of live stock, which is very 

 essential in securing the maximum returns in any system of agri- 

 culture; and it will go far toward keeping the soil in good tilth 

 and maintaining its productiveness. 



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 

 increase 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 Experi- 

 ments generally prove that the largest yields are secured by plant- 

 ing 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 grown in rows 24 to 36 

 inches apart one peck to a half bushel of good seed per acre is 

 required. When the seed is broadcasted the quantity ranges from 

 3 to 6 pecks to the acre, depending on the soil, the method of seed- 

 ing, 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 Whippoorwill, 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 plant- 

 ings 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 probably to the 

 lighter rainfall. In certain sections near the Gulf, two seed crops 

 in a season may be secured by growing in rows and planting the 

 first very early. 



Hand Picking. The method of gathering seed by hand is the 



