THE COW PEA. 9 



become climbers or trailers and to mature later; on the 

 other hand, those which have a trailing habit in the long 

 seasons of the Gulf states, in the cooler north gradually 

 curtail their long southern vines, assume a more bush-like 

 form, and otherwise adjust themselves to the shorter 

 growing season. 



The use for which it is wanted determines the character 

 of the variety to be selected, and both character and use 

 have a direct bearing on the practice to be followed in 

 growing the crop. It is wise, therefore, to consider in de- 

 tail the chief characteristics of a few of the best known 

 and most widely popular varieties. 



Nearly every southern experiment station has made ex- 

 tensive 'tests of varieties, and been more or less successful 

 in identifying and arranging the different sorts in groups, 

 each group containing those varieties marked by some 

 common prominent characteristic. Form, size, shape and 

 color of the seed, habit of growth in the plant, and time of 

 ripening have been used as bases for this grouping. One of 

 the most simple and convenient forms of grouping is given 

 in Bulletin 26 of the Georgia Station, and will be found at 

 the end of this pamphlet. 



The selection of a variety will naturally depend upon 

 what is wanted in the crop, for the same reasons which lead 

 many farmers to plant a dent variety of corn for grain and 

 a flint for silage or fodder, that is to say, because the flint 

 may give a larger and more appropriate stalk and a greater 

 proportion of leaf. If hay is required, suitable varieties 



