8 THE COW PEA. 



varieties. As already stated, every extreme of form and 

 habit may appear, the compact, upright bush, only a foot 

 high and without runners, thriving side by side with one of 

 spreading habit, whose densely loaded branches trail 20 to 

 30 feet on the ground or climb over trees, fences, corn 

 or any other support within their reach. The pods range 

 from 4 to 18 inches in length; they may show any color, 

 shade or combination of colors, and they may contain seeds 

 of every possible shape and size. In color the seeds also 

 show all possible combinations; white, yellow, green, gray, 

 pink, brown, red, purple or black any one alone or shaded, 

 streaked or spotted with any other or several others. 



The season of ripening of different varieties differs as 

 much as their habits of growth: some kinds mature in two 

 months; others require from six to eight months between 

 planting and harvesting. In general, the habit of growth 

 bears a definite relation to the period required for ripening. 

 The smaller the plant and the more nearly it approaches the 

 bush form, the shorter the time required for the production 

 of its seed ; while the more rank its habit and the larger its 

 growth of vines and runners, the longer the time required for 

 its maturity. The fertility of the soil, the rain-fall and 

 other climatic conditions, the length of the growing season 

 in the locality each has its influence and modifies the 

 fidelity with which any given variety will reproduce itself. 

 Bush varieties which mature in the comparatively short 

 seasons of Virginia, when planted a few successive years in 

 the longer growing season of Florida or Texas, tend to 



