500 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



the growth is very slow until hot weather comes. Thus, 

 Mooers at the Tennessee Experiment Station found that 

 Whippoorwill cowpeas sown April 15, May 1, May 15, 

 June 5, June 17, and June 29, all became fully mature at 

 about the same date; namely, the middle of October. 

 The earliest sowing required 183 days to mature, while 

 the latest needed but 101 days. 



If grown primarily for hay, the time of planting should 

 be regulated so that the crop is ready to cut at the time 

 weather conditions are best. Through most of the cotton 

 region rains are less frequent in September and October 

 than earlier. 



610. Inoculation. It is rarely necessary to apply 

 bacteria for the production of the cowpea, as natural 

 inoculation is quite generally distributed throughout the 

 Southern States. 



At the Michigan Experiment Station, investigations 

 were conducted to learn the influence of nodules on the 

 composition of the cowpea. The following .table gives 

 the composition of the dry matter in the leaves, stems, 

 and roots of inoculated and not inoculated cowpeas : 



