508 FOE AGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



620. Proportion of seed and hulls. The method of 

 gathering seed by hand, where the peas are planted in 

 corn, is a very common practice throughout the South. 

 Fields grown to cowpeas alone for seed-production are 

 often hand picked. Generally the pods are picked at a 

 price for each hundred pounds. From the results obtained 

 at the Alabama and Arkansas Agricultural Experiment 

 Stations, it appears that the proportion of seed and hulls 

 varies according to the variety and locality. 



TABLE SHOWING POUNDS OF COWPEA SEED IN 100 POUNDS 

 OF PODS 



621. Seeds. Cowpea seed is usually considered to 

 weigh 60 pounds to the bushel, but this varies consid- 

 erably according to the variety. On the basis of 60 pounds, 

 the number of seeds to the bushel has been calculated by 

 Duggar, by Newman and by Morse. Duggar used the 

 weight of 100 seeds as a basis, while Newman counted the 

 number in one ounce, and Morse counted the number in 

 three samples of one ounce each. The largest seeded 

 varieties contain less than 100,000 seeds to the pound, 

 while the smallest seeded catjangs contain five times as 

 many. The common commercial varieties average about 

 150,000 seeds to the pound. The figures for standard 

 and other varieties are shown in the following table : 



