388 COTYLEDON 



sessile, cuneate-obovate, thick, flattened, slightly con- 

 cave, cuspidate ; panicle branches long, scorpioid: fls. 

 large, 1 in. long, pendent ; calyx lobes short, broadly 

 OTate-acute; corolla tube much longer than the calyx, yel- 

 low-green and dull red; corolla-lobes reflexed. S. Afr. 

 B.M. 5602. .J. II. III.i;'.i:44:!. 



orbicuiata. Lmn 1 !_'. r.iic. Erect,2-4 ft. high: Ivs. 

 opposite. 11 1 itulate, obtuse, mueronate, 



glaucousan.il i t . a niargins: fls. large, reddish, 



panicled. 11, I --i-i. S. Afr. B.M. 321. R.H. 



1857, p. 347.-Ur(iws will from cuttings. 



HispSnica, Linn. {Pislorhiia Eispdnica, DC). An- 

 nual or biennial, branched, G in. high, erect: Ivs. small, 

 nearly cylindrical, oblong, few, sessUe : fls. erect, in 

 cymes, reddish; corolla trumpet-shaped, lobes spread- 

 ing. Spain, Morocco. R.H. 1895, p. 472. 



AAA. Lvs. crowded at the ends of the branches. 



reticulata, Tliimb. St,.i„s niucb-l.raiiched. fleshy: 

 lvs. few at til.' .11.1^1.1 ihr I, r:Hplii -.(■'. Iiii'lri..'al, acute, 

 erect, flesli\ . ■■',■ i -''. n . i. ■ i ■ ■ n i-'liotomous 



panicle. 'I'i:- - ' ' i < i.nt and give 



it the api"-ar;in-- -t i- <uj ■■ur\..^.;[ ,u a 1.. twnrk. G.C. 

 III. 21 :2»2. 



gibbiJldra, Moc. {Schevfria gibbifldraj DC). Stems 

 1-2 ft. high: lvs. flat, wedge-shaped, acutely mueronate, 

 crowded at thecnds of tin- hraiwlies: Hs. sliort-petioled: 



panicle brain'lirs I-m.I- .!, -in-. ...lui:.' r.iUa ^'ibbous at 



the base liciwr.n ih. ., j.' ■ white, the 



tips touchcil Willi r M. I' i; l--'i.. 



Var. metallica, ILiit. ,/,.;,,--,.. ,„,/.//',.■,<. Hort,). 

 Lvs. large, obovate-spatuhiti.-, II in. widy by 7 in. long, a 

 beautiful glaucous purple with metallic reflections: fls. 

 yellowish with red tips. Mex. Saunders' Ref. Hot. 65.— 

 An excellent bedding plant. 



The following are doubtful ^i" ■ ■■ r. .' ; ;.i l.r r/. './,(/. 

 Hort. Stems 8-12 in. high : tK i ' . ' n m 



Tex. aU winter. Beautiful for '. , ; , h,,, 



Hort. Annual, with yellow lis., n ■ i i : ; ' 



O. atropurpHrea, Baker (E. sjii;::iin. :i II. mi i, .'.ihi r i;- 



has red fis. and dark purple spotted lvs.; the latter has yellow- 

 ish fls. and glaucous green more or less refuse lvs. 



Jaked G. Smith. 



COUCH GRASS. Agropyrum repens. 



COVER- CROPS. The use of cover-crops in orchard- 

 iuj; marks a si.ii-itic advance brought about by changed 

 soil conditions. The term is less than 10 years old, hav- 

 ing been flrst applied in this connection by Bailey, in 

 Bulletin 61, Cornell (N. Y.) Experiment Station, p. 333, 

 December, 1893, though cover-crops were used previous 

 to that date. In the early days of orcharding in this 

 country, the soil, rich in humus and undepleted of its 

 natural re.sources, gave satisfaetory crops of fruit with 

 trees growing in sod. As time went on, the waning 

 vigor of the trees was stimulated by breaking up the 

 sod, addiii;; i.:.rn .n.l iii:iiiiire to the soil and giving 

 thorough .ill 1 .. i::li.,ni tlie season. This sys- 

 tem gave iin I I I . II II V in many instances, par- 

 ticularly in III. Ill, ,1- It a|i|. eared to prevent the 



trees from ni.eiiiiif; tlieir wood sufficiently to enable 

 them to endure the winters without frost-injury to the 

 tips; root-killintc was also noted as being occasionally 

 severe on soils uncovered with vegetation during the 

 wiiitiT. Alioiit this time the value of the members of 

 the ]iea and Lean tril.e. as enrichers of the soil, became 

 reeo-ni/i .1 nioir fully than formerly through the dis- 

 covery ot llie nil ro^n n '-oljeetlng agents housed in the 

 noiliil'es home l.y the roots of legumos. The best or- 

 chard practice ot' the present day, whether in the peach- 

 growing areas of the south or the apple districts of 

 the north, consists in giving the most thorough culti- 

 vation possible during the wood-producing period of 

 the year,— that is, till about the time the fruit trees' 

 terminal buds are formed,— then seeding this thoroughly 

 pulverized surface with a suitable cover-crop, which 

 is plowed under early the following spring. 



Cover-cropping is the raising of a crop in the orchard 

 after cultivation should cease (about midsummer), that 

 will protect the roots of the trees by preventing alternate 

 freezing and thawing and deep freezing of the ground ; 



COWPEA 



th.it will add something to the fertility of the soil when 

 turned under in spring; that will improve the physical 

 condition of the soil; that will occupy the ground to the 

 exclusion of weeds. In the south the considerations are 

 practically identical, except that the contingency of 

 root injury from frost is not weighed. 



There are two classes of cover crojis : the nitroL-enmis 



and the non-nitrogenous. Of tie- t'.irni. r. vy\ 1 k- 



wheat, oats, millet, corn (maizei. laj.. .in.i iiniiips are 

 principally u.sed. Theseplantsshoul.l h. s..«n mw. h lai. r 

 in the season than the clovers, cowpeasoriuo^i nitrogen- 

 ous covers. They are valuable where the soil is hard and 

 tough in texture, as advance agents of the legumes which 

 may be used when an improved physical condition is se- 

 cured. Buckwheat is particularly useful in ameliorat- 

 ing hard soils. It should not be sown early enough to 

 allow seed to form before frost. These add compara- 

 tively little nitrogen to the soU. Among nitrogenous 

 cover-crops, crimson clover, red clover, cowpeas, soy- 

 beans, field pea. and vetch are the most prominent. In 

 the south, .rimson elover and cowpea (of which there 

 are many \'aflei ies) aremuch in vogue. Cowpeas are un- 

 satistaiiory. however, north of the peach belt, owing to 

 their sensitivemss to light autumn frosts. In apple- 

 growing sections where the soil is mellow, red clover 

 does well. A mixture of crimson clover and oats is used 

 in peach sections in Michigan with success ; 12 quarts 

 of the former to 3 pecks of the latter per acre are sown 

 about the middle of Atiu'ust, The Geneva Experiment 

 Station reconimen.ls a niiMnre of K bushel of buck- 

 wheat to 1 buslic 1 of tiehl jieas pcr acrc for clay soils. 



The question of wljat eover-erops to use is best deter- 

 mined by an examination of the character of the soil, 

 and the condition of the orchard trees. If the trees are 

 growing slowly on mellow and friable soil, it will prob- 

 ably be advisable to use a nitrogenous cover-crop. If, 

 on 'the other hand, the trees are making a luxuriant 

 growth, and the soil is of the heavy order, a member of 

 the non-nitrogenous group should be tried. 

 Kinds of Cover-crops. 



1. Non-nitrogenous— 



a. Rye, two bushels per acre. 



b. Buckwheat, H bushel per acre. 



c. 0.its, 2% busliels per ,icre. 



d. Com, broadcast 1 bushel per acre, 

 c. Rape or tiu-nips, 3 pounds per acre. 



2. Nitrogenous— 



a. Crimson clover, 16 pounds per acre. 



b. Red clover, 14 bushels per acre. 



c. Sand vetch, 1^ bushels per acre. 



d. Soy beans, 2 bushels per acre. 



e. Cow peas, 2 bushels per acre. 



f. Field peas, IX bushels per acre. 



3. Mixtures of Nos. 1 and 2— 



a. Buekwbeiit, i>.<l,nshpls per acre. 



COWBERRY. Usually means Vaccinium Vitis-Idaa. 

 In parts of Scotland, Comarum palustre. 



COW-HEEB. Saponaria Vaccaria. 



COWPEA. Fig. 567. The American name for Vigna 

 Citjang, Walp. ( K. Sinensis Endl.), one of the Legu- 

 minosre allied to Dolichos and Phaseolus. From Phaseo- 

 lus (the common bean), Vigna differs in not having a 

 spiral keel, style hairy above, stigma oblique or in- 

 trorse, and other minor technical eliaraeters. In other 

 than American lit. r:.iur. , th. (\,\vj.^ :, i-- kmnvn as rbina 

 Bean and Bin.-' 1' .1 i ■ • . I". "' . ^- ii i- '■oninionly 

 known as Bhi.l l : i- a h.-m ratio i- 



than a pea. 'I'li. i...|.,, ; ,.;:,i ,.;,_', t.mler annual, 



native to China ami .l.q..iu. In ilu.- c.-.imtry it is exten- 

 sively grown in the southern sttites, as a hay crop. It 

 is also invaluable as a green-manure crop (see Cover- 

 crop). It is to the south what clover is to the north 

 and Alfalfa is to the west. It is sown broadcast after 

 the manner of field peas. From 3 to 5 pecks of seed are 

 used per acre. See Cowpeas, Farmers' BuU. 89, Dept. 

 of Agric, by Jared G. Smith, l. h. B. 



