LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 129 



who dwell in the southern half of the republic. It 

 is now being grown for table use, for forage, for 

 soiling food, and for winter fodder. But its great- 

 est value, probably, lies in its power, first, to grow 

 in worn and poor soils, and, second, in its power to 

 renovate them. This renovating power arises, first, 

 from the ability of this plant to gather nitrogen from 

 the air and to store it in the soil ; second, from the 

 large amount of vegetable matter which it brings 

 to the soil in its roots and also in the vines when 

 plowed under ; and, third, from the beneficial effects 

 which it exerts upon the soil mechanically. 



Formerly the cowpea was grown more as a fer- 

 tilizer than as a food plant ; hence it was generally 

 considered good practice to plow under the entire 

 crop. But since it has been demonstrated that the 

 vines are even more valuable than the grain in fur- 

 nishing food for stock, and that much fertility is 

 stored up in the roots, the practice of using the vines 

 and the grain as food is becoming quite common. 



The cowpea resembles the bean more closely 

 than the pea. In its habit of growth it is trailing, 

 recumbent, semi-recumbent or erect, according to 

 the variety and the favorable nature or otherwise of 

 the surroundings. It has great power to gather 

 food, even on poor soils, hence it can be grown on 

 soils too poor even for growing clover. This fact, 

 linked with its ability to withstand drouth, renders 

 it simply indispensable to the farmers of the southern 

 and southwestern states, and also to those of the 

 central states. 



The cowpea will not grow satisfactorily in a 

 cold climate, hence, where the common field pea 

 flourishes the cowpea languishes, and where the com- 

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