THE COWPEA 



directly, the southern cowpea has an important 

 place. It is to the south what red clover is to 

 the north, and it overlaps part of the red-clover 

 belt, having a rightful place as far north as the 

 Ohio Valley, and portions of Pennsylvania. 



Characteristics. The cowpea is closely related 

 to the bean, and is very unlike the Canada pea, 

 which is a true pea, thriving only in a cool climate. 

 The cowpea has been grown in the southern states 

 over one hundred years, and the acreage is large, 

 but it never has come into the full use it deserves. 

 Being a legume, it stores up nitrogen taken from 

 the air, and unlike red clover it makes its full 

 growth within a short period of time. It can grow 

 on land too infertile for most kinds of valuable 

 plants, and on better land. The vines can crowd 

 out nearly all varieties of weeds. The roots go 

 to a good depth and are thickly covered with the 

 nodules of nitrogen-gathering bacteria. 



Varieties. There are many varieties of the 

 cowpea, and confusion of names prevails, al- 

 though some stations have done good service in 

 identification of individuals carrying a number 

 of names. The very quick-maturing varieties 

 adapted to northern conditions do not make as 

 much foliage as the rank-growing ones that 



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