THE COW PEA. 19 



the fertilizer may be strewn along where the rows are to be 

 ' and afterwards mixed with the soil by opening the drill 

 > with a buU-tongued pIoW. A better way is to run it through 

 " a fertilizer distributor to mix it with and apply it to the soil 



and open the drill at the same time. 



' A good mixture for cow peas is 300 lbs. acid phosphate 



and 100 lbs. of muriate of potash per acre. In case kainit 



■ is substituted for muriate, four times as much is required — 



that is, 400 lbs. — to furnish the same amount of actual pot- 



' ash. If a commercial brand of fertilizer be used for cow 



peas, perhaps the best proportions, on average soils, are 



' about 8 per cent, available phosphoric acid and 6 per cent. 



. actual potash, applied at the rate of 400 to 500 pounds per 



acre, and thoroughly mixed in the soil before the peas are 



sown. 



If the young plants display a sickly yellow appearance, 

 about 75 lbs. of nitrate of soda ought to be used as a top 

 dressing, but in order to avoid injury to the plants in top 

 dressing, the nitrate and four or five times its bulk of dry 

 earth should be mixed together to dilute it and insure a 

 more uniform distribution. 



As a rule nitrogenous fertilizer is not required for cow 

 peas and under the circumstances above mentioned, and 

 even when actually needed, a small application suffices. The 

 average farm land is deficient in nitrogen but when this 

 element is to be supplied in the form of commercial fertil- 

 izer it is better perhaps to apply it to corn, cotton, grain, 

 grass and other crops, which do not obtain it from the air 



