THIRTY-FIFTH ANNUAL CONVENTION. 229 



development is deep for an annual, there being a well-developed 

 tap-root, with a number of large branch roots which start 

 from the upper part of the tap-root, spread horizontally for 

 a short distance and then turn downward. These roots go 

 deeply into the subsoil, enabling the plant to draw freely upon 

 the plant-food and water below the reach of shallower-rooted 

 crops. Upon the numerous small roots in the upper surface 

 of the soil are found nodules or tubercles which contain 

 the nitrogen-gathering bacteria. These nodules are always pres- 

 ent upon the well-developed plants. They enable the plants to 

 make use of the nitrogen of the atmosphere. 



Make Excellent Hay. 



Cow-peas make excellent hay, which, if properly handled, is 

 equal to alfalfa in nutritive value, although as a rule stock do 

 not eat cow-pea hay as readily as alfalfa. When sown for hay 

 it is usually preferable to plant in close drills, requiring about 

 one bushel of seed peas per acre, and when so planted the 

 plants tend to grow more upright, which makes the crop easier 

 to cut with a mower. If grown in rows, although the produc- 

 tion of forage may be as great, it is more difficult to harvest, 

 and the ranker growth of the individual plants often makes the 

 hay more woody. It is not an easy matter to cure cow-pea hay ; ' 

 the vines, being so large, cure slowly, and with unfavorable 

 weather the hay is apt to be badly injured, if not spoiled, be- 

 fore it is cured enough to stack. The difficulty of harvesting 

 and curing cow-pea hay, its tendency to become woody, and the 

 lower yield per acre, make this crop, for hay production, less 

 valuable than alfalfa where alfalfa can be successfully grown. 

 In certain portions of the state, where difficulty has been ex- 

 perienced in growing alfalfa, cow-peas fill a need by producing 

 hay and pasture of high feeding value. The crop is also espe- 

 cially valuable as a soil fertilizer when used in rotation with 

 other crops or plowed under as green manure. 



The cow-pea is sometimes sown in combination with other 



