244 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



disked behind the binder the amount of moisture lost before 

 plowing would often more than offset the gain from a mellow 

 condition of the surface soil secured by plowing. In planting 

 cow-peas after small grain as a catch-crop at this Station, we 

 have found it advisable to follow the binder immediately with 

 the disk-harrow and the disk-harrow immediately with 

 disk-drill. This practice means a rush of work, but by this 

 method the work of seeding does not interfere with the shock- 

 ing of the grain and the peas are planted at the earliest pos- 

 sible date. The crop so planted has every advantage of rain- 

 fall and favorable conditions for growth. The moist, mellow 

 condition of the soil usual at harvest time insures a rapid 

 germination of the peas, while if the preparation and planting 

 is delayed a few days the ground is apt to dry out and become 

 hard. This practice can only be followed upon reasonably clean 

 stubble land. 



Methods of Planting. 



The method of planting cow-peas will depend upon the pur- 

 pose for which the crop is grown. For the production of seed, 

 the best practice is to plant in rows about three feet apart, 

 dropping the peas in the rows two or three inches apart. A 

 common corn-planter may be used for this purpose, but the 

 rows will be farther apart than is necessary for the greatest 

 production of peas. With the edge-drop planter, it is neces- 

 sary to use the sixteen-cell plate and the highest gear in order 

 to drop the peas thick enough. Some farmers use the corn- 

 planter with the drill attachment, straddling each alternate 

 row, which makes the rows from twenty to twenty-two inches 

 apart. If this method is followed the peas should be placed 

 about six inches apart in the row. Rows placed too close to- 

 gether are inconvenient for cultivating. A good method of 

 planting practiced at this Station is to use a common grain- 

 drill which will not split the peas (there is a difference in drills 

 in this respect), stopping up part of the grain cups so as to 

 leave the rows about three feet apart, setting the drill to sow 



