248 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



Methods of Seeding. 



The method of seeding peas depends upon the use which is 

 to be made of them. For hay they should as a rule, be sown 

 with a grain drill at the rate of four to five pecks per acre. Some 

 men put in as much as two bushels, and while this gives a finer 

 texture to the hay, it usually reduces the amount of seed formed. 

 On the other hand, they are often sown at the rate of three pecks 

 per acre, but excepting for seed purposes, or on land particular- 

 ly adapted to the crop, such as the low lands of Southern Mis- 

 souri, this is rarely enough. A small seeded variety like the 

 New Era will require less seed per acre than the larger seeded 

 varieties like the Whippoorwill. 



For seed purposes, cowpeas are best sown somewhat thin- 

 ner than for hay, three pecks usually being better than five. They 

 should not' be broadcasted either for hay or for seed on the up- 

 lands of the state. Such a method is wasteful of seed and un- 

 certain as to a stand. They may also be sown for seed with the 

 corn planter and cultivated, making the rows the same distance 

 apart as for corn or the rows may be placed at half the distance 

 of corn rows, by going over the land twice and straddling every 

 other row. In this case, they are more difficult to cultivate as the 

 rows are too close together for convenient cultivation. It is usu- 

 ally necessary in this case to take off one shovel on each gang of 

 a six shovel cultivator and if the axle is adjustable, to so set the 

 wheels as to avoid running on two rows while cultivating a third. 



Peas sown at the usual rate for hay, generally make a good 

 yield of seed in favorable seasons. As a matter of fact, the 

 yield of the threshed peas depends not only upon the season, but 

 also upon the soil and the variety. A medium to thin soil will 

 ])roduce more seed than a rich soil and a sandy soil more than a 

 clay soil as a rule. Varieties like the New Era which is early 

 and which has little tendency to vine, will yield more peas than 

 a later vining variety like the Clay. 



Another method of putting in peas in rows, is by means of 

 a grain drill where a part of the holes are stopped. Where every 



