GARDEN MANUAL FOR THE SOUTHERN STATES. 



57 



FIELD OR COW PEAS. 



For Price liist See Bed Fag'es in Back of Book. 



CUIiTUBB. — There are a great many varieties of Cow Peas, different in color and 

 growth. They are planted mostly for fertilizing^ purposes and are sown broadcast; when 

 in a good stand and of sufficient height they are plowed under. The Clay Pea is the 

 most popular. There are several varieties called crowders, which do not grow as tall as 

 the others, but produce a great many pods, which are used green the same as snap 

 beans, and, if dried, like dried beans, make a very good dish. The crowders are of an 

 oblong shape, almost pointed at one end; they are on an a\erage larger than the other 

 Field Peas. Lady Peas are small and white; they are generally planted between corn so 

 that they can run upon it. Dry, they are considered the very best variety for cooking. 

 The Clay and Unknown Peas produce the most vines. 2^^ bushels to the acre. 



TENN-ESSEE CLAY CEOWDEB OB 

 POBTY DAY. — The earliest and surest 

 cropper of the Cow Pea family. For sev- 

 eral seasons this variety has made good 

 crops of seed in Louisiana where otliers 

 have failed. We have had it grown from 

 the lowlands of Louisiana to Minnesota 

 and Colorado, where it made a fine crop of 

 seed eight thousand feet above sea-level. 

 The vines aje strong growers. Pods large 

 and well filled with peas of very large size. 

 The peas grow so thickly in the pod that 

 chey grow into each other; hence the name 

 Crowder. This is one of our best varieties 

 for table use; in fact, is used by many in 

 preference to all others. Can be planted 

 late in season as a catch crop after other 

 crops are harvested. 



WHTTB SU6AB CBOWDEB OB FOBTY 

 DAY. — These are largely used in the South- 

 ern States for early Peas. They grow up- 

 right, bushy, and under ordinary conditions 

 do not need support; very prolific and grow 

 larger than ordinary Cow or Field Peas; 

 very compact in pods; peas are flattened 

 from being so close in pods. 



IiADY. — These are small, round and pure 

 white, and are generally planted between 

 corn. A delicate vegetable. 



NEW EBA. — This Pea is fully two 

 weeks earlier than the popular Whippoor- 

 will variety, a very great advantage to the 

 farmer. In size it is one-third smaller than 

 the Whippoorwill — another great advan- 

 tage. It is a so-called bunch pea, similar 

 to the Whippoorwill in growth. In sections 

 of Illinois and Missouri, the New Era Pea 

 is planted after the wheat crop has been 

 cut, and matures early enough in the Fall 

 to harvest in time to sow Winter Wheat 

 on the same field. This cannot be said of 

 any other variety of Cow Pea. They pro- 

 duce more seed than Whippoorwill, and 

 where known are used exclusively. 



BIiACE-EYED FIELD.— A very prolific 

 early sort, vines erect. Very popular in 

 the South, when peas are used both in a 

 dry and green state for the table. 



MIXED. — A mixture of the above va- 

 rieties. 



CLAY. — This is one of the best peas 

 for our Southern country, being a vigor- 

 ous grower and an abundant bearer, 

 very moist, giving proper nourishment to 

 the soil. Begins to bear about two months 

 after being planted. 



CANADA FIELD. — A strong, vigorous 

 pea often planted for green manure to 

 plow under in the Spring. Makes an excel- 

 lent Winter growth when sown in the 

 Fall; very useful for fodder. Sow 100 to 

 150 pounds per acre broadcast. 



WONDEBFUL. — Similar to the Unknown 

 In every respect, including habit of growth, 

 color, etc. It is considered by those accus- 

 tomed to all varieties to be somewhat 

 superior to the Unknown. 



UNKNOWN. — This pea is a cross 

 between Clay and Crowder Peas, making it 

 a very desirable variety for both fertilizing 

 purposes and eatmg, in color almost same 

 as that of Clay and a little larger in size 

 than the Clay Peas. 



BED BIFPEB. — This pea is pink in color 

 and very small in size, but is a vigorous 

 grower and good bearer; is considered a 

 good plantation variety and is usually 

 planted in corn and cane. 



STECKLEB'S IMPBOVED WILD 

 LOUISIANA. — This Cow Pea is a na- 

 tive of Louisiana, seed is very small, about 

 one-half the size of the Clay, consequently 

 will go twice the distance of the otliers in 

 planting. It will grow well on high or low 

 land, and is claimed by people of the 

 northern part of this State to be without 

 an equal. 



FERTILIZING BEANS. 



For Price List See Bed Fag'es in Back of 

 Book. 



LYON WHITE VELVET BEAN (Stlzolo- 



bium Niveum). — The Lyon Velvet Bean is 

 a very rampant-growing annual legume, 

 often making vines 60 to 80 feet in length. 

 It grows well on soils too light and sandy 

 for most other legumes and produces an 

 immense amount of forage which is excel- 

 lent feed for cattle and hogs. It also 

 makes very good hay if cut soon after the 

 first flowers appear, but the vines are so 

 long and tangled that it is difficult to har- 

 vest and the plant is not recommended for 

 that purpose. It is an excellent crop for 

 newly cleared lands, as its growth is so 

 rapid and dense that it smothers out the 

 grass and brings the soil into a cultivable 

 condition much better than will cowpeas. 

 It also has great value for green manuring 

 and as a restorative for soils needing nitro- 

 gen and humus. The proportion of ni- 

 trogen contained in the vines is about the 

 same as in cowpeas. and as the yield is 

 much greater the total amount of nitrogen 

 and humus added to the soil is corre- 

 spondingly larger. A crop of 3 tons will 

 add as much nitrogen to the soil as will 

 a ton of cottonseed meal, while tlie amount 

 of humus will be 3 times as great. 



The planting should not be done to© 

 early, but at about the same time as cot- 

 ton, as the beans do not make a thrifty 

 growth until tlie soil has become well 

 warmed. One bushel of the seed will plant 

 3 to 4 acres. The vines must be given 



All of our Potatoes are of Pure Eastern Grown Stock. 



