Miscellaneous Products. 



252 



[September, 1908. 



vines and leaves them in small bunches 

 for curing. The harvesting is also done 

 with a mower to some extent. 



In a few localities, especially in parts 

 of Maryland, corn andcowpeas are sown 

 thickly together for hay with excellent 

 results. The seeding for this purpose 

 is at the rate of one-half to one bushel of 

 corn and one bushel of cowpeas to the 

 acre. The two mature at practically 

 the same time, the yield is large, and the 

 curing is easily done. 



Cowpeas and Johnson Grass. — Where 

 Johnson grass is not a pest, or where it is 

 well established on a field and there is 

 no desire to clean it out, it can very 

 satisfactorily form a part of a mixture 

 with cowpeas. At the Arlington Experi- 

 mental Farm in 190(3 the mixture of 

 Johnson grass and cowpeas gave the 

 best results both in yield and in the 

 quality of the hay produced. There is 

 no difficulty in killing out Johnson grass 

 north of Tennessee and Central Virginia, 

 but south of these States the difficulty 

 increases rapidly. 



The mixture should be sown at the 

 rate of one bushel of Johnson grass and 

 one bushel of cowpeas to the acre ; if the 

 seeding is done with a grain drill, care 

 must be exercised not to cover the John- 

 ton grass seed too deeply. Where this 

 grass is already established, the land 

 may either be ploughed or thoroughly 

 disked in late spring, the treatment 

 depending on the nature of the soil, 

 and then the cowpeas alone should be 

 sown in June. One and a half bushels 

 of cowpea seed to the acre are fre- 

 quently used, as the Johnson grass 

 makes a more vigorous growth under 

 such circumstances than when coming 

 from seed. This latter practise is com- 

 mon at Augusta, Ga., and gives excellent 

 results. The quality of hay obtained is 

 very good, and it is not as coarse as the 

 mixture with sorghum. The fact that 

 Johnson grass often becomes a trouble- 

 some weed is the only objection to it in 

 mixture with cowpeas for hay produc- 

 tion. In other respects it is the best 

 plant for this purpose, 



Coivpeas and Millet— German millet 

 has often been grown in mixture with 

 cowpeas. As it matures in relatively 

 short time it is adapted for growing 

 only with the early varieties of cowpeas, 

 such as the New Era, and even with 

 these the yield is rarely increased. The 

 millet aids materially in curing the hay, 

 however, and possibly improves its 

 quality by adding variety. Millet 

 should never be used in mixture with 

 the late and rank-growing cowpeas, as 

 the results obtained are not satisfactory, 



since in addition to maturing too early 

 the millet is not strong enough to hold 

 up the cowpea vines. 



Coivpeas and Soy Beans. — But little 

 experimenting has been done in growing 

 soybeans and cowpeas together, but the 

 results obtained have been very pro- 

 mising. Only the larger growing soy 

 beans, such as the Mammoth variety, 

 are suitable for this use. The soy beans 

 are strong enough to assist very materi- 

 ally in holding up the cowpeas, and they 

 also aid effectively in curing the hay. 

 The combination is therefore worthy of 

 much more extended use. The hay of 

 this mixture is an exceedingly rich one, 

 as the composition of both plants is high 

 in protein. Seeding should be at the 

 rate of a bushel of soy beans and a half 

 bushel of cowpeas to the acre. 



Cowpeas for Pasture. 

 The use of cowpeas for pasture is not 

 as a rule the best farm practice, but 

 under certain circumstances it is advi- 

 sable and fairly profitable. Grazing culti- 

 vated lauds is likely to render succeed- 

 ing tillage more difficult on account of 

 the trampling by stock; and, unless care 

 is exercised in pasturing cowpeas, loss of 

 animals by bleating may result, espe- 

 cially in wet weather. However, the 

 small amount of work and the insigni- 

 ficant cash outlay, always associated 

 with the grazing of stock commend the 

 pratice to the average farmer, and 

 scarcity of labour often makes it neces- 

 sary to pasture a crop whenever pos- 

 sible. Cowpeas when planted in corn are 

 very commonly used for grazing, espe- 

 cially with hogs. 



The best time to begin pasturing cow- 

 peas is when the first pods are ripe. 

 This practice is not generally followed, 

 as at least a part of the seed is saved 

 first. When the peas are grown in corn- 

 fields the grazing is deferred until the 

 corn has been gathered. 



In a feeding trial at the Alabama Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station it was 

 found that pigs fed on corn alone gained 

 0'36 pound daily, while pigs on cow- 

 peas pasture and corn gained - 97 

 pound daily, consuming 36 per cent, less 

 corn for each pound of gain. The returns 

 were $10"65 for an acre of cowpeas, with 

 corn at 40 cents a bushel and hogs at 8 

 cents a pound. 



Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment 

 Station reports that cowpeas planted 

 early in July furnished two grazing 

 periods for milk cows before frost in the 

 tall, and that the flow of milk was 

 noticeably increased. At the Arkansas 

 Station steers were fattened on cowpea 



