September, 1908.] 



253 



Miscellaneous Products. 



pasture and cotton-seed, making an 

 average gain of 2 pounds a day for ninety 

 days. So long as the pea vines were 

 green and considerable seed was avail- 

 able, very little cotton-seed were eaten. 

 The cost of each pound of gain was 

 only 2 cents for cotton seed, thus show- 

 ing the high value of the cow pea 

 pasture. 



Feeding Value op Cowpeas. 

 Cowpea Hay.— The feeding value of 

 cowpea hay has long been recognized, as 

 it has been used extensively for all kinds 

 of stock in the Southern States. With 

 a fair number of ripe peas in the hay it 

 has beeu found to be satisfactory when 

 fed alone to stock at work, and can be 

 used very successfully as a maintenance 

 ration for horses, mules, cattle, sheep, 

 and even hogs. The farmers in the 

 sugar-cane districts of Louisiana make a 

 very extensive use of cowpea hay for 

 their work stock, it being practically the 

 only roughage used. It is generally 

 claimed that horses or mules at work 

 stand hot weather better when fed on 

 cowpea hay than when fed on grass hay 

 and corn. The difference in the appear- 

 auce of the animals is also very much in 

 favour of the cowpeas. 



In a three months' test at the North 

 Carolina Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion the rations fed two high-grade 

 Percheron mares, used as a team and 

 receiving the same care and shelter, 

 differed only in the use of 10 pounds of 

 cowpea hay in one and the same quan- 

 tity of wheat bran in the other. The 

 horse fed bran just held its own in 

 weight, while the one fed cowpea hay 

 gained a little. The cowpea ration was 

 5 cents cheaper in daily cost. 



At the Arkansas Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station two three-year-old steers 

 were fattened on cowpea hay and 

 cotton-seed in a feeding trial lasting 

 ninety days. The daily ration consisted of 

 13? pounds of cotton seed and 20 pounds 

 pea hay. The average daily gain was 

 3 pounds for each steer, and the cattle 

 were in excellent condition during the 

 entire trial. The profit realized was 

 $21 i 30. The Tennessee Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station found that 6 to 10 

 pounds of cowpea hay could be substi- 

 tuted for 3 to 5 pounds of cotton-seed 

 meal in beef production. This indicates 

 that this hay can be utilized to 

 advantage in place of corn and cotton- 

 seed meal when these feeds are high 

 priced. 



In the production of milk and butter, 

 the Tennessee Agricultural Experiment 

 Station reports that 1^ pounds of chopped 

 pea hay is equivalent to a pound of 



wheat bran, and 3 pounds of chopped 

 pea hay to a pound of cotton-seed meal. 

 With bran valued at $20 a ton a yield 

 of 2h tons of cowpea hay would mean a 

 return of $40 an acre for the crop, based 

 on its feeding value. Cowpea hay is 

 equally as good as bran for producing a 

 flow or milk. 



Cowpea Seed—The seed of cowpeas is 

 rarely obtainable at a low enough price 

 to be used as a feed. Its composition 

 indicates that it is a richer feed than 

 wheat bran. The Alabama Agricultural 

 Experiment Station fed cowpeas to 

 fattening pigs with excellent results. 

 More leau meat was found in the bodies 

 of the pigs fed cowpeas than in those 

 fed corn meal only. A great many 

 people have tried feeding the seed, 

 either whole or in broken pieces to 

 poultry. Splendid results are obtained, 

 the fowls being kept in good condition 

 and producing a good supply of eggs, 

 even in the winter months. Very good 

 results aie also obtained by feeding the 

 hay, as the fowls eat all except the hard, 

 coarse stems. 



Cowpea Straw.— Now that cowpea seed 

 can be secured by running the vines 

 through a thrashing machine, the straw 

 is coming to be quite an important feed. 

 While no authentic data are at hand in 

 regard to this straw, farmers and stable- 

 keepers who have used it claim that it is 

 an excellent feed, some even preferring 

 it to ordinary pea-vine hay. There have 

 been no ill-effects reported from its use. 

 The straw sells for about the same price 

 as the hay. 



Growing Cowpeas for Seed. 

 The greater agricultural use of cowpeas 

 has been seriously handicapped in late 

 years by the high price of seed. Until 

 the last few years cowpea seed has been 

 almost entirely gathered by hand, though 

 that harvested by machinery makes up 

 an increasing percentage of the com- 

 mercial seed each year. Cheaper seed 

 will undoubtedly bring about an enor- 

 mous increase in the culture of the crop. 



Cowpeas when grown for seed or for 

 combined seed and hay production are 

 nearly always sown broadcast or with 

 a grain drill. Occasionally fields are 

 planted in rows and cultivated. Ex- 

 periments generally prove that the 

 largest yields are secured by planting in 

 rows and cultivating, but in many 

 localities this increased yield is not 

 sufficient to off -set the additional cost of 

 cultivation. 



The planting of cowpeas for seed 

 production should always be thinner 

 than for |forage purposes. Figure 2 



