BULLETIN 
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Antonio, since the peas or beans came up before the cotton planted 
in the same hills, thus opening the way for the more tender seedlings. 
All things considered, however, beans seem to be better suited to this 
purpose than peas, owing to the habit of beans in raising their 
cotyledons above ground. A strong-growing variety of cowpeas does 
very well, but in leaving its cotyledons at the depth the seed was 
planted its lifting force is reduced. 
In choosing a variety of beans for planting with cotton seed, the 
size of the beans should be considered. It appears that a variety of 
beans having large seeds makes a stronger early growth than one 
having small seeds: that is. the power to break through a soil crust 
Fig. 1. — Fpland (Lone Star) cotton planted as a nurse crop for Egyptian cotton, 
delinted seed of these varieties having been mixed in equal proportions and planted 
with a corn planter, using a 6-hole plate : A, Section of the row before thinning, 
when the plants were about 8 inches high, showing the uniform stand obtained ; 
B, section of the row after thinning out all the Lone Star plants, showing Egyptian 
plants standing approximately 18 inches apart. In another section of this row an 
equally good stand of Lone Star cotton remained after removing all the Egyptian 
plants. The seedlings of these two types can easily be distinguished. (Photo- 
graphed July 11, 1917.) 
is greater. Thus, for example, the pinto bean was found to be better 
in this particular than the navy, and the navy better than the soy or 
tepary. But on the other hand, smaller beans have certain advan- 
tages over larger ones, as will be shown when the methods of plant- 
ing are taken into account. 
The early habits of growth of different varieties of beans and peas 
should also be considered. Large beans, like the pinto, and cowpeas, 
such as the Black-Eye variety, usually develop broad first leaves. 
This may be an advantage under some conditions, since the broad 
leaves would provide a certain protection for the cotton seedlings, 
but these overspreading leaves are likely at the same time to shade 
