202 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
March 10 
HOPE FARM NOTES. 
THE TRUTH ABOUT COW PEAS. 
So many questions have been asked 
lately about cow peas and their place in 
farming, that perhaps the best thing I 
can do this week is to give our experience 
with them. Last Spring, we found one 
poor, thin field at Hope Farm that did 
not seem capable of raising weeds. It is 
the farthest field from the house, and 
the neighbors all advised us to let it 
alone. 1 have seen the remarkable effects 
of a crop of cow peas on thin land in the 
South, and so, as an experiment, we de¬ 
cided to try them on this four-acre field. 
At about corn-planting time, we worked 
the field over with the Cutaway, and 
then broadcasted 1,600 pounds of basic 
slag and 400 pounds of kainit, which 
were worked in with the Acme harrow. 
We then broadcasted 4>£ bushels of Early 
Black cow peas, and followed with the 
Acme again with the blades as flat as 
possible. If we had owned a roller, we 
would have used this next. We have 
bought one now, and shall use it after 
all seeding this year. The cow peas 
were slow in starting, but when hot 
weather fairly set in, they made a 
tremendous growth. As we expected to 
be short of fodder, we cut three acres of 
the field on August 15, expecting to work 
up the ground at once and sow Crimson 
clover. The constant rains prevented 
this, and so we put on our rubber boots 
and went in the mud sowing the clover 
seed among the stubble. A second growth 
had started from every joint of the vines, 
and this continued to grow till frost, at 
which time the vines were about one 
foot high again. Part of the Crimson 
clover seed that was sown in the stubble 
is still alive, and will, without doubt, 
get through March in safety. At a cost 
of less than $11 for fertilizer and $5 for 
seed, we have two good loads of fodder 
which we could not duplicate for $20, 
and four acres well covered with vines 
which our chemist friends tell us are 
worth, at least, $35 more as manure. I 
would certainly rather have them than 
a ton of fertilizer. We expect to plant 
potatoes on the acre that was left to 
grow without cutting, and then we 
can judge better about the value of the 
vines. 
Those who expect to try cow peas must 
remember that they are really beans — 
tender and much more liable to be killed 
by frost than garden or Canada field 
peas. North of New Jersey, I would 
try them only in a small way, as an ex¬ 
periment. The cow pea loves a warm, 
light soil. About 10 days after corn 
planting, is a safe time for sowing. If 
wanted for seed, I would plant in drills 
and give one or two cultivatings. If for 
green manuring, I would broadcast or 
use the grain drill with all the tubes run¬ 
ning. On very poor land, I am sure that 
the cow pea will give a cheaper growth 
than any other plant. I mean that on 
poor soil, it will provide more organic 
matter and more nitrogen at less ex¬ 
pense for fertilizer and time than any 
other plant. Prof. Lindsay, of the Mas¬ 
sachusetts Agricultural College, tells me 
that they have given up the cow pea be¬ 
cause the Soja bean has proved itself a 
better plant. We have not tried the 
Soja bean at Hope Farm. I got the im¬ 
pression that it required more fertilizer 
or manure than the cow pea to make an 
equal growth. Mr. Garrahan has been 
very successful with cow peas, and he 
advocates the use of 100 pounds of ni¬ 
trate of soda per acre. We used no nitro¬ 
gen at all, as we want to see whether 
that old field cannot be restored to use¬ 
fulness by “ atmospheric nitrogen ” from 
clover and cow peas alone. 
The chief use for the cow pea with us 
will be on back fields that have been 
neglected. We all know how we feel 
about such fields. They make our eyes 
sore, yet we can’t bring ourselves to haul 
good manure or fertilizers to them. With 
Cutaway and Acme, I can fit such fields 
at the rate of three acres per day, and 
for $3 per acre, I can put on enough pot¬ 
ash and phosphoric acid to produce a 
good crop of cow peas. With two crops 
of such cow peas plowed into the soil, I 
can secure profitable yields of almost 
any standard crop. The vines have not 
proved very good fodder with us. Pos¬ 
sibly we did not cure them right. The 
horses do not care for them, though in 
the South, I understand that all stock 
eat them readily. Hogs are fond of 
them, and they make good hog pasture. 
We have used one load for mulching 
strawberries, and like them better than 
manure. It will pay us to raise them for 
this purpose alone. My impression is that, 
at the North, the cow pea will be most 
useful for hog pasture or green manure. 
My belief is that, north of Ithaca, N. Y., 
it cannot compete with the Canada field 
pea either for green manure or fodder. 
On land of good quality, corn will pro¬ 
duce more stock food than cow peas. It 
is a poor-land plant—a hustler—best 
adapted to light, warm soils. It cannot 
be compared with Crimson clover, as it 
requires a whole season for its growth. 
The Crimson clover grows between two 
other crops — mostly during the cool 
weather when the other crops have left 
the ground. We expect to sow four acres 
of cow peas again this year, chiefly to 
secure mulch for the strawberries. 
Farmers south of New.York City, with 
poor, vacant fields that they want to im¬ 
prove, may well give cow peas a trial. 
Give them $4 worth of potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid per acre, and $2 worth of 
nitrogen, if you can afford it. Fit the 
land well, and sow as you would wheat. 
Let the vines alone till you want to plant 
corn or potatoes the following Spring, 
and you will increase the productive 
power of that field by one-third. To 
those north of New York City, I would 
say, Go slow and give cow peas a careful 
trial unless you are ready to take the 
risk of losing the crop. The chances 
are that the field pea will prove superior. 
I have in mind an experiment that we 
hope to try this year. After the last 
picking of blackberries, raspberries and 
currants, I want to work the middies 
up with the cultivator, and broadcast 
cow peas qll over the field. I expect that 
they will make a fair growth before frost, 
(Continued on next page.) 
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Tired Feeling, Headache and Dis¬ 
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Hood’s parilla 
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Dillc are the best after-dinner 
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