1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
373 
COW PEAS AT THE NORTH. 
HOW A MARYLANDER WOULD GROW THEM. 
You ask : “ What would you do if you were to move 
from 100 to 200 miles north, and were desirous of cul¬ 
tivating the cow pea, either for forage or for green 
manure ? ” If I were geographically and mentally 
situated as above, I would prepare the soil the same 
as for corn, and as early as danger from frosts was 
past, would sow with a grain drill, 2 or 2^ bushels of 
the cow peas to the acre. If the land were too poor 
to insure a fair growth of vine without it, I would 
drill in with the peas 200 or 300 pounds of commercial 
fertilizer to the acre, something containing a fair per 
cent of ammonia, so as to give vigor to the vines. 
When the first pods began to mature, the vines would 
be turned under and the ground rolled ; this could all 
be accomplished in time to seed the land to wheat. If 
the vines were intended for forage, I would cut be¬ 
fore the pods began to mature. I have used quite a 
good many peas tor turning under, and turning under 
a week too soon draws the line between profit and 
no profit in the operation. I rate the pea third as to 
value for turning under here—first, Red clover ; sec¬ 
ond, Crimson clover, and third, cow peas. 
Maryland. J. w. kerr. 
Why the Cow Pea is Valuable. 
The southern cow pea, which is truly a bean, is 
worthy of trial in the latitude of the Middle States. 
Varieties are as numerous as of corn or potatoes, and 
only quick-growing varieties should be tried. Prob¬ 
ably the Black pea is the best, as it will mature in 60 
to 90 days, with hot weather and a warm soil. One 
bushel of seed per acre is sufficient, and may be put 
in with a wheat drill, all spouts open, or with any 
other drill in rows as close as can be worked with a 
narrow cultivator. One or two workings are suffi¬ 
cient. A little rock and potash are the correct ferti¬ 
lizer, though any honest goods will do. Planting must 
not be done till the weather is settled, and the ground 
thoroughly warm and not too wet, as they easily rot. 
In the latitude named, the cow pea cannot be used 
as a catch crop in corn as at the South, and experi¬ 
ment only can determine whether it would mature 
sufficiently to be plowed under for wheat. Doubtless 
it would be better to take the crop off for hay or 
ensilage. It is very valuable to mix with corn in 
alternate loads for the silo, as this mixture gives 
nearly a balanced ration, and obviates the disagree¬ 
able necessity of purchasing much costly muscle- 
makers in bran, oil meal, etc. There is plenty of ex¬ 
perience in support of this claim ; my own feeders are 
very positive about it. On poor, thin soils, especially 
in orchards, it proves to be a good practice to allow 
the crop to die where grown, and lie there till spring, 
when it readily goes under with the plow. The 
improvement thus given to orchards is quite marked. 
By all means, try the cow peas, but go slow. Many 
seedsmen handle this seed, but in winter and early 
spring, it may be bought in Norfolk and other places 
down to 65 cents per bushel. On a farm fertile and 
heavily stocked, corn will furnish more bulk and 
weight of ensilage and fodder than any other plant, 
fertilizers and the muscle-making foods will do the 
rest. If land is cheap, thin and plentiful, as is likely 
to be the case with such soils, we can afford to plant 
the cow pea, give it the entire growing season, har¬ 
vesting less in quantity, perhaps, as much in value, 
and leaving the land much improved by the nitrogen 
trapped and the rock and potash added. We have 
summer this year without the intervening spring, so 
it grows already late for the northern farmer to try 
this crop this year, unless he know where to get seed 
quickly. E. H. BANCROFT. 
Delaware. 
Broadcasted and Fed to Swine. 
Up to about 45 degrees, or even further north, 
wherever six weeks or two months of summer can 
boast of warm nights, I would expect successfully to 
grow some varieties of this valuable legume, the cow 
pea. Where soil improvement, or forage is desired, 
it is best to sow the seed rather thick in order to secure 
uniform distribution of roots in the soil, and to grow 
many fine stems rather than fewer coarse ones. The 
cow pea is a child of the sun and loves warmth, so it 
should be planted or sown only after the summer 
temperature has risen to a point which insures warm 
nights, and continuously favorable weather for 
growth. The further north or the later the planting, 
the earlier maturing variety will be desired, and this 
is undoubtedly the Whip-poor-will. 
After preparing the ground moderately well, sow 
broadcast a quantity of beans according to the rich¬ 
ness of the soil, from 1 to 2 bushels of seed per acre. 
Once sown no more care is needed until the crop is to 
be harvested. One of the ways it is cheaply done, is 
to turn the stock in on it here in the South, and this 
is the usual way to fatten swine. Pea pods are hand 
picked until seed enough for winter use and next 
year’s sowing is secured. Then the crop is given over 
to the swine, and even the razorback takes on fat 
enough to look a pretty respectable porker when the 
crop is good and the area large. 
The vines may be mown with a machine and fed 
green, or made into hay with more care given to this 
process. Broad-leaved plants are rather hard to cure 
as hay, and need time and special attention. In this 
section, it is common to stack the wilted vines in 
thin, small stacks, and let them stand until cured, 
then house when damp enough to be moved without 
breaking and losing the leaves. 
For soil improvement, the vines are turned under 
as would be any other green crop in the locality where 
grown. Owing to so much heat, and very rapid 
changes, it is best not to plow in much green matter 
here in the South, but to wait until near the mature 
growth when there is little green matter, and also 
when the really valuable plant food has increased to 
the maximum amount in the crop. It may be well 
for the grower in higher latitudes to observe this for 
the latter season, even though the former has no in¬ 
fluence. 
It is common to apply potash and phosphoric acid 
with the cow pea to help it, as well as to furnish the 
next crop with these ash foods which the pea cannot 
manufacture. For heavy growth of green vines, the 
Wonderful or Unknown pea is recommended. There 
are a considerable number of varieties which are 
valuable, but all are well within the two named 
above. Whip-poor-will is the one requiring the short¬ 
est season for maturity, and the Wonderful will grow 
longest and produce most vines, frank e. emery. 
North Carolina. 
Get Acquainted With Mrs. Cow Pea. 
I have had faith that Crimson clover would succeed 
as far north as central New York. I made some 
trials of it—through friends—still farther north, but 
can chronicle no successes. I think that the why is 
plain, and lies in the fact that it will grow beneath 
the snow covering, and is smothered by its own 
growth. It is found to be so here, if a dense crust 
forms on the snow. I am sorry that northern farmers 
lose the usefulness of this grand plant. Moral : Move 
to the kindly soil of Delaware, where the Crimson 
clover drinks in free nitrogen, and the farmer 
breathes balmy breezes from the great bays east and 
west of him. 
More than one plant is known, however, capable of 
doing the same work as Crimson clover. None is 
known that could be called a stolen crop, or that has 
all its advantages ; but for a forage crop, and for 
green manuring, the southern cow pea takes second 
rank only when compared with Crimson clover, even 
here. Some trials made with cow peas in northern 
New York were reported failures. Failures happen 
here, and sometimes, from the same reason, “ did not 
come up.” The cause, usually, is cold, or excessive 
wet. The cow pea is a bean, must be treated as care¬ 
fully as a Lima, and planted not on top of cold, wet, 
lumpy earth, but at least two inches deep in warm, 
mellow soil, and not until reasonably sure of con¬ 
tinued sunshine. If I lived in central New Y"ork, or 
even farther north, I would grow black cow peas ; at 
least, I would plant them in drills 16 to 20 inches 
apart, and cultivate them once or twice (though I 
might have to send to Delaware for a mule and a 
darkey to do the cultivating). When the plants were 
large enough, I would cut and feed green to horses, 
cattle and hogs ; doubtless, also, the festive goat 
would prefer them to tomato can wrappers, but that 
point I have not proved, as “we had our goat” before 
cow pea day. 1 would like to plant enough so that 
when the first formed pods were two-thirds yellow, I 
could cut some for hay and mainly cure in the wind¬ 
row or cut into the silo, and perhaps, to balance the 
ration, mix with corn ensilage in the silo. The crop 
safely housed, I would rest sure that the horses and 
cattle would eat it greedily and thrive. The hogs 
root, and the chickens scratch for any seed thrown 
out where they can get it. 
For green manuring, I would wait until the vines 
were ripe before turning under. If the land were not 
to be used until the following spring, I would wait 
until then before turning under; here I would turn 
them under in the fall, and sow rye, or if time 
enough, Crimson clover. I would keep a growing crop 
on the land, if possible ; the next best would be a 
dead crop mulching the soil. I would fertilize cow 
peas with potash and phosphoric acid, one or both, as 
the soil needed. If I wanted nitrogen for the suc¬ 
ceeding crop, I would fertilize the cow peas, as stated 
above, and they would furnish the nitrogen needed 
for almost any crop. Nature is at work for the farmer; 
he already knows how to utilize that work, in part, 
and will know more. When the northern farmer 
becomes acquainted with the ready, open-handed 
and genial manners of the southern cow peas, he will 
rejoice in the acquisition. s. h. derby. 
Delaware. 
ALL SORTS. 
Questions About Apple Trees. 
R. S. K., North Brookfield, N. Y.— 1. Are the Wagener, Wal- 
bridge and Pewaukee apple trees desirable for central New York? 
2. Will green cow manure hurt young trees? If so, what is the 
best thing to use ? 3. What hardy and desirable varieties of sweet 
apples will keep until spring? 
Ans. —1. The Wagener is a popular winter apple 
where it does well. I see no reason why it should not 
do well in western or central New York. The Wal- 
bridge and Pewaukee are newer apples, and 1 cannot 
say much about them. I do not think, however, that 
they are growing much in popularity, and would not 
advise planting them except to test them. 2. Fresh 
cow manure will not harm trees if spread over the 
surface of the ground, and plowed or harrowed in. 
If plowed in, be careful not to plow the roots. There 
is no better fertilizer for the orchard than a good 
mixture of muriate of potash, fine bone and nitrate 
of soda, say, for a ton, 800 pounds of bone, 800 of 
muriate of potash, and 400 of nitrate of soda, well 
mixed ; use 1,500 pounds per acre. 3. Lady Sweet. 
The tree is not a strong grower, but is a good bearer, 
and a fine late winter apple. edwin hoyt. 
Sunflowers as Stock Food. 
A. M., Prince Edward Island .—Why may not crushed sunflower 
seeds be used with skim-milk to feed calves ? Bran and oil meals 
are so expensive here that they are out of reach for extensive 
feeding. Peas and sunflowers can be grown profitably. 
Ans. —I know of no cases of crushed sunflower seed 
being used in this country. Klein, in Milch Zeitung, 
1892, pages 673 to 677, reports that sunflower-seed 
cake was at that time extensively used in Denmark. 
A comparative trial with linseed cake was made with 
four cows, lasting from February 22 to April 12. The 
sunflower-seed cake was found to contain : muscle- 
makers, 36.73 ; fat-formers, 20 60 and pure fat, 13.94. 
Comparing this with the average analysis of linseed 
cake, which it most resembles in its effects upon the 
animal and its products, we find it containing a little 
more protein and considerably more fat than does the 
latter product. A summary of results of the experi¬ 
ment showed that the addition of sunflower-seedcake 
to a basal ration with a nutritive ratio of 1 to 6.5, was 
accompanied by increased milk yield of each cow. 
The sunflower-seed cake was thought to be fully as 
effective as linseed cake, but had no effect upon the 
quality of milk or live weight of the animal; neither 
was there financial advantage from the addition of 
either sunflower-seed cake or linseed cake to the basal 
ration used. An additional quart of milk produced 
by one pound of the sunflower-seed cake cost about 
3% cents. 
I presume that you are acquainted with the work of 
Prof. J. W. Robertson, of the Ottawa Experiment Sta¬ 
tion, in connection with the so-called “ Robertson 
Mixture ensilage,” composed of 10 parts corn, three 
parts horse beans (whole plant) and from 1 to IX part 
sunflower heads. We have fed this mixture for two 
years past, and found, on the whole, that similar 
weights of dry matter produced more milk and butter 
when the Robertson Mixture was fed than when corn 
ensilage was fed ; yet, owing to the difficulties in this 
region of growing horse beans successfully, we have 
not felt like recommending it as a profitable ensilage 
to make. Shaw and Zavitz note in the Ontario Ex¬ 
periment Farm report for 1892, that the sunflowers 
fed a cow were eaten readily, but when fed in large 
quantities, caused purging. The milk was of good 
flavor and kept well. I would say that there might 
be some danger from the use of this material with 
milk in feeding calves on account of the purgative 
effect. I do not know, however, whether this would 
be greater or less than would be caused by a similar 
quantity of oil meal. Joseph l. hills. 
Vermont Experiment Station. 
BUSINESS BITS 
When any of our fruit-growing friends visit Niagara Falls and 
have an hour to spare, they should visit the well-kept Niagara 
Falls Nurseries of E. Morden. They are situated on the Canada 
side, near the Lundy Lane battle ground. 
That Fulcrum spading fork seems to be a valuable implement. 
The point about it seems to be that the fulcrum turns the ground 
over completely, and affords such a leverage that the work is 
comparatively easy. A short, pronged fork for cultivating and 
uprooting weeds, is built on the same principle. Both these 
implements are time and labor savers. The Fulcrum Mfg. Co., 
Paterson, N. J., will send full description on application. 
The practice of dipping is becoming very common among 
American shepherds, and deservedly so, for there is no longer 
any doubt as to the benefits to be derived. The Cooper sheep dip 
appears to be the favorite, and, certainly, the evidence produced 
from hundreds of patrons, is very convincing as to its merits. The 
makers claim, and they are supported by the evidence of practi¬ 
cal experiment, that their dip, in addition to being a certain 
eradicator of all insect and parasitic life, acts as a stimulant to 
the fleece. 
It is claimed that the best far m in the world is at Longbeach, 
New Zealand, owned by Mr. John Grigg, and is known as the 
Longbeach estate. It has come into special prominence in the 
United States just now, because, as reported by a local paper, 
Mr. Grigg has recently had 70 McCormick reapers and mowers at 
work at one time, and the manufacturers, the McCormick Har¬ 
vester Co., Chicago, Ill., have advertised the fact quite extens¬ 
ively in this country. While it is a good point in favor of a 
machine, that so large an operator as Mr. Grigg selects it for a 
foreign country, where satisfactory work and freedom from 
breakage are important factors, the McCormick machines need 
not go so far from home for indorsement. The machines have a 
wide reputation in this country, which has been justly earned by 
years of painstaking on the part of the manufacturers, and a dis¬ 
position to produce the best, and nothing but the best. 
