o not make as
much foliage as the rank-growing ones that require a relatively long
season, but some of them are heavy producers of seed.

There are varieties requiring six months of southern heat to bring them
to maturity, and some failures attending the introduction of the cowpea
into more northern latitudes have been due to bad selection. A few
varieties reach maturity within two months of hot weather.

The trailing habit is affected by the soil, the bunch varieties tending
to trail when grown on fertile land. When the crop is wanted for seed,
the peas that do not trail heavily will prove more satisfactory. The
selection of variety is a matter of latitude and purpose, exactly as it
is with corn.

Fertilizing Value.--A heavy growth of the cowpea is worth as much to
the soil as a good crop of red clover. When the equivalent of two tons
of hay is produced, the roots and vines contain nearly as much
plant-food as the roots and first crop of medium red clover that makes
two tons of hay. Some analyses show a higher percentage of protein in
cowpea hay than in clover hay, and the experience of many stockmen
indicates that such is the case. The roots and stubble have somewhat
less fertilizing power than in the case of the clover, and all thin
soils should have the entire plant, or the manure from the hay, saved
without loss.

Comparison is made on the basis of equal adaptability of soil and
climate to clover and the cowpea. Going southward, the cowpea has the
advantage, and northward the clover gains. It is in the overlapping
belt that both should be freely used. The cowpea has distinct advantage
over the clover in its ability to supply nitrogen and organic matter
within a few months, and in its adaptation to very poor soils where
clover would not make much growth. As a catch crop it has great value.

Affecting Physical Condition.--The cowpea has marked influence upon the
physical condition of heavy soils, even when the vines are not plowed
down. This is due in some degree to the roots, and probably more to the
mulching effect of the vines during their growth. Heavy soils are made
much more mellow by the cowpea, and when the crop is removed for hay,
the stubble-land is easily prepared for a seeding to grass or small
grain. When the growth is plowed down, the soil may be made too loose
for seeding to small grain, but is put into prime condition for a
tilled crop.

Planting.--The land should be fitted as it is for corn. L