for seed should also suit the land
and the climate.

The cowpea will grow in almost any soil. It thrives best and yields most
bountifully on well-drained sandy loams. The plant also does well on
clay soils. On light, sandy soils a fairly good crop may be made, but on
such soils, wilt and root-knot are dangerous foes. A warm, moist,
well-pulverized seed-bed should always be provided. Few plants equal the
cowpea in repaying careful preparation.

[Illustration: FIG. 234. COWPEAS]

If this crop is grown for hay, the method of seeding and cultivating
will differ somewhat from the method used when a seed crop is desired.
When cowpeas are planted for hay the seeds should be drilled or
broadcasted. If the seeds are small and the land somewhat rich, about
four pecks should be sowed on each acre. If the seeds are comparatively
large and the soil not so fertile, about six pecks should be sowed to
the acre. It is safer to disk in the seeds when they are sowed broadcast
than it is to rely on a harrow to cover them. In sowing merely for a
hay crop, it is a good practice to mix sorghum, corn, soy beans, or
millet with the cowpeas. The mixed hay is more easily harvested and more
easily cured than unmixed cowpea hay. Shortly after seeding, it pays to
run over the land lightly with a harrow or a weeder in order to break
any crust that may form.

Mowing should begin as soon as the stalks and the pods have finished
growing and some of the lower leaves have begun to turn yellow. An
ordinary mower is perhaps the best machine for cutting the vines. If
possible, select only a bright day for mowing and do not start the
machine until the dew on the vines is dried. Allow the vines to remain
as they fell from the mower till they are wilted; then rake them into
windrows. The vines should generally stay in the windrows for two or
three days and be turned on the last day. They should then be put in
small, airy piles or piled around a stake that has crosspieces nailed to
it. The drying vines should never be packed; air must circulate freely
if good hay is to be made. As piling the vines around stakes is somewhat
laborious, some growers watch the curing carefully and succeed in
getting the vines dry enough to haul directly from the windrows to the
barns. Never allow the vines to stay exposed to too much sunshine when
they are first cut. If the sun strikes them too strongly, the leaves
will become brittle and shatter when they are moved.

When co