Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / April 8, 1909, edition 1 / Page 4
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if - it Thursday, April 8, 1909. Comparison of tHc Co7pea and the Soy THE PROGRESSIVE FARMER. Each of These Legumes Has its. Special Place and Each Ad- mirably Supplements the Other. w HE following conclusions are from a bulletin recently issued by the Tennessee: Experiment Station, after thorough tests of soy beans in comparison with cowpeas. They show that each of these valuable legumes has its special place in Southern agriculture and indicate clearly the conditions under- which each of them may :. be expected to give the best returns. .We do not yet appreciate the great value of the cowpea, and we are just beginning to learn what the soy bean is worth. With these two legumes for summer and crimson clover for. winter, surely we of the South can blame only ourselves if we do not build up tur soils, i We quote from the bulletin: ; Prominent Qualities of the Soy Bean. 1. Nearly all varieties of the soy bean maintain an upright habit of growth. Exceptions to this rule are, (1) that when' planted with corn, the soy bean does not climb the slender and is apt to fall to the ground; (2) that certain medium and late varieties, when grown on rich land may lodge, though rarely to a serious extent; and (3) that a few varieties, not tested at this Sta tion, are said to have the habits of a true vine. On the other hand, some of the heaviest-yielding varieties of the cowpea make a tangled growth which is difficult to harvest in a sat isfactory manner. 2. Pruitfulness is prominent, the best varieties being more certain than any of the cowpeas to produce high yields of seed. This is espe cially true of late plantings. For example, in 1907 the Mammoth Yel low variety produced .on the June 17th planting 28.4 bushels and on the June 29th planting 26.6 bushels of seed per acre. The Medium Yel low variety on the July 15th plant ing produced 20.2 bushels per acre. The Whippoorwill cowpea, on the other hand, fell from 27.7 bushels per acre on the June 17th planting to 18.8 bushels on the June 29th planting, and to no seed on the July 15th planting. As another condition under which the soy bean is the su perior in seed production, mention should be made of the poor yield of seed and of the excessive growth of vine produced by the cowpea on land of good quality and under wet weath er conditions, which are not uncom mon after early planting.' In other words, as, a, grain producer the cow pea is unreliable, and the more fer tile the soil and the greater the rain fall the more apt is it to produce vine and leaf at the expense of fruit. 3. The soy bean may be advan tageously sown , earlier as well as later in the season than the cowpea. (Termination and thrifty growth will follow in weather too cool for the cowpea, which should not be sown until warm weather is fully estab lished, v Light frosts,' which are suf ficient to kill cowpeas and other ten der plants, do not affect soy beans either when young or old. The best early varieties when planted ' in April mature their seed about six weeks earlier than the Whippoorwill cowpea, a matter of special impor tance in the pasturing of hogs, etc. 4. Soy bean seed is exceptionally rich in both protein and oil, contain ing, on the average of the .analyses made at this Station, 35.40 per cent protein and 20.35 per cent oil, as compared with an average of 25.28 per cent protein and 1.72 per cent oil for the cowpea. As a supplement to the corn and roughage ' of the farm, soy bean seed is not equalled by any other grain, and may even be substituted for that exceptionally rich feed, cottonseed meal; 5. The seed is not attacked by weevils and other insects as is the case with the Cowpea seed, but, as an offset, is liable to heat and spoil in storing. 6. The seed may be threshed from the hay with a common wheat thresh er after some simple adjustments are made. The cowpea, on the other hand, requires a special machine. 7. The seed decay rather slowly when left on the ground and may even germinate in the spring after being turned under in the fall. At least one variety of cowpea, the late Black, has this reputation, but oth ers, like the common Clay and the Whippoorwill, decay easily, and are therefore not so well adapted to be ing pastured off by hogs. 8. The beans ripen together, so that they may be cut with a mower and nearly the total yield obtained by threshing, but cowpeas ripen ir regularly and the total yield can be obtained only by expensive hand- picking. Qualities Favorable to the Cowpea. 1. A stand of cowpeas is more cer tain than a stand of soy beans.. This is due chiefly to two causes: (1) Soy beans may fail to come up through a soil crust which would offer little resistance to cowpeas, and ( 2 ) the germination of the cowpea seed is surer than that of the soy bean seed, which is liable to be spoiled by heat ing. The cowpea is therefore su perior for seeding broadcast, espe cially on land which is heavy , and apt to "bake," or which has been poorly prepared. A third reason of possible importance is that j rabbits bite down young soy bean plants but do not appreciably trouble cowpeas. 2. The cowpea is much better suit ed than the soy bean for planting either with sorghum or corn, wheth er for forage or for soil-improvement purposes. According to the Station's trials the standard bush pea, the Whippoorwill, is a good climber when planted with sorghum for si lage and under such conditions out yields in both vine and fruit any variety of soy beans. . 3. Cowpea hay is more easily cur ed by the methods in common use, without excessive loss of either leaves or fruit, than, soy bean hay. 4. A second growth) which .some times amounts to a fair crop, may be obtained from cowpeas after they are cut for hay, but -not- from soy beans. - ' V Summary. The Important conditions under which the cowpea is -preferable to the soy bean are, (1) when planted with either corn or sorghum; and (2 ) for seeding broadcast, under the present average farm conditions. 1 The soy bean, on the other hand, appears more valuable than the cow pea (1) as a grain producer, whether to be pastured off by hogs or to be threshed and ground for general feeding purposes; (2 ) as an inten sive farm crop, desirable where the best, methods of farming are prac ticed, in which case It may be grown trt nrivnntafA Altrtoi aarlv Vi Ufa In I the season for both hay and grain. v"'' " , mi: - - To get W& " fill1 ' ' lA the m: - h?s .LfEJ out' of a -" -v 4 most farm, every sq uare foot must be either tilled or else made to produce feed for live stock. A fence all around the farm, xl- ! 1 : JL. j Liieiipcruss iences, maKing more ana smaller nelds permitting rotation of crops knd change of pasture are first essentials in making possible maximum earnings. Here are two great fencesi-the best square mesh and the best diamond mesh. We selected these two styles years asro, after careful study and advice from many of the most experienced and successful farmers, the correctness of which has been veri fied by actual results In the held. These fences are the simplest in construction; are made of any size or weight of wire desired and perfectly adapted to all uses and conditions. - it ,- v If you want square mesh, j buy American; if you like diamond, buy Ellwood. You can safely take the verdict cjf the millions of farmers who have tested and to every purpose. See them. Catalogue for the asking. 3 . - AMERICAN STEEL & WIRE CO. Chicago New York Denver San Francisco - v r. , v T .-.5 ,ps ,2s) r5T : : . - it.- . ... - - and may be used incidentally as an especially good cleansing crop, be cause cultivations can easily; be . con tinued until the ground ' is well shaded; and (3) as an early hay or grain crop, for which purpose the early and medium varieties will pro duce either hay or seed j several weeks ahead of, any variety! of cow pea which has been .tested; at the Station. i i An Injustice to the Cowpea. ' Messrs. Editors? In a recent issue of The Progressive Farmer appeared a timely article on the soyibean by Mr. Shuford, in which he called at tention to the great valueVof this legume. In giving the analyses of the soy bean and the cowpea he cred its the soy bean with 34.0 per cent protein,, 2 8.8 per cent carbohydrates, and 16.9 per cent of fat, and credits the cowpea with 10.8 per cent pro tein 70.4 carbohydrates and! 5.0 per cent fat. The above is the Analysis of the soy beans and of cowpea hay, but not of the peas of the cowpea, which, according to various 'analyses made throughout the United States, averages about three times as much protein as Mr. Shuford credits to this king of Southern legumes. Mr. Shuford compares soy j bean beans with cowpea hay, which is , not fair to the latter. . i : , - C. L. NEWMAN. N. C. A. & M. College, f. Union LocK Poultry F RANGER BAREffWIRE Square close, mesh. Highest quality, su perior lock, easily erected, strong:, low priced. Write for new catalog describing- the Union Line of Field, Hor. Poul try and Lawn Fences. Union Fence Co. Do Kmlb, lit. Kan City, Mo. flSJBenntfGsi Rod vt Fora22-lnchHogFence; lefor A: M-lneh; 18 tor 81-lncb; S3 l-2e 7for 84-lncht STa for m. 47-1 nrh farm FnM. RA.1nAi Pnnltrv Fence tie. Lowest prices ever made. Sold on SO days trial. Catalog free. Write for It today. KITSELMAN DROSM Bos 84 MUNCIB, INO. FEUGE Made of High Carbon Double Strenjlh Colled Wire. Heavily Galvanized to prevent rust. Have no agents. Sell at factory prices on 30 days free trial. WeDaralifrelrht. 87 heights of farm and poultry fence. Catalog Free. COILED 8PRINCt FENCE CO. Box 72 Winchester, Indiana. ORNAMENTAL WIRE axd STEEL FENCE Cheaper than wood, combining strength ch nrches, cemeteries Send for FBEK CATALOG. Address THE WARS FENCE CO.. Box eecaturjad DPOWN FENC Bg-ljtf 1 M m&da EeaTiML fllosast wires. Soabls The Brow Fence A Wire Co., Dept. 89 Cleveland. W CJUIJ-n . n
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 8, 1909, edition 1
4
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