Cowpeas are frequently sown in corn in the South at the last cultivation, either broadcast or in drills, at the rate of two pecks of seed per acre in the latter case. Most of the cowpea seed of the c iuntry is gathered by hand front peas thus sown. In a few instances, after the corn is gathered the corn-stalks and cowpea vines are cut together for hay. More commonly the vines are left on the ground for their renovating effect. This crop is very frequently sown alone, to he plowed under in renovating worn-out lands. This is an excel lent practice, although where stock is available it would be more profitable to harvest the crop, feed it. and return the resulting manure to the land. When a heavy crop of cowpeas is plowed under, it is usually wise to wait until the following spring before planting the land to another crop. [See Coupeal Satisfactory grasses are much needed for the South. Only two grasses have thus far been found that are generally adapted to the cotton-belt, and both of them are more or less objectionable because of their weedy nature. They are Johnson-grass and Bermuda.
Johnson -grass (Andropogon Halepensis, Brot. Sorghum Halepense, Pers., Figs. 518 and 673). Known locally in South Carolina and parts of Georgia as Means' grass. Johnson -grass was introduced into this country from Turkey about seventy years ago. It was hailed as a great hay grass for the South, and spread rapidly for a number of years before its weedy character was realized. It is probably the most productive hay grass in this country, and it is certainly one of the worst weeds. The weedy character is due to the remarkable development of its system of rootstocks, every joint in which is capable of producing a new plant. It is thus exceedingly difficult to eradicate when once established. When once started on a farm, it sooner or later spreads over the entire farm. It is distributed more or less generally throughout the cotton-belt. Northward its distribution is limited by cold. It does not spread into sections where the soil freezes to a depth of three or four inches in an ordinary winter. In recent years it is becoming established on irri gated lands in the Southwest, where it is giving a great deal of trouble, particularly in vineyards, where it is difficult to fight.
Johnson-grass will grow on almost any kind of soil, but it does best on rather heavy, moist land. It spreads ordinarily from the seed, but in cultivated land small bunches of the grass are spread more or less from the rootstocks, which are dragged about the field in tillage operations. In some sections it is unlawful to sow the seed of this grass. No very definite statement can be made concerning the quantity of seed required fora good stand. The seed
weighs about forty-five pounds per bushel, and the quantity sown varies from a bushel to a bushel and a half per acre.
Johnson-grass yields, in ordinary seasons, three full cuttings of hay. All kinds of stock prefer the hay to timothy, and it is somewhat more nutritious than the latter. Because of its rather laxative na ture, it is not well adapted to feeding livery horses that are liable to be driven to the limit of endur ance immediately after a full feed. For ordinary work horses and for cattle, the hay is entirely satisfactory. Like all of the sorghums, however, it is somewhat lacking in protein, and should be fed with other materials rich in that material.
When it is desirable to utilize a stand of John son-grass for the production of hay, it is necessary to plow the land every two or three years in order to keep the meadow productive. The best time to plow for this purpose is just after the last crop of hay is harvested, or in spring before the growth has begun. The yield of Johnson-grass may be increased by sowing some winter legume, such as bur-clover or the common vetch, and pasturing the legume off during the late winter and early spring.
The fact that livery stable men do not find John son grass hay a satisfactory feed, and the fear of introducing Johnson-grass through the hay in sec tions where it is not already established, greatly limit the market for this crop. There is a fair market in some sections where the grass is well established and in regions where the lumbering industry is important.
Recent studies by the United States Department of Agriculture have resulted in discoveries that render the complete eradication of Johnson-grass comparatively easy. The underground stems live only one year. After passing through the winter, these stems have only one mission, and that is to throw up branches to the surface. These new branches, on reaching the surface, form crowns and produce new plants. About blossoming time these new plants send out a new growth of underground stems, which, if the top is left uncut, grow to great size and length, frequently penetrating the soil to a depth of four feet. But if the top is cut back promptly every time it heads out, these new rootstocks develop very late in the season, are very slender and remain very veer the surface. If the grass be cut close during a season, then by plowing just deep enough to turn up all the root stock, say three to four inches deep, the grass can be eradicated about as easily as Kentucky blue grass. The succeeding crop should be a cultivated one, such as corn or cotton. A little better culti vation than usual will exterminate the pest when it is treated as here outlined.