site logo

Characteristics

Categories: THE COWPEA

The cowpea is closely related to the bean, and is

very unlike the Canada pea, which is a true pea, thriving only in a

cool climate. The cowpea has been grown in the southern states over one

hundred years, and the acreage is large, but it never has come into the

full use it deserves. Being a legume, it stores up nitrogen taken from

the air, and unlike red clover it makes its full growth within a short

period of time. It can grow on land too infertile for most kinds of

valuable plants, and on better land. The vines can crowd out nearly all

varieties of weeds. The roots go to a good depth and are thickly

covered with the nodules of nitrogen-gathering bacteria.



More

;