Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/607

* COW-PABSNIP. 523 COWPEK. distributed. In Alaska the leafstalks are peeled and eaten. It is there sometimes ealled wild celery. The stalks when drying exude a sweet substance, and they are said to be fermented and a, Iiqior distilled from them in Siberia. COWPEA (Mt/iia catjang). A leguminous plant indigenous to southeastern Asia, the Malay .rohipelago, and parts of Central Africa. Its culture for human food and as a forage plant has spread to most tropical and sub-tropical coun- tries. It was introduced into the United States early in the eighteenth century. At present it is a very common forage crop in the South, and is also grown to some extent in the Northern States. The plant is really a bean, and is closely related to the garden beans, such as the lima, the haricot, and others. The tendency of the cowpea to vary in habit of growth, color of leaf, stem, and pod, and in the shape and color of the seed gives rise to numerous varieties. (For illustration, see Plate of Legumes.) In the southern United States it grows as a vine with a rather long period of growth, but when grown in the Northern States it becomes a bush form and shortens its growing period. In addition to being a very impoi-tant forage plant, it is espe- cially valuable as a soil renovator, having the power of gathering the free nitrogen of the air in common with the clovers (q.v. ). Food and Feeding ]'alue. — The green fodder has the following average percentage composition : Water, 83.6; protein. 2.4; fat, 0.4; nitrogen-free extract, 7.1; crude fibre, 4.8: and ash, 1.7; the cowpea hay the following: Water, 10.7; protein, 16.0; fat, 2.9; nitrogen-fi'ee extract, 42.2; crude fibre, 20.1, and ash, 7.5. The silage resembles the green crop in composition, containing some 80 per cent, of water. .3 per cent, of protein, and 8 per cent, of nitrogen-free extract, in addition to small amounts of the other constituents. Young pigs thrive on the cowpea forage and well-filled pods, and it is a custom to turn them into the fields planted for green manuring, about the time the first pods are ripening. An acre will pasture fifteen or twenty pigs for several weeks. The manure more than compensates for the vines eaten. Turkeys and chickens eat the ripe peas and do well on them. Cattle, sheep, and horses are sometimes pastured on cowpea, but the safest and most economical method is to cut or pull the vines and feed them partially wilted. Cattle and sheep are liable to bloat if they are allowed to eat too ravenously of cowpea vines, as is the case with other succulent crops. Cowpea hay compares favorably with other leguminous hays in digestibility; 59 per cent, of the total dry matter. 65 per cent, of the protein, 71 per cent, of the nitrogen-free extract, and 42 per cent, of the crude fibre being digested on an average. Like other leguminous seeds, the cowpea seed is rich in protein. It contains on an average: Water, 14.8; protein, 20.8; fat. 1.4; nitrogen-free extract, 55.7; crude fibre, 4.1 ; and ash, 3.2 per cent. Cow- peas, whole or giound, are sometimes fed to farm animals, but it is usual to harvest only enough for seed. As a food for man, cowpeas are much relished. In season, they are often gathered before the pods begin to change color and before they become dry. The shelled peas are then cooked in the same way as shell-beans or garden peas. For winter use the dry cowpeas are cooked like other dry beans, and have a very agreeable flavor. The plant is injured by a weevil {Bruchis Vol. v.— 31. clunensis), to be recognized by two elevated, ivory-like lobes on the thorax; and by the Sep- lemlier brood of the boll- worm (q.v.). COWPEN. A town in Northumberland, England, on the south shore of the Blyth Estu- ary, (iVj miles east-southeast of Morpeth (Map: England, El). The to«Ti owns its markets and water-works. Its industries are connected with collieries and domestic manufactures. Popula- tion, in 1891, 13,000; in 1901, 17,800. COWPENS. A town in S])artanburg County, S. C, noted chielly for the battle which took place there on Jan'uary 17, 1781, between 1100 British under Colonel Tarleton and 1000 Ameri- cans under General Morgan. This engagement, sometimes called the 'Bennington of the South,' for its decisiveness, was won for the Americans, jjartly by the rashness of the impetuous Tarleton, but especially by the daring position assumed by the American commander and the tactical skill he displayed in defending it. Losses — British, 800 killed, wounded, and captured; American, 12 killed, 60 wounded. COWPER, koo'ppr or kou'per, Francis Thom.s I)E Geey, Earl (1834 — ). An English statesman. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and succeeded to the hereditary title in 1856. He was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1880 to 1882, when he was succeeded by Lord Spencer, and proved a most able adminis- trator during the critical period of the Land League, llis antagonism to the Home Rule policy of Mr. Gladstone is well knowm. He was one of the founders of the Unionist party, and pre- sided as chairman at the so-called 'Opera House Meeting." Upon the installation of Lord Salis- bury, he was appointed chairman of the commis- sion in the Irish Land Act of October, 1881. dla was also a member of the Gresham University Commission of 1892. COWPER, William, Earl (c.1604-1723) . An English judge and the fir.st Lord Chancellor of Great Britain. He was called to the bar in 1688 and was made King's ('ounsel in 1694. In the following year he entered Parliament, where he became known as an e.xcellent debater, and was made lord keeper of the great seal. In 1706 he was made a peer, and w-as one of the commis- sioners to negotiate the union of Scotland with England. In 1707 he was made Lord Chancellor, in 1716 Lord High Steward, and in 1718 became an earl. COWPER, William (1666-1709). An Eng- lish surgeon, born at Petersfield in Sussex. He was made a Viarber-surgeon in 1091, and became known not only as a skillful practitioner, but also as a thorough anatomist and pathologist. Among his permanent contributions to anatomical science, the discovery of the now so-called Cow- per's glands (q.v.) will preserve his name. In 1696 he was made a fellow of the Royal Society. His published works include the following: Mi/o- tomia Reformata (1094; 2d ed., revised by Jurin, Pemberton. and Tanner. 1724) ; The Analonni of Human Bodies (1698; 2d ed. 1737); Olanda- lariini Qiiaruiulam nupcr Detectarum Ductuum- que earutn Excretionum Descriptio cum Figuris (I702K COWPER, William (1731-1800). An Eng- lish poet, son of John Cowper. D.I). He was born at his father's rectory, at Great Berkhamp- stead, Hertfordshire. Losing his mother when