2 



The pods are bladdery, inflated, from one-half to three-fourths of 

 an inch long, and finely pubescent with glandular hairs. Each pod 

 contains one, or very rarely two, large seeds, which are wrinkled 

 and bear a fanciful resemblance to a ram's horn, whence the Latin 

 name arietinum. The seeds are a Httle larger than those of the 

 common garden pea, to which they are quite similar. 



USE AS AN ADULTERANT. 



This crop is cultivated in Mexico, where it is known by the Spanish 

 name " Garabanza." It is there used to some extent as food, but is 

 considered inferior to corn. Gram has been introduced into this 

 country at various times since 1864 as a substitute for coffee, but it 

 should be remembered that there is no such thing as a coffee substi- 

 tute. Various peas and beans, chickory, or even rye flour or bread 

 crumbs, may be roasted and prepared in the same manner as coffee, but 

 the beverage has none of the stimulating qualities of that drink and 

 only resembles it in color and to some extent in taste. It can be 

 used as an adulterant of coffee. The Idaho pea was cultivated at 

 the Colorado Experiment Station in 1895 and 1896. Professor Cooke 

 states that it "has demonstrated its ability to make a large growth 

 with plenty of water and a fair growth with a very limited supply. 

 It belongs to the pea family and is grown in rows, 30 inches apart, 

 and the plants 6 to 12 inches apart in the rows. Its growth indi- 

 cates that it can be raised for about 1 cent per pound." 



SEED PER ACRE— GENERAL CLIMATIC CONDITIONS NECESSARY. 



About 30 to 50 pounds of seed are used per acre, depending upon 

 whether it is sown in drills or broadcast. In India the largest acre- 

 age is in the Northwest Provinces, where the soils are. similar to 

 those west of the one hundredth meridian, and the climate is much 

 like that of New Mexico and Arizona. All authorities agree that it 

 is better suited to arid and semiarid regions than to humid ones, the 

 crop apparently requiring a great many sunny days during its season 

 of growth. Better results are secured in growing it with irrigation 

 than without, although it makes a fair yield on comparatively dry 

 soils. If continued experiments with this plant in the West prove 

 that its average yield is as high as has been claimed, it will undoubt- 

 edly prove a valuable addition to the list of forage plants suitable to 



semiarid regions. 



TIME TO SOW^ SEED. 



There are a number of varieties, which differ fropi one another in 

 the color of the seed and length of season required for maturity. 

 The forms which have been cultivated in Spain, Mexico and the 

 Northwest Provinces of India are liable to prove more adaptable to 

 American conditions than those from subtropical India. The gram 

 plant is very sensitive to cold. The seed should be sown not earlier 



