grac 



UTILIZATION OF PEA-CANNERY REFUSE FOR FORAGE. 9 



lually decreased and the meal increased, until at the end of thirty 

 or forty days they are getting; 6 pounds of silage and about 2 pounds 

 of corn meal. It generally tnkes from forty to fifty days to fit sheep 

 for the market on a ration of this kind. The silage is not credited 

 with having any particular value as a I'nt producer. Its great value 

 Hes in the fact that it keeps the animals in good condition, so that 

 they can better assimilate the grain. 



It seems to be quite generally conceded that a fine quality of 

 mutton is produced by feeding pea-vine silage that is well kept. In 

 the fall of 1908 a lot of 442 western wethers that had been fed on 

 pea-vine silage and corn in Wisconsin foi- fifty days topped the 

 Cliicago market for heavy export shee}) the day they were sold. 



Pea-vine silage is an excellent winter feed for breeding ewes. Its 

 laxative qualities keep the bowels in good condition and it produces 

 a large flow of milk. vSome sheep breeders who have had (piite an 

 extensive experience in feeding this silage prefer it to anything else 

 they can get for their breeding ewes. One large breeder in western 

 Now York winters annually from 600 to 700 breeding ewes on pea-vine 

 silage and alfalfa hay, without any grain. His ration is 6^ pounds of 

 silage and 2 pounds of alfalfa hay for each head daily. His ewes 

 come through the winter in fine condition, and their lambs, which 

 come in May, are invariably strong and healthy. He states that he 

 considers this silage superior to all other feed for breeding ewes. 



Pea-vine silage has been very successfully used as an exclusive 

 roughage ration for horses, beef cattle, and sheep. When used in 

 this way, the animals are usually fed all they will eat up clean . Horses 

 and cattle will consume from 40 to 80 pounds a day, wliile sheep will 

 eat from 6 to 12 pounds daily. 



MARKET VALUE OF PEA-VINE SILAGE. 



The selling price of pea-vine silage varies considerably. Some can- 

 ners put it up in stacks and sell it in the winter at $1 a load. Others 

 sell it at from $1.50 to $3 a ton. After farmers, especially those 

 engaged in dairying, have learned the value of tlfis feed the canners, 

 as a rule, can not supply the demand at $3 a ton. 



PEA-VINE HAY. 



The curing of pea vines for hay is a common method of handling 

 them in many sections. This is a popular practice when the farmer 

 is supposed to take home his quota of vines. Farmers living near the 

 factory generally take the freshly thrashed vines home and spread 

 them out to cure on sod land, while those who live some distance away 

 usually spread the vines out to cure on vacant land near the factory. 

 At some factories, if there ha})pens to be a surplus of vines from the 



