1294 FORAGE CROPS, MEADOWS AXD PASTURES 



Union, and, further south, in the high regions of the Rocky Mountains. It 

 deserves to be more extensively grown in the Southern States of the Union. 



To enable the forage green pea to thrive, there must be a temperate 

 season coinciding with its period of growth. Great heat is much more in- 

 jurious than frost, which is onh' disastrous if the plant has begun to form 

 its pods. The best crops are obtained on clayey-sandy soils. The best 

 varieties are : among the early ones, " French June "; among the mid-season 

 ones, " Golden Vine " ; and among the late varieties, " Canadian Beauty " 

 and " Blue Prussian ". Among new varieties, " Carleton " and " BangaHa " 

 are preferred in the North- West States of the Union. In the North- 

 ern States, sowing must be carried out in spring as earty as possible, that is, 

 as soon as the soil can be worked. In the Southern States, sowing must take 

 place in the autumn or at the end of winter. In wet parts, from 89 to 210 lb. 

 of seed per acre is required, and in dry regions 60 to 180 lb per acre suffice. 

 .Sowing in rows is preferable. For hay production, it is desirable not to mow 

 until the pod is well formed. For seed production, cropping must be de- 

 layed until the latest pods have begun to turn yellovv. Mowing and hay- 

 making may be carried out by ordinary machines with special devices 

 fitted on them (described and explained by the writer) to prevent the teeth 

 of the mower getting choked up, to lift the stalks and enable the cutting- 

 bar to pass beneath, for binding, etc. Threshing may be carried out by 

 means of an ordinary grain separator from which the majority of the concave 

 teeth have been removed. The speed of the drum is thus reduced. 



In San Luis Valley (Colorado) it has been found that the green pea 

 forms good pasture for pigs and sheep. This forage plant deserves to be tried 

 in other districts where grown, particularly those lying near mountain 

 ranges. 



When the green pea is grown for forage it is best mixed with oats 

 or rye. 



The green pea seed has been successfully used as a concentrate in ra- 

 tions for the production of meat or milk in cattle, sheep, pigs and dairy cows. 

 The waste from green pea canning factories is sometimes put into silos and 

 good results obtained, particularly with dairy cows. 



In the citrus plantations of Southern California, the green pea has fur- 

 nished a good green manure. 



983 - CytiSUS as Forage (i). — Perez Georges v., in BuUdin dc la SocieteNatioiwlc d'AccU- 

 maiation dc France, 63rd Year, No. 6, pp. 217-220. Paris, June 1916. 



The farmers of the island of Palma in the Canaries, use certain species 

 of Cytisus as forage, namely " Tagasaste " (Cyfisus proliferus, var. palmensis 

 Christ), " Gacia " {Cytisus maderensis Masf. = Teline stenopetala Webb 

 and Berthelot) and also " Herdanera " or " Gacia blanca " {Cytisus pallidus 

 Sprague = Genista splendens W. and B.). 



The writer protests against those prejudices which maintain that nei- 

 ther horses nor cattle will touch these plants, that the seeds of the latter 

 will not grow, and that all forms of Cytisus are poisonous like laburnum. 



(i) See B. June 1916, No. 640. (Ed.) 



