FARM ANIMALS 255 



used for this purpose from Canada to the cowpea 

 region and from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. 

 In the San Luis valley, Colorado, a special industry 

 has grown up in the use of pea pasture for lambs 

 and old sheep until at present about three hundred 

 thousand sheep are fattened annually on this, the 

 sheep being allowed to harvest their own food. 

 Sheep are quite successful in collecting shattered 

 peas in the field after the crop has been harvested 

 and peas as a grain are everywhere recognized as 

 an important part of the ration for sheep. The 

 whole material is, therefore, well suited to this pur- 

 pose. In some parts of the western states where 

 peas are needed for seed or may be sold at too high 

 a price for lamb feeding, pea straw is used as a feed 

 for sheep. This also gives good results as shown 

 in numerous experiments by farmers and in tests 

 carried on by experts in animal industry. The 

 great importance of Canada field peas is apparent 

 from the variety of conditions under which it 

 makes a successful crop. Thus, as already stated, 

 it not only grows throughout a wide stretch of 

 latitude, but thrives well at all altitudes from sea 

 level to nearly eight thousand feet. At high alti- 

 tudes in Wyoming it was found that even with a poor 

 crop of peas the total yield was two thousand pounds 

 of which one thousand three hundred pounds 

 was vines and seven hundred and forty pounds 

 grain. It is a frequent mistake among farmers 

 who utilize pea pasture for sheep to allow them to 

 run over the whole pasture from the start. Some 

 of the plants are thus trampled down and soiled and 

 are, therefore, refused by the sheep so that a con- 

 siderable percentage of the crop is wasted. Pea 

 pasture may best be utilized by hurdling the sheep 

 on small areas of the field and moving the fences 



