182 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



moderate, as in Canada, the northern states, and in some of the Rocky 

 Mountain valleys. They do not usually yield over 15 to 20 bushels of 

 60 Ibs. per acre and are raised more largely for seed, for human con- 

 sumption, or for forage (See Chapter XIV) than as a grain for feeding 

 live stock, due to the fact that the seed is usually worth more for these 

 purposes. Field peas contain twice as much protein as the cereals and 

 are relished by dairy cattle and horses. They are often used for sheep 

 and swine. (856, 975) 



262. Cowpea, Vigna catjang. The cowpea, a bean-like plant from 

 India and China, now holds an important place in southern agriculture 

 because of its large yield of forage. The early varieties grow well as 

 far north as New Jersey and Illinois. The seed pods of the cowpea 

 ripen unevenly, and therefore when the crop is grown for seed it is 

 necessary to pick the pods by hand as they ripen, or else the crop is cut 

 when about three-fourths of the pods are ripe, and before the first pods 

 are shattered or damaged. For this reason the crop is mostly used for 

 hay, silage, and grazing. (357) In composition the cowpea seed is 

 similar to the field pea, with only about 4 per ct. fiber. Successful trials 

 are reported in which cowpeas formed a part of the ration for horses, 

 fattening steers, and pigs. (755, 978) 



263. The common field bean, Phaseolus vulgaris. Many varieties of the 

 common field bean are grown in this country for human food. Beans 

 damaged by wet are used for animal feeding. Shaw and Anderson of the 

 Michigan Station 31 estimate the cull beans of Michigan at about 100,000 

 bushels annually. Cull beans are often fed to sheep, producing a solid 

 flesh of good quality, and are also used for swine when cooked. (976) 



264. Miscellaneous legumes. The horse bean is used in England for 

 feeding stock, especially horses. This legume grows fairly well in some 

 parts of Canada, but has never proved a success in the United States, 

 except in the central coast district of California. (490) 



Velvet beans, Stizolobium spp., as shown later (361) are now one of 

 the important crops of the South. Commonly they are grown with corn 

 to support the vines, and most of the ears of corn and the best of the 

 beans are gathered by hand; stock being then turned in to graze the 

 fields. The dry beans in the pods may be fed to stock without grinding, 

 but it is best to soak them or to grind the beans and pods to form what 

 should be termed velvet bean feed, tho often called velvet bean meal. 

 Velvet beans are an economical feed for dairy cows and fattening cattle, 

 but the dry beans are not satisfactory for swine. (604, 760, 991) 



Carob beans, or St. John's bread, Ceratonia siliqua, are produced by 

 a legume tree grown chiefly in Mediterranean districts. The seeds are 

 imbedded in a thick fleshy pod which forms about 89 per ct. of the 

 fruit and which is rich in sugars. 32 The ground pods and seeds form 

 carob bean meal, which is used chiefly in certain mixed feeds. 



Mich. Bui. 243. 32 Cal. Bui. 309. 



