FIELD CROPS 281 



not do well in California; it is affected by the hot, dry winds. 

 When sown, the root bacteria peculiar to it have to be put 

 into the land. 



A large number of lupins grow wild in California and in 

 the Great Basin states, but the bitter taste of both herbage 

 and seeds prevents their being eaten readily by either man 

 or beast. Their best use is for greenmanuring. 



The peanut, or gouber pea, is grown in sandy soils in the 

 Great Valley of California, as it is all over the warm portions 

 of the earth. It is curious for bearing pretty yellow flowers 

 that bear no seed, while buds from the lower side of the 

 stems, which have never opened to bloom, force themselves 

 into the ground (which therefore must be soft or sandy) and 

 there grow into the well-known "nuts." These contain 

 much oil, which is pressed out and used for burning and 

 eating. As the flower shows, the peanut is a true bean or 

 pea. 



FORAGE CR< 



The grasses have always been the chief among the 

 forage crops, because they form most of the natural 

 pastures all over the world, and yield the bulk of the 

 hay. Next in importance to them are the legumes, in 

 this connection particularly the clovers, which include 

 alfalfa. A very important thing in growing legumes 

 is the fact that they enrich the soil in nitrogen (see 

 page 141), while grasses take nitrogen out of the soil. 

 For this reason legumes should always be used for 

 greenmanuring, or plowing in of green crops (page 128) 

 to enrich the land, to which grasses and grains only 



