THE FIELD BEAN 381 



The hay can be fed to stock of all kinds. In the San Luis 

 Valley in Colorado, it is very largely used in the feeding of 

 sheep. Grain and pea hay is excellent for dairy cows and 

 for young, growing stock. Its feeding value depends to some 

 extent on the proportion of peas and of grain, but it is richer 

 than grain hay alone. Pea vines are about equal in feeding 

 value to clover hay. 



511. Other Uses of Field Peas. Peas and oats or peas 

 and barley make excellent pasture for cattle, sheep and hogs, 

 particularly if the stock is not turned in until the plants are 

 nearly mature. Hogs and sheep will make large gains and 

 there will be little waste if the crop is allowed to mature 

 before the stock is pastured on it. This combination crop 

 is sometimes put into the silo, and silage of high feeding value 

 is produced. As a soiling crop, peas and grain have no 

 superior for early feeding in the northern part of the United 

 States. As the plants make a large volume of organic mat- 

 ter rich in nitrogen, they are excellent soil improvers when 

 turned under as green manure. The grain may be fed whole 

 to sheep or hogs or may be ground into meal. For hogs, 

 grinding is advisable. 



THE FIELD BEAN 



512. The white, or navy, varieties of the common garden 

 bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, are grown under field conditions 

 for the production of dried beans in some localities, more 

 particularly in Michigan, New York, and California. It 

 is estimated that the bean crop of 1917 was worth more than 

 $100,000,000. The usual method is to plant in rows from 

 30 to 36 inches apart, after the ground is warm in the spring, 

 and give good cultivation during the growing season. Beans 

 should not be cultivated when the leaves are wet with rain 

 or dew, for they are much more likely to become diseased if 

 disturbed when damp. The rate of seeding depends on the 

 size of the beans, }/2 bushel to the acre being sufficient for 



