FORAGE AND SOILING CROPS 107 



Soy bean liay is nearly as nutritious as that of alfalfa, while 

 the beans are a very concentrated food, usually carrying from 

 twenty-five to thirty per cent of protein and up to twentj^ jDer 

 cent of oil. The oil is self-drying, and can be used in paints. 

 It is also valuable for culinary purposes. 



Cowpeas. — The cowpea plant has much the same appearance 

 as the soy bean and is used in much the same way. The planting 

 and cutting is much alike also. It is not grown as far north 

 because there is no variety that matures quick enough for north- 

 ern conditions. Even in the South the cowpea is being replaced 

 somewhat by the soy bean, for the reason that on the better soils 

 the latter is superior to the former both in yield of beans and 

 forage. On the poorer and on sandy soils, however, the cowpea 

 is the better yielder, and is favored. It is also favored on the 

 smaller farms on account of the ease with which seed may be 

 obtained by picking pods from plants growing in the standing 

 corn. 



Field peas. — The field pea is an annual and differs but little 

 from the garden pea, one difference being that some of the 

 flowers of the former are colored. It is quite commonly used in 

 the North as a quick hay crop, and for the same purpose in that 

 part of the South where the winters are mild enough to grow 

 it as a winter annual. The vines are very weak, making it 

 difficult to cut the hay. Oats are commonly sown with the peas, 

 to helf) hold up the vines. This mixture makes an excellent hay 

 and gives no special difficulties in curing. Two bushels of each 

 are commonly seeded. A yield of two to three tons of hay is 

 often obtained. 



Vetches. — The two varieties of vetches most generally known 

 in the United States are the hairy vetch and the common vetch. 

 The former is best adapted for the North and the latter for the 

 South. The hairy vetch will do Avell on almost any fertile soil, 

 but it has gained the name of sand vetch on account of its ability 

 of doing well on sandy soils. 



AVhen planted alone, the vetches are difficult to cut for hay on 

 account of their tangled vines. They are therefor commonlj^ 

 sown with grain. The hairy vetch, which is also sometimes 

 called the winter vetch, is commonly planted in the early fall 

 with rye or w^heat. In the South, the spring vetch is commonly 

 planted with oats. 



The best time for cutting is when the vetch is in full bloom, 

 Of all the legume hays, the vetch is the highest in protein. On 

 account of the smaller size of the seed, one-half bushel of hairy 



