PEAS AS FORAGE AND SOILING CROPS 55 



swine. About two bushels seed to the acre should 

 be used. When peas and oats are pastured by 

 sheep they may be turned in to graze them down 

 when six to ten inches high. Do not allow sheep to 

 pasture on them when the vines are wet. This 

 mixture constitutes an excellent pasture for both 

 sheep and lambs. The peas may be pastured by 

 swine, either before or after maturity. When 

 pasturing before peas are ripe, it is customary to 

 begin when seeds are about ready to cook. Swine 

 should not be turned into a field of peas, green or 

 ripe, and left there for a long period at the start. 

 The green peas may derange the digestive organs, 

 and ripe peas are apt to swell in the stomach and 

 cause death through undue distention. Later, 

 when swine are accustomed to the feed, they may 

 forage upon the crop at will. When pasturing swine 

 on ripe peas, allow them an area only large enough 

 to accommodate them for a short period. If allowed 

 to roam about the entire field there is apt to be 

 much loss, especially if there be rainy weather. 



Fertilizers. As explained in earlier chapters, 

 peas belong to the legume family, and gather much 

 nitrogen from the atmosphere. Therefore, whether 

 grown alone or with other crops for forage or soil- 

 ing purposes, the land is benefited. Peas are an 

 excellent crop to sow for green manure. If sown as 

 late as July 15, in northern latitudes, a large amount 

 of green manure will be secured before frost comes. 

 This crop of vines turned under contributes mate- 

 rially to soil improvement. Shutt 1 reports the value 

 of peas as a substitute for clover for soil improve- 



1 Can. Exper. Sta. Rpt of 1906, pp. 155-158. 



