54 MISCELLANEOUS FARM SUBJECTS 



In settled weather a good practice is to spread the vines out and 

 let them lie in the sun for a day; then put them up in cocks and 

 let them remain for three or four days. The cocks should be opened 

 and the vines spread out on a bright day so as to dry out the hay 

 in the bottcwn, which sometimes absorbs considerable moisture, 

 and then hauled to the barn. Some make a practice of sprinkling 

 5 or 6 pounds of salt over each load as it is placed in the barn, be- 

 lieving that this increases the palatability of the hay. 



Pea Vines As a Soiling Crop. As a green feed or soiling crop 

 the refuse pea vines are probably the equal of any crop grown. 

 Dairymen universally agree that feeding the green vines increases 

 the flow of milk. The use of vines as a soiling crop, however, is 

 confined to a comparatively limited area in the immediate vicinity 

 of a cannery or viner. 



Pea Vines As a Fertilizer. Pea vines have considerable value 

 when used as a fertilizer, especially on soils that are deficient in 

 humus. They are rich in that all-important element of plant food, 

 nitrogen. The following analysis was made by Prof. George W. 

 Cavanaugh, of Cornell University: 



Moisture 72.800 per cent. 



Nitrogen 0.585 per cent, or 11.7 pounds a ton. 



Phosphoric acid. . 0.111 per cent, or 2.22 pounds a ton. 



Potash 0.432 per cent, or 8.64 pounds a ton. 



(Bu. Pit. Ind. B. 45.) 



Bean vines and pods make an excellent food for sheep, and are 

 very valuable as a fertilizer, as they supply nitrogen to the soil. 

 Many cultivators pick and shell the beans by hand, leaving the 

 vines to be plowed under. Where the bean harvester is used the 

 beans are usually taken to the barn to be threshed. 



CONCRETE ON THE FARM. 



With the rapid decrease of the timber supply and the resulting 

 increase in the price of lumber there has come a necessary demand 

 for a new building material. Nowhere has this demand been felt 

 more keenly than on the American farm, wiiere lumber has till 

 now been practically the only building material. On account, 

 however, of the farmer's nearness to the timber itself, he has been 

 the last to feel the full effect of the shortage. 



A building material has been discovered in concrete that in 

 many instances has proved to be far superior to lumber, brick, or 

 building stones on account of its durability, economy, and safety 

 from fire loss. Moreover, it can very often be used at the most 

 convenient time by the farmer himself with a little assistance. 

 (F. B. 461.) 



The uses of concrete are multifarious. It is used on the farm 

 for cellars, basements, stable floors, walks, driveways, steps and 

 fence posts. 



Selection of Materials. Frequently cement users have made 

 costly mistakes by not informing themselves properly, before start- 

 ing their work, concerning the correct methods of making good 

 concrete. For this purpose the following materials are necessary: 



