CHAPTER IX. 

 WESTERN LAMB FEEDING. 



PEA FEEDING IN COLORADO. 



In the San Luis valley of Colorado a very curious 

 method of fattening lambs has within recent years 

 grown to large proportions. This valley lies very 

 high, so high indeed that alfalfa does not thrive as 

 it does elsewhere in the irrigated valleys of the 

 West. But Nature evens up things and here is 

 found the natural home of the field, or Canadian, 

 pea. The soil and climate seem admirably suited to 

 the growth of peas. Indeed it is said that nowhere 

 else in the world do peas thrive so well. The soil is 

 somewhat alkaline; full, too, of mineral riches, and 

 the abundant irrigation and cool mountain air as- 

 sure a good growth and a very heavy fruiting. The 

 methods of culture are easy and simple : after being 

 drilled into the soil and irrigated (sometimes with 

 cultivation and sometimes without) they soon cover 

 the ground and need no more attention. The cli- 

 mate is so dry that the crop may stand sometimes 

 without waste until it is consumed. The harvesting 

 is simple in the extreme. Lambs are bought and 

 turned in, where they remain until the crop is har- 

 vested and the lambs are fat. There is no need of 



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