266 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA 



Undoubtedly the greatest number of pounds of 

 mutton could be gotten from an acre of peas by har- 

 vesting them and stacking them as alfalfa is stacked, 

 and feeding them in corrals as alfalfa-fed lambs are 

 fed. It would no doubt pay also to feed some sup- 

 plementary grain in troughs, so as to let the lambs 

 consume nearly all of the pea forage and still have 

 grain enough to make the proportion of concen- 

 trates to roughness a just one. In this manner 

 about twice as many lambs can be fattened from 

 a field of peas as by the simple process of leaving 

 the peas lie where they grow and the lambs to har- 

 vest them at will. 



AMOUNT OF LAMB MUTTON FROM AN ACRE OF PEAS. 



The pea feeding industry is yet in its infancy, and 

 no one knows exactly what can be done with an acre 

 of peas. Undoubtedly the greater number of pea 

 feeders fail to make the most of their opportunities 

 because of poor methods. They let the peas dam- 

 age by lying in the snow, or they overstock and 

 have not enough peas to finish their lambs, or they 

 let the lambs run off in travel and lose flesh that 

 should remain on their ribs. Peas gathered and fed 

 in quiet should give about these results. 



An acre of peas may yield 30 bushels of shelled 

 peas. Probably that is above the average yield, yet 

 it is not unusual for San Luis peas to exceed that. 

 A bushel of peas weighs 64 pounds. 



An acre of peas in the San Luis Valley may yield 

 1,800 pounds of shelled peas. This is doubtless 



