446 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



New varieties that have succeeded well in the western 

 United States are Concordia from Sweden, with large, 

 round, yellow seeds; Amraoti from India, with small, 

 smooth, pale yellow seeds; Bangalia from India, with 

 dull green, somewhat shrunken seeds ; and Kaiser from 

 Germany, with grayish seeds speckled with blue. The 

 last named is very reliable and will withstand heat and 

 humidity combined better than any other variety known. 



535. Seeding. Peas should be sown in temperate 

 regions as early in the spring as danger from heavy frosts 

 is over, and in tropical or subtropical regions as soon as 

 the cool season begins, or at least in time to mature before 

 very hot weather. In the Southern States it is sometimes 

 possible to sow in fall and make a hay crop before winter. 

 In the North fall preparation of the soil is desirable so 

 that the peas may be sown in early spring. Where early 

 and late seedings have been compared, the yield is usually 

 highest from the early plantings and falls off quite rapidly 

 in the later plantings. 



The rate of seeding an acre varies from 1^ bushels 

 for varieties with small seeds to 3 bushels for those with 

 very large seeds. 



The seed may be sown broadcast or drilled. The latter 

 method is preferable on account of the more even germina- 

 tion. When broadcasted by hand, they may be plowed 

 under lightly, or, if sown on freshly plowed soil, covered 

 with a disk or drag harrow. In Ontario experiments ex- 

 tending over a period of more than 4 years, the yield of 

 peas was slightly larger when the seed was drilled than 

 when broadcasted, but in no case was the difference as 

 great as 10 per cent. 



The seed should be covered to a depth of 1J to 3 inches, 

 depending on the nature of the soil. At the Michigan 



