272 FORAGE CROPS 



BROAD OR HORSE BEAN 



This plant ( Vicia Faha, or Faba vulgaris) , 

 probably native to northern Africa and sontli- 

 west Asia, is often mentioned in American writ- 

 ings, but it has never made much headway here. 

 It is a stiff, erect-growing plant, wholly unlike 

 the common bean in appearance. It grows two 

 to four feet high. It produces large pods and 

 big usually flat or flatti^h seeds. It is more like 

 the pea than the bean in its relation to climate, 

 as it withstands some frost. It has been cultivated 

 from prehistoric times and its nativity is in 

 doubt. It is much grown in Europe, primarily 

 for forage purposes, although the seed may be 

 used, both full grown and immature, for human 

 food. It demands a cool climate and a long 

 growing season and does not do well under the 

 hot, dry summers of the United States. It is 

 grown successfully in parts of Canada, where it 

 has been used somewhat with corn and sunflower 

 to make silage; this combination is known as the 

 "Robertson mixture." This mixture does not seem 

 to have made much headway. Frequently the 

 plants are grown to full maturity and a meal made 

 from the bean. 



Planting may be made early in spring in 

 clay loams. The seed is sown in rows, twenty to 

 twenty -eight inches apart, so as to allow for 



