432 PEAS, BEANS, VETCHES, PEANUTS 



of field peas alone is generally not more than half as much as when 

 sown with a cereal. It is generally agreed that oats are the best cereal 

 with which to sow field peas (Fig. 184). Usually equal quantities 

 by measure of oats and peas are sown, the total amount of the 

 mixture varying from three to four bushels per acre. 



The yield of cured forage, when sown alone, is usually about one 

 to one and one-half tons per acre, but when mixed with oats, two to 

 three tons per acre are expected. Other grains, such as barley and 

 spring wheat, are sometimes used, but do not make so satisfactory a 

 forage as the oats. Seed yields of field peas usually vary from twenty 

 to forty bushels per acre, with maximum yields of about eighty 

 bushels. 



Utilization. A mixture of field peas and oats is considered the 

 best temporary forage crop for all the northern States and southern 

 Canada. The forage is easily cured, and an excellent feed. The 

 crop is sometimes put in the silo, but does not make as good a grade 

 of silage as corn, as it is likely to be somewhat more acid. In the 

 mountain valleys of Colorado, peas are used extensively as pasture 

 to fatten sheep or hogs. The peas are sown and allowed to mature 

 before the live stock is turned in. In Canada, oats and peas are 

 very often threshed together, and the mixture makes an excellent 

 grain for stock. 



Pea Weevil. The only serious enemy of the field pea crop is a 

 small beetle known as the pea weevil. The eggs of this weevil are 

 usually laid on the pods, where they hatch and the larva finds its way 

 into the young peas. The larvae grow to maturity in the pea and 

 remain there until they emerge into full-grown insects. Only one 

 brood is produced each year, and they do not attack mature peas. 

 The beetles can be destroyed by storing the seed in tight sacks until 

 they have all emerged and are starved to death. This usually means, 

 however, holding the seed over an extra season. It is probably better 

 to destroy the beetles by placing the seed in tight receptacles and 

 treating with carbon bisulfide. When pea weevils become very 

 Injurious, it sometimes becomes necessary to discontinue the culture 

 of peas for two or three years until the beetles have disappeared. 



