GROWING GRAIN CROPS IN DRY AREAS 263 



sandy loams ; that is, sandy soils with enough of the clay 

 element in them to make them retentive of moisture are 

 specially well adapted to the growth of this crop. They 

 will fail on loose and coarse sands and gravels under dry 

 conditions. 



Place in the rotation. Where the rainfall is less than 

 15 inches, peas will give the best returns by far from 

 summer-fallowed land that has grown a cultivated crop. 

 But where the rainfall approaches 18 to 20 inches, peas 

 may be made to follow a grain crop" of the previous year, 

 regardless of the character" of the same. They grow well 

 on sod that has a fair amount of moisture in it, whether 

 of new or older breaking, but the best returns will come 

 when the sod has been prepared on the summer-fallow 

 plan. Usually this crop may be followed by small grain, 

 whether grown in the usual way or as a cultivated crop, 

 but when grown by the latter method the results will be 

 much more satisfactory from the grain crop. Peas, from 

 their recumbent habit of growth in the later stages 

 thereof, act somewhat as a mulch and thus far they pre- 

 vent the escape of soil moisture. 



Preparing the soil. When grown on fallow land, 

 the preparation of the soil is the same as for wheat (see 

 p. 218). When grown after small grain, the aim should 

 be to prepare the land by plowing and harrowing or by 

 discing. The plowing and harrowing should be done 

 in the autumn, but to this method there may be the ex- 

 ception of first sowing the peas and then burying them 

 with the plow, a method that is sometimes followed when 

 the rainfall is reasonably copious. 



Sowing. The varieties to sow will depend some- 

 what on the object for which the crop is grown. When 

 grown for the grain, what is designated as the Canada 

 field pea of one of the small varieties is usually sown. 

 This may mean that the variety may be the Mummy, the 

 Golden Vine, the Prussian Blue, or some other of the 



