GROWING GRAIN CROPS IN DRY AREAS 265 



has yet to be proved. When sown broadcast, and plowed 

 tinder, the seed should be harrowed before the land is 

 plowed, lest the peas should lodge in rows correspond ir.t\ 

 to the width of the plow furrows when this work is 

 done. They may also- be buried, lightly with a drill be- 

 fore the land is thus plowed. 



The depth to which the seed will be sown depends 

 on the soil and the method of sowing. The aim should 

 be to plant the peas deeply, as deeply, as a rule, as 3 to 5 

 inches, not only to enable the crop the better to with- 

 stand drought, but also to make practicable the careful 

 and thorough harrowing of the ground before the crop 

 is up. When it is to be irrigated, planting thus deeply 

 is not a necessity. 



The amount of seed to sow will depend : first, on 

 the normal amount of rainfall ; second, on the x kind of 

 the peas ; third, on the method of sowing, and, fourth, on 

 the object for which the crop is grown. Where the 

 normal rainfall is about 15 inches, about 5 pecks per 

 acre of the small varieties will suffice for sowing the 

 crop in the usual way. When sown in rows for being 

 cultivated, from, say, 1-3 to 1-2 the usual amount should 

 prove ample. When small dwarf varieties are sown, as 

 much as 1 to 2 bushels are sometimes sown in drills 

 that are to be cultivated, but the latter amount would 

 seem to be excessive for such sowing. From 25 to 50 

 per cent, more seed is usually called for when very large 

 peas are sown as compared with those of ordinary* size. 

 When the crop is grown for burial, more seed may be 

 used than if grown for the grain, especially when the 

 crop is to be irrigated. 



Care of the crop. The aim should be to thoroughly 

 harrow the ground while the peas are yet from 1 to 2 

 inches short of the surface. This, in ground possessed of 

 numerous weed seeds, is important, as subsequent to 

 the appearance of the plant above ground, if the crop 



