GROWING GRAIN CROPS IN DRY AREAS 267 



The field crop is threshed by the ordinary grain 

 thresher, but in order to prevent breaking the peas the 

 concaves are removed and replaced with others made of 

 strong wood, as oak, and which are furnished with only 

 a few teeth. Careful attention must also be given to 

 the regulation of the speed in threshing. In this way 

 the breaking of the peas may be reduced to a minimum. 



In some instances field peas are harvested by the 

 use of the old-fashioned revolving horse rake. The ob- 

 jection to this mode of harvesting is, first, the extent 

 to which the straw becomes impregnated with dust, thus 

 lessening its feeding value, and, second, the extent to 

 which the peas are shelled in the process of harvesting 

 They may also be harvested by the use of the ordinary 

 horse rake, but the loss from shelling when thus har- 

 vested is also very considerable. On small areas a farmer 

 may cut them or pull them, as the phrase is ordinarily 

 termed, with the scythe, and may use the old-fashioned 

 flail in threshing them. In this way the farmer may 

 grow his own seed more cheaply than he can buy it. 

 The average yield is about 20 bushels per acre. Maxi- 

 mum yields are, say, 45 bushels. 



Field peas may also be harvested by sheep and swine 

 in the semi-arid country. This is made easily practicable 

 by the dry weather at the harvest season. When the ma- 

 tured crop is thus grazed off by sheep or lambs, it is 

 usual to sow some oats with the peas. This aids in sus- 

 taining them, and in consequence the waste is less than 

 it would otherwise be. This method of harvesting the 

 crop is ^regularly practised in the San Luis valley of 

 Colorado, and it is capable of being extended to many 

 mountain valleys in the semi-arid country. One acre 

 of peas thus grown has been found capable of sustaining 

 say, 10 lambs while being fattened. The sheep and lambs 

 are turned in on the crop a soon as it has reached early 

 maturity. The plan which divides the area by the use 



