158 Feeds and Feeding. 



The field pea is particularly rich in crude protein, a part of which 

 is of the same chemical composition as the casein of milk. It also 

 has a high phosphorus and potash content. Combined with corn, 

 peas may form as much as one-half the concentrates for dairy cows. 

 They are eminently suitable for sheep and lamb feeding, and their 

 culture forms the basis for an important sheep-feeding industry in 

 Colorado. (750, 805) With ground corn or wheat bran, peas form 

 an excellent ration for brood sows and growing swine, proving 

 especially useful for building the framework and preparing them for 

 fattening. (115, 866) 



206. Cowpea, Vigna Catjang. — The cowpea, a bean-like plant from 

 India and China, now holds an important place in southern agricul- 

 ture because of the large amount of forage and grain it yields. The 

 early varieties grow fairly well as far north as New Jersey and 

 Illinois. The seed pods of the cowpea ripen unevenly, necessita- 

 ting hand gathering. For this reason the crop is mostly used for 

 hay, silage, and grazing. Duggar of the Alabama Station^ fed 

 cowpeas to fattening pigs with excellent returns, finding more lean 

 meat in their bodies than in those of pigs fed corn meal. (869) 

 Lloyd of the Mississippi Station- grazed pigs on ripe cowpeas w^ith 

 no additional feed. Thin hill land gave 350 lbs. and better land 

 483 lbs. of gain, live weight, for each acre grazed. (897) 



207. The common field bean, Phaseolus vidgaris. — Many vari- 

 eties of the common field bean are grown in this country for human 

 food. Beans damaged by wet are used for animal feeding. Shaw 

 and Anderson of the Michigan Station^ estimate the cull beans of 

 Michigan at about 100,000 bushels annually. Cull beans are fed 

 whole in large quantities to sheep, producing a solid flesh of good 

 quality. For swine, beans should be cooked in salted water and fed 

 in combination with corn, barley, etc., as when fed alone they pro- 

 duce soft pork and lard with a low melting point. (867) 



208. Horse bean, Vicia Faba. — The horse bean is used in England 

 for feeding stock, especially horses. This legume grows fairly well 

 in some parts of Canada, but has never proved a success in the 

 United States. 



> Bui. 82. - Ept. IciOo. ^ Bui. 243. 



