276 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



vested at the most favorable period of maturity for both. 

 Formerly, a crop of field peas was considered very difficult l.o 

 harvest, and much of the harvesting was done with a scythe or 

 an old-fashioned cradle. This was thought necessary, first, be- 

 cause the vines are often tangled and, second, because of the loss 

 from shattering where a mower and rake are used. There is 

 now available, however, an attachment for the ordinary mower 

 which consists of guards that extend in front of the cutter bar, 

 lifting the vines off the ground, so that the mower can pass un- 

 derneath without becoming entangled in the vines themselves. 

 The cost of this attachment is usually from $12 to $15. There 

 is also a windrow attachment which effectually removes the peas 

 from the swath and leaves them in a windrow behind the mower. 

 Where such an attachment is not used it is necessary to have a 

 man with a fork follow the mower and move the vines to one 

 side, so that the team and mower will not pass over the peas in 

 the following round. A mower fitted with the above attachments 

 works well in fields that are smooth and free from stones. The 

 peas can be left in the windrow or bunched with a rake and left 

 until dry and ready to stack. When stacked in the open it is nec- 

 essary to protect the stacks by means of canvas covers or with a 

 layer of green grass placed over the top. 



Harvesting for Seed. 



The field pea should be cut for seed when the pods are fully 

 mature and the peas have become firm. It is not well, however, 

 to wait until the vine and pods are both dry, since if that is done 

 the loss from shattering is sure to be large. Peas are most com- 

 monly cut for seed with an ordinary mower equipped with a 

 bunching attachment, but the windrow attachment previously 

 described may also be used with good results. When the bunch- 

 ing attachment is used, a man with a pitchfork follows the mow- 

 er and moves the bunches out of the path of the horses on the 

 succeeding round. This method leaves the peas in better condi- 

 tion to haul to the thrashing machine or stack than where they 



