FORTY-FIRST ANNUAL CONVENTION 277 



are merely windrowed, and prevents to a large degree the shat- 

 tering which would accompany any use of a hayrake. Iir a great 

 many cases the field, pea is thrashed directly from the bunch or 

 windrow, as it is very difficult to construct a stack so that it will 

 shed water. If the peas are rained on during the period v^hile 

 they are curing in the windrow or in bunches, they should be turn 

 ed over as soon as the top of the bunch is dry. If this is not done 

 the peas underneath will swell and burst the pods, so that when 

 they become dry a great percentage will shell out and be left on 

 the ground. Whenever possible, the peas which are intended for 

 thrashing should be stacked under a shed, but if necessary to 

 build the rick outside, it must be protected as noted for hay. 



Thrashing. 



The thrashing of the field pea is usually done with an or- 

 dinary grain separator fitted up especially for the pea by the sub- 

 stitution of blank concaves, leaving only one row of concave 

 teeth below the cylinder. Usually four concave teeth are sufficient 

 to retard the passage of the vines long enough so that the cyl- 

 inder will break up the pods and release the seeds. By thus limit- 

 ing the number of concave teeth and greatly reducing the speed 

 of the cylinder it is possible to thrash the field pea without crack- 

 ing any considerable percentage of the seed. In regions where 

 the field pea is very largely grown the thrashing machine is com- 

 monly equipped with an adjustable pulley wheel made of wood, 

 which can be bolted to the regular cylinder pulley, thus making 

 this pulley large enough to decrease the speed of the cylinder to 

 the required number of revolutions. Where the peas are intend- 

 ed wholly for feeding purposes such precautions are not neces- 

 sary, since cracked seed is then not objectionable. Where the 

 peas are to be sold for seed purposes, however, great care should 

 be used in thrashing, and the peas should be run through a fan- 

 ning mill after coming from the machine, in order to remove the 

 remainder of the cracked seed. A small pea huller is well adapt- 

 ed to the uses of a farmer who is growing only a small acreage 

 and expects to sell his thrashed peas to a seed dealer. Where 

 the returns from his pea crop do not warrant the purchase of a 



