282 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



Table III.-^Digestible nutrients in loo pounds of air-dry 



substance. 



Carbo- 

 Feed Protein hydrates Fat 



Pounds Pounds Pounds 



Clover hay • 6.8 35.8 1.7 



Timothy hay 2.8 43.4 1.4 



Pea straw 4.3 32.3 .8 



Oat straw 1.2 38.6 .8 



Barle}^ straw 7 41.2 .6 



Corn stover 1.7 32.4 .7 



Field Peas as Silage. 



It is not economical to put the field pea in the silo alone, on 

 account of its high protein content. It makes a better balanced 

 ration and keeps better when combined with some small grain, 

 which should be mixed with the peas in sowing if the crop is in- 

 tended especially for ensilage. The chief source of pea ensilage 

 is the refuse of pea canneries. This material is not often placed 

 in a regular silo, but is stacked up green as it comes from the 

 c!annery and allowed to ferment in the stacks. This means, of 

 course, considerable waste on the surfaces of the stacks, which, 

 coming in contact with the air, always spoils, but 12 or 18 inches 

 under the surface the material will be found packed down closely 

 and in good condition if the stack has been well built. Fdeding 

 tests made with pea silage preserved in this way indicate a very 

 high value, especially for dairy cows. It is estimated that about 

 61 per cent of the total of refuse vines from pea canneries is now 

 made into silage, 21 per cent into hay, 12 per cent is used as 

 green feed, and the other 6 per cent is either used as fertilizer or 

 thrown away. 



iField Peas as a CJreen Manure and Cover Crop. 



The field pea is well suited for use as a green-manure crop 

 in orchards and is used quite extensively for this purpose in the 

 citrus orchards of California. No other crop except vetch is so 

 well adapted for this use in the southern part of that State. The 



