PASTURE AND GRAIN CROPS FOR HOGS. 



25 



Gleaning stubble fields. — If the farm is fenced hog tight, the hogs 

 have the run of the stubble field from the time the grain is harvested 

 until the land is plowed the following spring. The volunteer grain 

 makes the earliest green feed in the spring. 



GRAIN CROPS TO HOG OFF. 



Table VIII. — Crops to hog off in the arid and setniarid districts. 



Crops. 



When planted. 



Approximate dates when used. 



Beardless barley. 

 Winter wheat..'. 



Early spring . 

 October 



Spring wheat. 



Field peas ^ 



Blue barley or the common beard- 

 less barley. 



Early spring, February and 

 March. 



....do 



do 



June 20 until autumn rains begin. 



July 1 to opening of stubble field or 

 until autumn rains begin. 



July 15 to opening of stubble field or 

 until autumn rains begin. 



July 20 until autumn rains begin. 



From beginning of autumn rains to 

 late winter — October 15 to Feb- 

 ruary 10. 



1 The altitude of the arid and semiarid districts varies from 1,000 to 3,000 feet. For this reason the dates 

 at which the crops in the above table mature will vary considerably. The dates given for the use of these 

 crops, therefore, are only approximations. 



Whether or not wheat and peas shall be used from the time they 

 are available in the early summer until the autumn rains have 

 softened the barley sufficiently to be hogged down will depend upon the 

 number of hogs kept on the farm. Where only enough hogs are kept 

 to glean the stubble field, peas and wheat are used only until the 

 grain is thrashed and the stubble field is open. Where more than 

 enough hogs are kept to clean up the stubble field, wheat and peas 

 can be profitably hogged off until the barley is in condition to use. 



Somewhat limited observations indicate that field peas in the dry 

 parts of the wheat belt seldom have nodules on their roots. The 

 yield also is usually light. The lack of nodules, the light yields, and 

 the high price of seed make the production of peas questionable. 

 It is probable that they may be grown profitably in rows as a culti- 

 vated crop. At the experimental farm at Moro, Oreg., peas are planted 

 in double rows 7 inches apart with 35-inch spaces between the double 

 rows. The peas are planted in this way with a grain drill by stop- 

 ping up a part of the feed cups. The peas support each other and 

 stand up better when planted in this way. They are cultivated with 

 a spike-tooth harrow until about 4 or 5 inches high. They then 

 receive shallow cultivation between the rows until the vines lop over. 



WINTER FEEDS. 



The feeds that may be used economically to carry hogs through the 

 winter are standing barley and headed wheat. Field peas may also 

 be stacked and fed without thrashing. 



CROPS FOR THE IRRIGATED VALLEYS. 



Much of the irrigated land along the Columbia River, on the one 

 extreme, is less than 400 feet above the level of the sea. Some of the 

 irrigated mountain valleys, on the other hand, have an elevation of 



