24 
Coi^ORADo Experiment Station 
pea plants, especially if the growth is rank, often become very 
much tangled and are difficult to cut. This difficulty can be very 
greatly decreased by the use of pea guards on the mowing machine 
sickle bar. These raise the peas up so they are cut off squarely. 
Where stacked it is necessary to rake or at least cock the peas foi* 
curing. 
Harvesting should be done at a time when the greatest quan¬ 
tity of peas may be saved. There are always some pods which 
ripen later than others and cutting should take place at a time when 
the greatest possible number of developed pods may be obtained. 
The peas and grain mature to the proper stage for cutting at prac¬ 
tically the same time. 
When put into the silo peas are allowed to mature to about 
the same stage, cut, raked, and taken immediately to the silo. 
Even then, it is often necessary to run some water in with the peas 
to make them keep successfully. 
WHEAT. 
Wheat as a crop has a place on practically every farm in the 
Valley, as it fits in well with rotation and will make a feed or cash 
crop almost every year. It has been amply shown, however, by 
past experience in the Valley that wheat should not be grown as 
an entire crop. In some sections wheat has done exceedingly well, 
and was planted extensively and often the entire acreage of not 
only one farm, but of hundreds of farms, was planted exclusively 
to it. Naturally under such management the soil productivity de¬ 
clined. Wheat cannot be grown continuously on any soil in any 
climate. Without a rotation of some so-rt disaster will arrive sooner 
or later. However, as a crop occupying part of the farm acreage 
and a place in the rotation, wheat has a great value. 
Winter Wheat .—Winter wheat has not been grown exten¬ 
sively in the Valley. It might be utilized to a greater extent. The 
only varieties worth considering at present are those belonging to 
the Turkey type, Turkey Red and Kharkov being the best. Land 
for winter wheat should preferably be plowed in July or early 
August. Plowing should be deep. Frequently it would be advis¬ 
able to follow the plow with a disk harrow. Seeding should be 
done the last half of August, while successful plantings and suc¬ 
cessful crops are often made with much later seeding; but the prac¬ 
tice is not advisable in the length of season which prevails, as it 
will result in failure many times when earlier planting will be suc¬ 
cessful. 
Seeding should be done with a drill, preferably and on most 
lands with a disk press drill, using sixty pounds of seed per acre. 
