The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1918-05-14

prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture-i
The proper time to cut field peas for
hay is when most of the pods are well
formed, since considerable of the nu
TRENT value of the plant is contained
int seed. When seeded in mixtures
with grain, the time of cutting may be
governed to some extent by the ma
turity of the grain. but the varieties
Of peas and grain used in the mixture
should be chosen that the crop can be
harvested at the most favorable pc
Rod of maturity for both. Formerly,
a crop of field peas was considered
very difficult to harvest, and much Of
the harvesting was done with a scythe
or an old-fashioned cradle. This was
thought necessary, first, because the
vines are often tangled and, second.
because of the loss from SCATTERING
where mower and rake are used. There
is now available, however, an attach
ment 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
underneath without becoming entang-
led In the vines themselves. There is
also windrow attachment which eff
fectually removes the peas from the
swath and leaves them in a windrow
behind the mower. Where such an at
tachment is not used it is necessary
to have a man with 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. The peas can be left in the
windrow or punched with a rake and
left until dry and ready to stack.
When stacked in the open it is neces-
sary to protect the stacks by means
of canvas covers or with a layer of
green grass placed over the top.
The field pea should be cut for seed
when the pods are fully mature and the
peas have become firm. 1t Is not we'll
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.
If the peas are rained on during the
period while they are curing In the
windrow or in punches, they should be
turned 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 he left on the ground. Whenever
possible, the peas which are intended
for threshing should be stacked under
shed, but If necessary to build the
rick outside, 1t must be protected as
noted for hay.
The threshing of the field pea is usu.
ally done with an ordinary grain sep
orator fitted up especially for the pea
b. the substitution of blank concave
teeth below the cylinder. Usually -four
concave teeth are sufficient to retard
the passage Of the vines long enough
so that the cylinder will break up the
pods and release the seeds. BY thus
limiting the number of concave teeth
and reducing the speed of the cylinder
about one-half it is possible to thresh
the field pea without cracking any con.
siderable percentage of the seeds.
Pasturing Field Peas.
1t is a common practice In some To-
calities to harvest the crop by pas
turing with hogs or sheep. Many
farmers, however, are disseminating
the practice of pasturing their field
peas on account Of waste and are har-
vesting all or part OF their crop and
feeding 1t in a feed lot. A comblna-
ton of pasture and dry feed has been
found best. The animals after a pc.
Rod of pasturing make better gains on
dry feed than where given dry feed
during the entire feeding period. AL.
faIfa or sweet-clover pasture used in
connection with field peas noticeably
increases the rapidity of gain.
The field pea is often sown In mix
lures with small grains, primarily to
hold the vines off the ground and thus
make the harvesting Of the crop easy
Oats are more often used for this pun
pose than the other grains, although
barley is used to some extent and
wheat 10 a few cases. The yield Ia
nearly always larger when oats are
used than with either barley or wheat
Mixtures are recommended In all cases