Uses.
The broad bean has a diversity of uses,—the grain as food for man and stock, the fodder for silage and soiling, and the plant as a cover-crop and soil-renovator ; and "coffee" may be made from the beans. The plant has been largely tested at some of the Canadian experimental farms, and is frequently mentioned in the reports of these exper imental farms. In the report for 1904 (pp. 125, 126) is the following discussion of its use as a cover-crop : "In the report for 1903, experiments on the use of the English horse bean and hairy vetch were described. It was shown that horse beans and hairy vetch sown in rows twenty-eight inches apart had given very satisfactory results. These were sown in this way because it is sometimes difficult to get a good 'stand' for a cover-crop in the autumn, by sowing about the middle of July and later, owing to the dry weather which often occurs after seed ing, delaying the germination of the seed ; and in the North it is very desirable to have the cover crop tall, so that it will hold the snow. By sowing the seed in rows, it can be sown comparatively early, and the soil cultivated between the rows when the plants come up, thus conserving moisture and making sure of a good cover-crop. Cultivation may be discontinued about the middle of July or a little later. The horse beans sown on June 18, 1903, were three feet six inches to four feet in height on September 21, and it was estimated that the green crop per acre was 7 tons 733 pounds above ground and 2 tons 852 pounds of roots, or a total of 9 tons 1,585 pounds per acre, containing, according to the figures given by Mr. Frank T. Shutt, Chemist of the Experimental Farms, in his report for 1903, 78 pounds of nitrogen as compared with 130 pounds from mammoth red clover, and 147 pounds from hairy vetch. These beans stood up well all winter, holding the snow admirably, and by spring were still two to two and one-half feet in height. A land roller was put on as soon as the soil was in condition to work, and the beans were rolled down. The disk-harrow was then used and it was found that they broke up readily ; they were then cultivated in with a spring-tooth cultivator. Owing to the coarse nature of the stems, they were noticed in the soil longer than clover or vetch, but in a comparatively short time they decayed and gave practically no trouble. Horse beans were
again sown in drills, this year on June 16, and were three feet five inches in height when frozen. The advantage of horse beans is that they winter kill and are easily worked under in the spring, while hairy vetch and clover are more difficult to deal with, and if left until late in the spring will take considerable moisture from the soil. The dis advantage of the horse bean is that there is no mat of vegetation close to the soil, and if there should be a winter without snow, it might not prove so effective as red clover or hairy vetch. In order to ensure a mat of vegetation which would cover the ground in winter, and which would be dead in the spring, rape was used in one part of the orchard, and it is thought that English horse beans and rape grown together will prove one of the most satisfactory cover-crops where they will succeed. The horse beans will furnish nitrogen and humus, and will hold the snow well ; the rape will cover the ground, thus protecting the roots, and will also add humus. At Ottawa, horse beans sown in the last week of June, at the rate of one bushel per acre, in drills twenty-eight inches apart, and culti vated two or three times, and rape sown broadcast between the rows in the latter half of August, should furnish a very satisfactory combination. Both English horse beans and rape are moisture loving plants, and will not succeed so well in dry soils as they will where there is a fair amount of moisture. When the hairy vetch is grown for seed, horse beans sown in drills at the same time as the vetch should prove very useful the following sea son in holding up the vines, thus insuring a larger crop of seed." In Canadian experiments with oats and barley after different crops, it was found that the broad bean is an excellent crop to use in the rotation. Many farms undoubtedly would be greatly benefited by growing this crop as a soil-restorer. Following is the yield per acre of oats grown after various crops, in comparison with the broad bean :