WINTER VETCH. 



(Latliyms Mrsutus. ) 



Winter vetches (fig. 3) were introduced into the United States from 

 Italy, where they are grown quite extensively as a winter soiling 

 crop. They are of value only in the Southern States and have not 

 heen found hardy anywhere north of the latitude of Washington, D. C. 

 Winter vetches are very similar in hahit and manner of growth to 

 the spring vetches or tares. They are trailing, vine-like plants that 

 grow in dense masses. The stems are narrowly wing-margined ; the 

 narrow leaflets are in pairs with a tendril arising between them ; the 



inch-long pods are quite hairy; and the 

 rounded, dark-brownish seeds appear warty 

 under a lens. 



WINTER VETCHES FOR THE SOUTH. 



Winter vetches should be sown broadcast 

 in August or September at the rate of two 

 bushels of vetch and one bushel of winter 

 rye or winter oats per acre. If sown in the 

 latter part of August they furnish a bite of 

 green forage in November and December, 

 at a time when it is particularly desirable, 

 and can be cut for hay in the early spring. 

 Winter vetches sown in February in the 

 Gulf States provide a supply of green for- 

 age in April or May. The plant deserves 

 to be more widely cultivated as it is valuable 

 both as a soiling and a hay crop. It makes 

 its best growth in the spring and autumn, 

 when the weather is cool. Winter vetches 

 thrive on any soil which will grow cowpeas, 

 provided that it is not too wet. Its cultiva- 

 tion has been very successful in all portions 

 of the South where it has been tried, and 

 particularly so in central Georgia and Ala- 

 bama. The winter vetch is desirable as an 

 addition to our list of forage plants, because 

 -wintCT jetch (Lathiinis j^ lengthens out the soiling season, and fur- 

 nishes green foliage late in autumn and very 

 early in spring, during two periods of scanty vegetation. Winter 

 vetch should be cut for hay when in full bloom. Considerable care 

 is required to get it into the stack or barn without its heating. Any- 

 one who can make good cowpea or alfalfa hay can successfully han- 

 dle winter vetch. 



Fig. 3. 



KIDNEY VETCH. 



{Anthyllis vulneraria. ) 



The kidney vetch (fig. 4) is a perennial leguminous plant which is 

 found wild over a large part of Europe. It grows naturally along 

 roadsides, wherever the soil is dry and thin and the subsoil calcareous. 



