3.16 per cent nitrogen, 0.72 per cent phosphoric acid, and 3.36 per 

 cent potash. Calculating on this basis the fertilizing ingredients con- 

 tained in a crop of twelve tons of green forage produced from one 

 acre there would be 153 pounds of nitrogen, 37 pounds of phosphoric 

 acid, and 103 pounds of potash. In addition to this the stubble and 

 roots to the depth of 22 inches would contain 27.2 pounds of nitrogen, 

 7.2 pounds of phosphoric acid, and 21.8 pounds of potash, making a 

 total of 180.2 pounds of nitrogen produced in a single season by one 

 crop of spring vetches, or as much as is contained in 18 tons of barn- 

 3"ard manure. 



Spring vetches are not recommended as a forage crop for genera 

 cultivation. They have value for some few northern localities, bu 



have proved a signal failure elsewhere ii 

 this countrj^. The plants come into flower 

 very unevenly, so that sometimes the seed 

 does not ripen in sufficient quanties at one 

 time to pay for harvesting. The crop is liable 

 to injury by drought and excessive heat. 



W^INTER VETCH. 

 {Lathyrus liii'sidus. ) 



Winter vetches (fig. 4) were introduced 

 into the United States from Italy, where 

 they are grown quite extensively as a win- 

 ter soiling crop. They are of value only in 

 the Southern States and have not been found 

 hardy anywhere north of the latitude of 

 Washington, D. C. 



Winter vetches are very similar in habit 

 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 leaf- 

 lets are in pairs with a tendril arising be- 

 tween them; the inch-long pods are quite 

 hairy ; and the rounded, dark - brownish 

 seeds appear warty under a lens. 



WINTER VETCHES FOR THE SOUTH. 

 Fig. 4.— Wintei' vetch (Lathyrus 



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 forage 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 cultivation has been very successful in all portions of the South 

 where it has been tried, and particularly so in central Georgia and 

 Alabama. The winter vetch is desirable as an addition to our list of 



