VETCH 



F. E. EoBEKTsoN, WatertO'wn, N. Y. 

 Farm Bureau Manager of Jefferson County 



All vetches adaptable to the agriculture 

 of jN^ew York State as forage plants, soil 

 improvers, and cash seed crops are eco- 

 nomically important and should be so con- 

 sidered. In fact, each plant that belongs 

 to the legume family and can be included 

 among the farm crops in this state should 

 /HH ■ :^m be so included to fortify our agriculture 



J^^^^m: 1 against the time v^^hen our farms will of 



H^^^ ■ ..•>:-.^:-l necessity become self-sustaining. More 



and more our farms will be called upon 

 to produce the required protein forage crops to sustain their quota 

 of live stock. Xo group of plants will supply so much to the 

 permanency of agriculture in the state of New York as the 



legumes. 



Among these should be considered the vetches. 



KINDS or VETCH 



Botanists recognize more than 120 species of Vicia (vetch). 

 Most of these are found growing wild in various parts of the world. 

 In the United States, in addition to the cultivated sorts, there are 

 at least 20 wild varieties. Among the economically important 

 varieties in Xew York State we recognize at the present time 

 chiefly two: common vetch or tares (Vicia sativa) ; and hairy, 

 sand, or winter vetch ( Vicia villosa) . Vetches are valuable chiefly 

 because of the fact that they are leguminous plants rich in protein, 

 hence desirable for forage; nitrogen-gatlieTers, hence desirable in 

 soil-improvement work ; and also because they appear to be adapta- 

 ble to a wide range of soil conditions. 



Common Vetch or Spring Vetch (Vicia sativa) 



This species of vetch is perhaps more widely recognized than 

 others because it has been under cultivation for centuries. It is 



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