hbC^ KKroKT OK OKKICK <>K KXPKRIMKNT STATIONS. 



mucli orcattM- protection than one tliat i-ciiiains erect, like soy Ix'ans. 

 Krcct cover crops may. lio\\e\ ci", shade the j^roiiiid to some extent and 

 also catch and hold the snow, and a l)lanket of snow is one ol" the very 

 hest piotect ions against alternate t ree/in*'' and t haw int^- c)!" the soil. 



.\ co\er ci'op that has (|iiite u't'i'crally «ii\'en Ncry satisfactory results 

 t hrouiihoiit the northerii States, Canada, and in the South. (Mther 

 alone or in \ ai'iouscoinhinations with other crops, is hairy vetch ( I Vr/V/ 

 villoNd). Sown in June or ,]\\\\\ at the K(nv York C'ornell Station," it 

 covered the oround w ith a dense tauoled mulch 2 feet deep. At the New 

 York State Station '' haiiv veteli yi'owii with winter rye form(>d a perfect 

 mat of ve<ietation which I'emained o-reen all winter, and the combi- 

 nation did not o^row hioh enough to interfere with the jj^athering' of 

 winter fruit. In C'anada hairy vetch hay proved especiall}' valuable in 

 dry districts, where it is ditKcult to get a catcli of clover. At the 

 Delaware Station'' it proved very satisfactory, either alone or in com- 

 bination with a number of other crops. It is a leguminous plant. 

 The total yield of tops and roots at the Delaware Station was 13,750 

 pounds, whicli contained 121 pounds of nitrogen, 85 j)ounds of potash, 

 and 27 pounds of phosphoric acid. At the New^ York Cornell Station '' 

 the amount of lutrogen yielded by a crop of vetch was 256 pounds. 

 The crop also analyzed o\er 200 pounds of nitrogen per acre for a 

 growing period of three and a half months. The plant was not ver}"- 

 vigorous in the autumn while the shade was dense, but greatly 

 improved later when the leaves began to fall.' These ligures show 

 the great fertilizing value of vetch in addition to its us(! as a cover 

 crop. In most localities vetch remains green over wintxn". The 

 objection to vetch is the scarcity and liigh cost of the se(>d; but when 

 a small (juantity is secured in the ))eginning the orchardist can easily 

 grow sutticient for his ow^n use. 



Crimson clover has ])een extensively used as a cover crop, with most 

 satisfactory results. In most localities south of New Jerse}' it lives 

 over winter. At the Delaware^, Station the total yield of tops and 

 roots averaged 19,213 pounds per acre, and contained 131: pounds of 

 nitrogen. The crop winterkilled at the New Y'ork State Station,-^ and 

 did not do well on hard clay soil. It gave best results at the Michigan 

 Station'/ Avhen seeded in the orchaixl July 1. The Nova Scotia School 

 of Horticulture'' found a combination of crimson clover and tares a 

 very eli'ectivc orchard cover crop. 



«New York Cornell Sta. Bui. 61. 



&New York State Sta. Rpt. 1896, p. 440. 



c Delaware Sta. Bui. 61. 



t^New York Cornell Sta. Bui. 198. 



«Amer. Agr., 69 (1902), No. 3, p. 79. 



/New York State Sta. Rpt. 1896, p. 440. 



(/Michigan Sta. Rpt. 1898, p. 126. 



A Rpt. Sec. Agr. Nova Scotia, 1902, pi. 1, p. 70. 



