252 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



It was found that the vetches going in American markets under the name of 

 Hairy Vetcli or Villous Vetch, included all kinds of vetches, some valuable 

 and others entirely worthless, some with fine leaves, others with coarse, some 

 bushy and erect, others recumbent, some covering the ground with a thick mat 

 of vines, others giving but a sparse growth. 



Vetches have been sown annually on the station plots since 1897. In the 

 latter part of the bulletin, page 180. there is given a comparison of vetches and 

 other legumes on the basis of their content of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and 

 potash. 



Complaint against the vetch having come to the station, an examination was 

 made of a tract of country east of Howard City in Montcalm county. It was 

 found that some vetch seed brought in some time prior to 1900, had been sown 

 on farms of sandy loam soils. There was an enormous growth and the plants 

 seemed so promising that the seed was distributed to many farmers in the neigh- 

 borhood. Later it was discovered that the seed remained in the soil from year 

 to year until conditions favorable to its growth obtained. On a single plant at 

 the station over 1,000 seeds have been found. It is manifest, therefore, that 

 where plants escaped the harvester and went to seed, the soil would be fairly 

 certain to become a reservoir for vetch seed from which undesired specimens 

 would rise to plague the farmer when the field was sown to wheat. Millers 

 refused to buy wheat from that section of the country, because so many fields 

 were infested with the vetch, the seed of which is nearly the same in size as 

 kernels of wheat and of the same specific gravity. Moreover, the fiour from 

 wheat with which vetch seed is mixed, is poor in quality and makes a sticky 

 dough and are altogether undesirable loaf. It is but fair, therefore, to warn 

 farmers against the sowing of vetch on fairly rich soils. On the station farm 

 where this plot of vetch grew in 1895 no vetch has been sown since, yet when- 

 ever the field is sown to wheat the blue flowers of the vetch show themselves 

 and it is necessary to send men ahead of the binder to pull up the plants to 

 prevent damage to the wheat. 



Among the varieties or species of vetches to be recommended the following 

 are perhaps the leading ones. They are ranged in order of maturity of their 

 fruit on the 20th of August, the one with the most ripe fruit being placed first. 

 No common names of the vetches are known. They belong to the genus Vicia. 

 In the notes below the name of the genus will be represented by V., the name 

 of the species following that letter. 



The vetches were planted May 13. 



V. picta, Fisch. Flowers July 5, fruit August 19, 14 inches high, dead before 

 September 27. 



v. calcarata. Deaf. Flowers July 5, fruit August 19, dead before September 27. 



Y. cordata, Wulf. Flowers Jujy 5, fruit August 19, 15 inches high, August 19. 



y. segetalis, Thurill. Flowers July 5, fruit and few flowers August 19, 17 

 fnches high August 19. 



y. cornigera, Chaub. Light pink flowers July 5, fruit ripe and some seeds 

 germinating September 27. 



y. ambigua, Guss. Flowers .July 5, ripe fruit August 19, 16 inches high. 



y. sativa, Linn. Planted May 13, flowers July 7, fruit and flowers August 

 19 and until September 27, 24 inches high August 19. 



y. sativa typica, improved gray vetch, received from Svalof, Sweden, planted 

 June 12, too late to compare with other vetches. It was in flower September 27. 



The above vetches have short stems yielding a small bulk of green matter, 

 maturing seed early and in abundance and afterwards turn brown and die. 



Below are given the vetches that reverse these conditions more and more as 

 we advance in the list. 



y. canadensis, Zucc. Light pink flowers July 17, vines 48 inches long August 

 19, fruit September 27, a desirable vetch yielding well in hay or seed. 



y. angustifoUa, Linn. Smaller red flowers July 21, stems 24 inches long 

 August 19, remaining green into the winter. 



y. peregrina, Linn. Southern vetch, flowers July S. abundant fruit and flowers 

 August 19, 24 Inches high August 19, ripe fruit and a few flowers September 27, 

 an excellent species. 



If vetch seed is desired, select from among the first on the above list. If a 

 large yield of hay is wanted select from the last part of the list. 



The vetches named below have finer leaves and stem, minute white to pink 



