WINTER GREEN-MANXJEE CROPS. 23 



Fenugreek does best on a good, deep loamy soil, but such a soil is 

 not necessary for success, as the plant does quite well on a gravelly 

 or a sandy soil. It is not adapted, however, to a soil that will become 

 hard, like heavy clay or adobe. The cx'op should be sown either 

 broadcast or in close drills. Thirty pounds of seed per acre is neces- 

 sary for a green-manure crop, while less is best for a seed crop. Care 

 should be taken not to plant the seed too deep. 



SEED PRODUCTION. 



The fenugreek seed handled by American seedsmen is almost 

 entirely imported. The demand for it has been so slight that only 

 small stocks are handled. The imported seed comes from the Medi- 

 terranean countries, chiefly from Egypt and Palestine. The seed 

 of fenugreek used in the orchard green-manure work in California is 

 grown almost entirely in Orange and Ventura counties, in which 

 localities a good crop of fine seed can be produced. 



Possibly the only sections where fenugreek can be grown profitably 

 as a seed crop are where the winters are ver}^ mild, having at most light 

 frosts, so that mth late fall seeding there will be a sufficient growth 

 made during the winter months. An ordinary grain drill is the best 

 implement to use in seeding. From 15 to 20 pounds of seed per acre 

 are sufficient. After seeding, nothing is done with the crop until it 

 is harvested. In the interior valleys an irrigation at the time of 

 seeding is necessar}-. 



The crop can be cut with an ordinary mower, and after a short time 

 should be raked into windrows. Here it should be allowed to cure 

 for several days before thrashing, which can be done with an ordinary 

 thrashing machine. In so far as possible the crop should be taken 

 from the windrows in the early morning, there being less shattering 

 of the seed when handled at this time. The pods when very dry 

 drop from the stem and dehisce, or break open slighth^, although 

 the loss of seed from this cause is not great. 



The quantity of seed produced per acre varies as with any other 

 crop, and while there are few definite figaires as to 3'ields, in Ventura 

 and Orange counties, where the best fenugreek seed crops are produced, 

 probably 1,500 pounds per acre is an average yield. At Chico, in 

 northern California, plantings in ^V-acre plats yielded at the rate 

 of 490 pounds of seed per acre, while one smaller plat yielded at the 

 rate of 1,315 pounds per acre. The Chico plantings were made with 

 irrigation the first half of October, 1908. The crop was harvested 

 the 1st of June, 1909. 



HAIRY VETCH. 



The hairy or winter vetch ( Vicia villosa) is not so well adapted for 

 green-manure purposes as is the common vetch, and it has not been 

 used except in a A^ery limited way. Under California conditions it 



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