22 The Bulletin. 



CRIMSON CLOVER HAY. 



If the crop is intended for hay it should be cut just as it gets in 

 full bloom. Do not wait for the bloom to commence to dry up as 

 there will be danger in feeding the hay to horses if cut at that stage. 

 The seeds form in a rough shuck or covering and when these are dry 

 will form into balls in the horse's stomach or intestines and may 

 cause death. Cut at the proper time it makes a fine and nutritious 

 hay. 



Reports show that in iN'orth Carolina crimson clover makes from 

 a half ton to two tons of hay per acre, according to the fertility of 

 land and inoculation of the soil. For the past year or two seed 

 have been quite high and this fact has interested many of our farmers 

 in saving seed for their own use and for sale. In the absence of 

 clover hollers by which the seed can be threshed and hulled, farmers 

 can save their seed in the following manner: Let the clover get 

 fully ripe and cut when just damp enough from dew to prevent the 

 seed from shattering, or better, cut on a cloudy day. Put into good 

 size, well made cocks at once, and let remain several days, if there 

 is no indication of rain. Haul to barn on a cloudy day or early in 

 the morning, so as to prevent the seed from shattering, put in barn 

 with tight floor. Let remain there until perfectly dry ; then with a 

 pitchfork fork the hay over, tossing from one place to another and 

 the seed will shatter out. They will be in the shuck or rough, but 

 those who have used them that way prefer them to the cleaned seed. 

 Sow about 50 pounds in the rough to the acre. 



VETCH. 



There are many varieties of vetch, but the ones used mostly for 

 soil improvement are the Hairy or Sand Vetch (Vicia villosa), and 

 the so-called spring vetch (Vicia sativa), which also needs to be 

 sowed in the fall months in Xorth Carolina, to make a successful 

 crop. 



To succeed with vetch the soil needs to be inoculated the same as 

 for crimson clover, except it must be inoculated with soil coming from 

 a field that has grown vetch of some kind. Soil from a place that 

 grows wild vetch or partridge pea is as good as that from a field where 

 the cultivated vetch is grown. Also, soil taken from a place that 

 grows English or Garden peas will inoculate vetch as they belong to 

 the same family. 



VETCH HAY. 



Vetch makes a fine quality of hay, but when planted for that pur- 

 pose it is well to sow it with wheat or oats, to hold the vetches up. 

 Sow half bushel of wheat, half bushel of oats that w\\\ ripen at the 

 same time the wheat will ripen, and half bushel of vetch per acre, in 



