VETCH SEED. 21 



again, letting the butts of the upper buiuUes come down to the l)ands 

 of the knver ones. Other bundles are built on top of this again, 

 covering all of the seed pods possible. This i)revents the shattering 

 of a great deal of seed, for the pods dry evenly and gradually when 

 not exposed to the sun. 



If strictly pure seed is desired, vetch is sometimes sown alone at 

 the rate of 100 to 120 pounds per acre. When thick it stands up rea- 

 sonably well. If the seed crop is too heavy to bind, it is cut with a 

 mower. With pitchforks the first cut swath is rolled on the uncut 

 vetch; another swath is then cut and the two cut swaths rolled on 

 the uncut vetch. When the third swath is cut the three cut swaths 

 are rolled out. This forms windrows of three swaths each. It is 

 then placed in large cocks inunediately and allowed to dry with as 

 little exposure to the sun as is possible. Tliis method of cutting and 

 cocking largely prevents the loss of seed from shattering. If cut 

 and raked in the usual way the wheels of the mower, the wheels of 

 the rake, and the tramping of the horses burst many of the ripe pods. 

 As soon as the vetch is dry it should be thrashed without delay with 

 an ordinary thrashing machine, hauling it to the machine in racks 

 wdth tight bottoms or with canvas spread over the racks to catch the 

 shattered seed. In thrashing, the concaves are removed and blanks 

 having no teeth used instead. The motion of the cvlinder is sknved 

 down and plenty of wind turned on. The use of hay caps in curmg 

 vetch for seed would greatly increase the yield, especially when it is 

 cut with a mower. The pods on the surface of the cocks become dry 

 and burst before the centers of the cocks have time to cure. In this 

 way a great deal of seed is lost. The caps would protect the pods on 

 the surface of the cock from the direct rays of the sun and permit 

 the w^hole cock to dry more evenly. (See the discussion of hay caps 

 on p. 11.) 



In growing a seed crop of vetch considerable seed is lost on the 

 ground by the bursting of the pods. If this fallen vetch seed is 

 plowed under, much of it will be covered too deeply to germinate. 

 The amount of oil in the seed is such that it may flien lie in the 

 ground for years without decaying, and w^ill grow wdien turned up 

 near the surface by subsequent plowing. In this way it may become 

 a pest in wheat that is grown for market. Land that has grown a 

 seed crop of vetch may be prepared for wheat as follows: Sow oats 

 and vetch broadcast in the fall, without plowmg, and cover the seed 

 with a disk harrow. Cut the oats and vetch for hay the next season 

 and pasture the second grow^th close enough to prevent any seed from 

 maturing. Grow a cultivated crop the next year. The land should 

 then be ready for winter wheat. 



94 



