182 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



crop of a leguminous nature which would be superior to the varieties 

 in use. 



A test of a number of possible legumes brought out the fact that the 

 native yellow flowering sweet clover, Melilohi$ indica, was well adapted 

 to our winter conditions. After seven years' experience with this 

 clover there has been no crop which has been as uniformly satisfactory 

 under our winter conditions. It is not adapted to all conditions, as 

 no one plant ever is, but observations seem to show that this clover is 

 doing better in most parts of the State than vetch or peas. 



A new vetch which gives great promise, the purple vetch, is a recent 

 introduction of the Department of Agriculture. It is very much more 

 vigorous than the common vetch and for the lighter soils where a good 

 stand of clover is difficult to obtain, this vetch will probably be superior 

 to anything we have had in the past. At present the seed is not 

 available, although the growing of this vetch for seed has recently been 

 taken up by the Oregon growers. It is hoped that seed will be avail- 

 able to a limited extent this coming fall and that in a year or two a 

 supply will be on hand sufficient to satisfy the demands. 



These two crops, McUlotus indica and purple vetch, give more 

 l^romise in the way of leguminous cover crops than any of the other 

 varieties so far tested. In the absence of seed of the purple vetch, the 

 use of Melilotus clover is recommended on all soils, provided there is 

 sufficient water to germinate the seed in the fall. As the supply of 

 purple vetch increases, it will probably prove superior to Melilotus 

 clover on the sandier soils. 



In regard to the adaptation of this work to apple growers, it may 

 be said that any work which is taken up at an experiment station can 

 only get at the principles involved and never be able to give prescrip- 

 tions or formulas of practice, since it is impossible to duplicate soil 

 and climatic conditions at one or a dozen places for every section and 

 every ranch in the State. Certain experiments have been started in 

 the apple growing sections in this vicinity and it is hoped that more 

 definite information will be available regarding the varieties of legumes 

 which will be most suited to these conditions. In the interim it is 

 suggested that purple vetch be planted as soon as seed is available. 

 If this vetch is planted early in September and given sufficient irriga- 

 tion water to get it well started, it should have made considerable of 

 a cover by Thanksgiving, when the weather becomes too cold for any 

 rapid growth. The crop will, under ordinary conditions, winter with- 

 out difficulty and make a very rapid development after the first of 

 February. Melilotus clover is a crop which should be tried, although 

 it will not make the early development which some other more rapidly 

 growing plants evidence. If one is enabled to leave the land until 

 April before plowing, IMelilotus clover will make a satisfactory crop 

 if planted not later than October. 



A test of winter vetch, Vicia villosa, should be made also, since this 

 crop has given such excellent results in the apple sections of Oregon. 

 A mixture of this winter vetch with a thin seeding of oats seems to 

 have given the best results under their conditions. Canada field peas 

 gave good results in some sections when planted early, but did not 

 seem to withstand the winter temperatures as satisfactorily as the 

 vetches and clovers. 



