210 Feeds and Feeding. 



food ; and to some extent for forage. A combination of peas and 

 oats, if cut early, forms a forage of high nutritive quality much 

 appreciated by farm stock, especially sheep and dairy cows. In 

 the grain which this plant furnishes and the hay which it is pos- 

 sible to secure from it, the stockman located far north has a fair 

 compensation for the absence of the corn crop. (228) 



312. Hairy vetch. This plant, from Eussia, is under trial with 

 promise of success in some districts. Sown in the fall with rye, 

 it finds support from the rye stems and furnishes much forage of 

 fair quality. The seed may also be sown in the spring. The 

 stems of the plant are weak, and for this reason it is not useful 

 when grown alone. Tracy 1 reports that in the South the vines 

 of this vetch may reach a length of from ten to twelve feet, form- 

 ing a dense mass of forage two feet in depth. He reports that 

 stock of all kinds eat this plant greedily both in pasture and as hay. 



313. Fertilizing constituents of legumes. Now that it is defi- 

 nitely ascertained that the legumes fix the free nitrogen of the air 

 in root, stem and leaf, this group of agricultural plants should 

 have a double interest with the farmer- stockman who looks to the 

 welfare of both fields and stock. In nitrogen and potash the 

 legumes lead the cereals, while the phosphoric acid is in fair 

 quantity. The manure from legume hay is more valuable than 

 that from the corn plant or straw from the cereals. 



1 Farmers' Bui. 18, U. S. Dept. Agr. 



