COMMON VETCH. 75 



while in Germany it is wicke, in France vesce, and in 

 Italy veccia. All these names have a strong family like- 

 ness, and are derived, we are told by Prior, in his " Popular 

 Names of British Plants," from the Latin verb signifying 

 to bind ; in allusion, of course, to the tendrils and the 

 straggling growth on hedges and neighbouring plants that 

 is so characteristic of some of the plants of the genus. 

 The generic name, vicia, probably carries a similar 

 significance, though its derivation is now a point of dispute, 

 some finding significance for it from the Latin and others 

 from the Celtic. Our plant is also sometimes called the 

 tare, and in some of the older writers we get both the 

 common names combined into one, and our plant called the 

 tare-fytche ; the origin of the name is doubtful, but it has 

 been suggested that it is derived from the French verb 

 tirer, to drag, from the unceremonious way the plant has 

 of utilising other plants for its support. The name is not 

 so appropriate to this species, however, as to several of the 

 others. 



The vetch has from a remote period been grown 

 in southern and central Europe as a forage-plant, but the 

 date of its introduction into England is not known. It has 

 the great advantage of coming on early, and is often sown 

 with rye, as the stems of the latter afford it the needful 

 support, and the whole crop is then made up into bundles 

 and sold as fodder. Even the dweller in the town will 

 pi*obably remember noticing cartloads of its verdant, 

 succulent-looking foliage passing through the streets. It is 

 greatly liked both by horses and cows, and it is one of the 

 most nutritious foods they can have ; its seeds, too, are 

 often given to poultry and pigeons. " This is a certaine 

 knowne pulse to doves wherewith they are much delighted, 



