FARM CROPS. 193 



the yield of hay per acre is heavy and two or more 

 cuttings can be made during a single season. It re- 

 quires a dry climate to seed abundantly. Bermuda is 

 objectionable as a lawn grass because it turns brown- 

 ish in the autumn. 



Johnson Grass is perhaps more feared in the South 

 as a weed than any other plant, yet in many sections 

 it is an important grass for hay, and large quantities 

 of it are cut for this purpose. If Johnson grass is 

 cut persistently for hay or heavily pastured, the new 

 root-stocks become thin, short and near the surface of 

 the ground. After such treatment Johnson grass is 

 much more easily destroyed. 



Fetches. There are two vetches commonly grown 

 in the United States, the common vetch and the hairy 

 vetch. Common vetch is extensively grown on the 

 Pacific Coast, and to a considerable extent in the South. 

 In these regions it is grown as a winter crop. To a 

 very limited extent it has been grown northward as a 

 summer crop. On account of the weak stems of vetch 

 it is usually sown with wheat, oats or rye, the stiff 

 stems of which serve to hold the vetch stems upright. 



Hairy vetch is much more hardy than common 

 vetch, withstanding the winters as far north as Con- 

 necticut. It does not grow much during the winter, 

 but with the first warm weather of spring it grows 

 very rapidly. When fully grown the fine stems are 

 frequently six feet high and double that length when 

 straightened out. In the South there is an increasing 

 tendency to plant mixtures of hairy vetch with common 

 vetch, as the latter is apt to freeze out in exceptionally 

 cold winters. 



Cowpeas. The cowpea is a native of India and one 

 of the oldest cultivated plants. Before the discovery 

 of America it was commonly grown through South- 

 ern Europe as a food, but at the present time is more 

 important in the United States than in any other part 

 of the world. There are over one hundred different 

 varieties of cowpeas. The multiplicity of varieties is 



