No. 4.] CATCH-CROPS. 327 



Leading Catch-crops. 



The most important among the various crops which may 

 be appropriately considered under our subject are the follow- 

 ing : rye, oats, barley, Hungarian grass, millets, buckwheat, 

 white mustard, rape, English turnips, spurry, vetches, peas, 

 lupines, serradella, crimson clover, sweet clover and red 

 clovers. Possibly used for the same purposes, although 

 requiring a much longer season than most of the above- 

 named crops, may be mentioned the cow pea, the horse bean 

 and the soy bean. 



It remains now only to point out the particular uses and 

 adaptations of each of these crops, to give directions for 

 sowing them and a statement, so far as experimental results 

 allow, of the beneficial effects obtained in this country by 

 their cultivation. 



Rye. — Rye is one of the most useful catch-crops. It is 

 not capable of assimilating atmospheric nitrogen and so can- 

 not enrich the soil in that element, but it may serve nearly 

 all the other useful purposes for which green-manuring crops 

 are cultivated. It is also a fairly valuable fodder crop, and 

 may be either pastured in fall or in spring or cut and fed. 

 The quality which renders it particularly valuable as a fodder 

 crop is its earliness. It can often be cut in this latitude for 

 feeding as early as May 10, which is much earlier than almost 

 any other crop. As is generally well known, however, the 

 nutritive value of rye fodder is low and it is not palatable 

 except when young. So soon as it is well headed out cattle 

 find it unpalatable. Rye is especially valuable as a means 

 of nitrogen conservation and in affording covering and pro- 

 tection in winter, preventing both damage from wind and 

 washing. It is suited to light soils. It is not deep rooted 

 and so will not bring up soluble food from below to any con- 

 siderable extent. It may be sown any time from about the 

 middle of August to the first of November, the quantity of 

 seed varying according to the soil and season from two to 

 three bushels. 



Oats. — Oats as a catch-crop are comparatively unimpor- 

 tant. They are sometimes sown in July or August to furnish 

 green feed in autumn, but in this part of the State at least 



