No. 4.] 



CATCH-CROPS. 



333 



pounds of seed are sufficient. Spurry has been grown upon 

 a small scale on the college farm at Amherst but made too 

 small a growth there to render it valuable. 



Vetch. — There are two classes of cultivated vetch, viz., 

 spring and winter. Both are valuable, and the winter vetch 

 is hardy on all well-drained soils in Massachusetts. Vetch 

 is suited to medium or heavy soils. Neither the spring nor 

 winter vetch will do very well without a fairly liberal supply 

 o\' moisture. The vetch belongs to the clover family and is 

 a nitrogen gatherer. By means of this crop the soil can, 

 therefore, be enriched. Both the spring and winter vetch 

 are valuable for fodder as well as for green-manuring. The 

 spring vetch, as is generally known, is commonly sown with 

 oats or barley, about one bushel to the acre, and winter vetch 

 may be sown with winter rye, the same quantity of seed to 

 the acre. When first grown upon the farm vetches may not 

 do well on account of the insufficient development of the 

 bacteria which are essential to vigorous growth. After a 

 few years it may be expected that these bacteria will become 

 abundant and the growth will be better. It is the winter 

 vetch which is likely to be of most value as a green-manure, 

 for besides serving as a nitrogen gatherer it will serve also 

 as a nitrogen conserver, and will furnish protection to the 

 soil in winter. It grows early in spring, starting up with 

 the rye, and can be turned under in season for corn and 

 similar crops to follow. The following table shows the in- 

 crease in rye by green-manuring with vetch, and several 

 other crops which are to be spoken of, upon a sandy soil in 

 Germany : — 



Increase in the Yield of Eye per Acre on Green-manured Plats 

 over those not Green-manured. 



KIND OF GREEN-MANURE. 



Date when 

 ploughed 



under. 



Increase in 



Grain 

 (Pounds). 



Increase In 



Straw 

 (Pounds). 



Yellow lupine, 

 Blue lupine, 

 White lupine, . 

 Serradella, 

 Crimson clover, 

 Vetch, 



Sept. 28, 

 Sept. 28, 

 Sept. 28, 

 Sept. 28, 

 Sept. 28, 

 Sept. 28, 



1,261 

 1,963 

 2,137 

 1,845 

 1,620 

 2,122 



