212 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER 



confident that they will derive very great advan- 

 tagea from, it. I say gravelly lands, because on 

 those of an indifferent chalky nature, on which 

 I have tried it, it succeeds but poorly. 



Ers ErvUlier, Ervum Ervillia, is an annual, and 

 is conamon in some oi our southern departments. 

 The vetch, without being tall, afTords very good 

 hay, and also produces a large quantity ol' grain, 

 which is given to pigeons, but with care, as it is 

 very heating. The hay participates largely of 

 this quality, and should be given in very small 

 quantities to horses, and only when one wishes 

 to give them ardor, or to prepare them to under- 

 go very severe work, i have been assured that 

 this plant eaten green by hogs was certain death 

 to them. The grain as Ibod for man is also sus- 

 pected, and persons should guard against the 

 mixing it in meal lor bread. One may see that I 

 wish less to recommend this plant, than to warn 

 persons against the danger of it, of which they 

 may be ignorant. The vetch can be sown in 

 the autumn but it will succeed better when sown 

 in the spring. Turned under in flower, it is 

 thought in some cantons to be the most effica- 

 cious of all vegetable manures. 



Eeverolle, Faba vulgaris equina. — The great 

 utility of this bean is generally known. Its cul- 

 ture may be very much ameliorated in slit!' and 

 clay soils, where indeed it is but little known. It 

 affords a good forage, whether cut when in flower 

 or when the pods have been formed. They often 

 use it in the composition of dragees and of hiver- 

 nages (mixtures of leguminous grasses, and oats 

 or rye, intended for green food,) but it is the 

 grain which renders it most valuable. They 

 sow the feveroile from the first of March to the 

 middle of April, either broadcast or in rows ; the 

 last method is generally preferable, but especially 

 when the soil is compact, when working is almost 

 unnecessary for the plants. The cultivation of the 

 bean crop ia desirable, not only because it is one 

 of the least exacting crops, but becau&% it is the 

 best of all preparations for wheat on clayey soils. 

 Turned under whilst green, the bean is one of the 

 very best of vegetable manures.* All of the 

 varieties, of which there are many, can be useful 

 in farming ; but this particular variety is the beat 

 for turning in. The highland bean, which 1 ob- 

 tained from England, where it ia much esteemed, 

 is very valuable on account of its productiveness. 

 In the south of ^i'rance, the bean stands the win- 

 ter very well, and is very often sown in the autumn, 

 but in the north, where the ordinary variety is 

 destroyed by the cold, or at the least very much 

 injured, they sow a variety which is more hardy, 

 and which they call the Feveroile deliver. 



Rue de chevre, Galega officinalis. Those who 

 see the rue in gardens, where its bunches are so 

 vigorous and thrifty would conceive a favorable 

 idea of it and desire to try it on an artificial mea- 

 dow. But although recommended in .iiany 

 works, it unfortunately appears from different ex- 

 periments that this grass does not suit cattle, be- 



* This fact, which is equally applicable to the va- 

 rious peas of this country, is, I think, well worthy of 

 the consideration of Virginia farmers, who would, I 

 feel confident, find it very much to th<^ir advantage' to 

 adopt this mode of using the pea, particularly as it 

 grows with 80 much certainty and vigor, even on infe- 

 rior land. 



cause they refuse to take it as hay, and will not 

 eat it in the pastures. If no positive experiments 

 have been made on this subject, (and I know of 

 none that have been madfj,) it is desirable that 

 they should be made, as it is known that cattle 

 often at first will refuse food that is excellent for 

 them, and will become very fond of il after many 

 trials, if Buch should be the case with the rue, it 

 would be valuable on account of its great vigor 

 its considerable product and its remarkable dura- 

 bility. They sow about 40 pounds of seed per 

 hectare. 



Gesse culiivee, Lathyrus sativus, is an excellent 

 animal forage. It is particularly fine for sheep, 

 and is less heating than the vetch. It succeeds 

 readily on lands either stiff or light, if they are 

 quite moist. They sow it in March and April, 

 and sometimes, in the south of France, in the 

 autumn. They cut it either when it is in bloom, 

 and feed It green, or alter the first pods have 

 commenced to die, and make hay of it, or they 

 permit it to mature entirely, that they may obtain 

 the grain. In many parts of France the inhabi- 

 tants make very good pea-soup of it. 



Gesse velue, Lathyrus hirsulus, Mons. the 

 Baron de Wal, of Baronville near Givet, inlbrmed 

 me of the'success which he had with this plant 

 as forage. Sown in the autumn it appeared to 

 him to rank in utility with the winter vetch. I 

 tried i', at his request, and find it very hardy and 

 fbragenous, but more backward than the vetch. 

 It produces a considerable quantity of seed, 

 smaller than those of the vetch, but which appear 

 to be good food for pigeons, but when the Ibrage 

 is cut green, as it ought to be, the most of the 

 seed remain in the pods. If this plant could be 

 brought into the list of those that are to be culti- 

 vated usefully for cattle, it would be a great con- 

 quest over the useless weeds of our fields, for the 

 Lathyrus hirsutus is nothing else at present. 



Petite gesse, Lathyrus cicera, is a winter variety, 

 and is as hardy and perhaps more hardy than 

 the winter tare. It furnishes an excellent Ibod 

 for sheep, but is too healing for horses, and should 

 be given to them only with great care. I should 

 also say that its grain is an extremely dangerous 

 food for human beings. In some cantons the 

 people make meal of it to mix with other flour, 

 in very small portions, for bread. It does not ap- 

 pear to produce any bad effect, if the proportion 

 is very small ; but in years of scarcity some per- 

 sona having increased the proportion, some have 

 died and others have been stricken by an incurable 

 paralysis. I have been assured of this by the 

 excellent and indisputable evidence of the late 

 Mons. de la None, surgeon at Bourqueil, and it 

 has been confirmed by Mons. Deslandes in an 

 article published in the Journal des Maires. It 

 is particularly necessary to give this fact publicity, 

 as the culture of the Lathyrus cicera has ex- 

 tended very much in France within a few years, 

 and this danger has consequently increased. 



(I have extended this translation beyond my 

 usual length, that I might send you all of the 

 article on "Fourrages legumineux," at once. Red 

 and white clover, and melilot, which came under 

 the same head, I sent you in my first selection.) 



