128 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 



cutting the plants should have time to produce a reasonable growth 

 for winter protection. 



Pasture: Sainfoin starts very early in the season and can 

 therefore be pastured at least as soon as Alfalfa. It makes an ex- 

 cellent pasture, especially liked by sheep. It does not cause bloating 

 and is therefore preferable to Alfalfa for cows and sheep. When 

 grown for hay or pasture, three to five bushels of seed should be sown 

 to the acre. 



Seed growing: Old fields which give a comparatively small 

 yield of hay give the best crop of seed. It is ready to cut when the 

 pods are bright brown. Late cutting causes considerable loss as 

 the old pods easily fall off, even with the most careful handling. 



Quality of seed: Commercial seed is almost always unshelled; 

 that is, the seeds are enclosed in the pods. The pods are almost 

 semi-circular and somewhat flattened, about an eighth of an inch 

 long and a little less in width. Their surface is covered with a mesh- 

 like netting, which stands out in bold relief and is frequently armed 

 with scattered spines. The outer edge of the semi-circle is flattened 

 into a well-defined rim with strong, sharp teeth. Well-ripened pods 

 are reddish-brown and have a characteristic metallic lustre, espec- 

 ially when not too old. The unshelled seed weighs about twenty-six 

 pounds per bushel. The real seeds, of which there is only one in 

 each pod, are kidney-shaped and olive-brown to chestnut. 



COMMON VETCH (Vicia sativa L.) 



Plate 24; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 38. 



Other English names: Tare, Spring Vetch. 



Botanical description: Common Vetch is an annual plant 

 closely related to peas. The stems, which generally branch from 

 near the base, are on an average from two to three feet high, angular 

 and more or less hairy. The leaves are numerous and compound, 

 consisting of a number of separate leaflets arranged in pairs along 

 the midrib; in the upper part only the midribs of the leaflets are de- 

 veloped. They are transformed into sensitive threads called tendrils, 

 which wind themselves round any object they come in contact with 

 and thus help to support the weak stems of the plant. The leaflets 

 are oblong, square at the end, with a minute narrow point. The 



