458 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



Common vetch was grown in New York as early as 

 1794. 



550. Adaptations. Common vetch requires a cool 

 growing season; the winter strains will withstand a 

 temperature as low as 10 F. without injury, but zero 

 weather results in much winter-killing. Vetch is therefore 

 planted in the fall on the Pacific Coast and in the South. 

 In the Northern States and Canada spring sowing is 

 necessary. It languishes, however, under hot summer 

 weather and is not adapted to the Central States. 



It prefers a well-drained soil and will not thrive in poorly 

 drained land. It does best in loams or sandy loams, 

 though excellent crops are grown both on sandy and grav- 

 elly soils. On poor lands vetch is often used as a soil 

 improver, and while the yield may not be large, to plant 

 it is often good farm practice. On poor soils special care 

 should be taken to provide thorough inoculation, as with- 

 out it failures commonly result. 



551. Importance. Common vetch is important as 

 a hay crop west of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon 

 and Washington ; as a winter green-manure crop in Cali- 

 fornia ; and as a hay crop in the Southern States. In the 

 Northern States and Canada it is but little grown, hairy 

 vetch being much better adapted. 



In Europe, vetch is probably the most important annual 

 legume grown for forage. 



552. Agricultural varieties. The cultivated varieties 

 of common vetch are numerous and distinguished mainly 

 by the size and color of the seeds. The most important 

 variety has the seeds gray, marbled with a darker color. 

 Of this there are two strains, distinguished in European 

 agriculture as spring vetch and winter vetch. Pearl or 

 white-seeded vetch has white seeds often used as human 



