462 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



556. Harvesting for hay. Vetch should be cut for 

 hay from the period of full bloom to formation of the first 

 pods. It is commonly and satisfactorily cut with an ordi- 

 nary mower with a swather attachment. After cutting, 

 the vetch should be bunched with a horserake and then 

 shocked with pitchforks. This handling should always 

 be done before the vetch leaves are dry. It should be 

 allowed to cure in the shocks several days, and, if possible, 

 hay caps should be used, especially if rainy weather is 

 feared. Where a swather is not used, the cutting is con- 

 siderably more difficult. In either case it is the common 

 practice to allow the vetch to lie one day before shocking. 



It is sometimes desirable to pasture fall-sown vetch in 

 the spring so as to bring the haying season somewhat 

 later and also to prevent heavy lodging. This is quite 

 commonly done in western Washington and western 

 Oregon. 



Common vetch yields from 1J to 3J tons of hay to an 

 acre. An average yield in the Pacific States is 2| tons, 

 and in the Southern States somewhat less. 



557. Pasturing. Common vetch is utilized by Oregon 

 and Washington dairymen for pasturage during winter, 

 spring and early summer. It is eagerly eaten by all 

 farm live stock. As a general rule, the vetch is pastured 

 only when the ground is dry, not only to avoid packing 

 the soil but because both cattle and sheep are liable to 

 bloat on vetch, especially in wet weather. 



Even when vetch is grown primarily for hay or for seed, 

 a limited amount of pasturing is often desirable, especially 

 where the growth is unusually rank or where it is desirable 

 to bring the harvest later. Hogs should not be used for 

 this purpose, as they kill out many of the plants by biting 

 them off below the crown. Sheep and calves do the least 



