472 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



crop is fed as hay. Smith reports that a large dairy farm 

 near Columbia, South Carolina, feeds it as silage with 

 good results. As a pasture crop it is excellent for swine, 

 sheep and cattle. It is sometimes pastured for a period 

 while young, and then permitted to grow a crop of hay or 

 seed. This has the advantage of making the second 

 growth smaller, so that it does not lodge, which is 

 especially desirable in seed-production. If the crop of 

 hay is cut rather young, the aftermath furnishes good 

 pasturage, or sometimes a second crop of hay. 



574. Pollination. Hairy vetch is much visited by 

 bees, both honeybees and bumblebees. The structure 

 of the flower is adapted to cross-pollination, and experi- 

 ments in bagging the flowers to prevent visits of insects 

 show that the latter are necessary for the formation of pods 

 and seeds. 



575. Harvesting for hay. Hairy vetch is probably 

 best cut for hay during the time that the first pods are 

 full grown, but not filled out, but it is often cut when 

 the plants are in full bloom. On account of the tangled 

 mass of vines which hairy vetch makes, especially when 

 grown alone, mowing is sometimes difficult. It may be 

 cut with an ordinary mower, but a swather attachment is 

 desirable. The curing is difficult on account of the ten- 

 dency of the leaflets to dry before the stems. On this 

 account, great care needs to be-taken to avoid the loss of 

 the leaves. Ordinarily hairy vetch is allowed to remain 

 in the swath for one day and then shocked. With good 

 weather, complete curing can be obtained in from five to 

 eight days. 



Hay of hairy vetch is palatable and as a rule readily eaten 

 by animals. The yield of hay when grown alone ranges 

 from 3000 to 5000 pounds or more to an acre. The acre 



