474 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



desirable than crimson clover from the fact that stands 

 are much more easily obtained. In some instances mix- 

 tures of crimson clover and hairy vetch are being sown, 

 partly because the mixture is a desirable one, and partly 

 because a catch of vetch is often obtained when crimson 

 clover fails. 



578. Advantages and disadvantages. The principal 

 advantages of hairy vetch are its winter hardiness and 

 drought resistance, and the fact that satisfactory crops, 

 at least of hay, may be secured on nearly all types of soil. 

 Its disadvantages are the fact that the cost of seed is 

 usually too high, costing in recent years from 10 to 15 

 cents a pound, and the difficulty of mowing the tangled 

 and often lodged mass of herbage. The problem of the 

 cost of seed can easily be solved by most farmers by grow- 

 ing their own seed, but there is no good reason why the 

 commercial cost of seed should be greater than 7 cents a 

 pound. In feeding value and in effect on succeeding crops 

 hairy vetch is comparable to other annual legumes. An- 

 other great advantage of hairy vetch up to the present 

 day is that it is almost completely free from any serious 

 insects or diseases. Occasionally fields are somewhat 

 injured by mildew, but this damage is rarely important. 



579. Growing seed. Seed crops of hairy vetch can 

 probably be grown in most parts of the United States. 

 When grown for this purpose, it is rather better to plant 

 with a small grain and to seed the vetch thinly. Much 

 more vetch seed is also produced on poor soil than on rich 

 soil. Where the stand of vetch in rye or other grain is 

 thin, the crop is harvested as easily as if alone. On the 

 other hand, if the vetch is too thick, the grain does not 

 cut well with a binder, and often is lodged badly on account 

 of the weight of the vetch plants. Most of the Russian 



