478 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



In the Southern States it has also succeeded well, and with 

 seed as cheap as common vetch will probably come into 

 large use. 



584. Woolly-pod vetch ( Vicia dasycarpa) is native over 

 much of Europe. It is very similar to hairy vetch in every 

 respect, but the leaves are less pubescent, the fragrant 

 flowers are purple, and the plant 2 to 3 weeks earlier. 

 Agriculturally it can be used in exactly the same way as 

 hairy vetch, but it makes better growth in cool weather, 

 so that when mature the total yield is scarcely inferior. 



585. Scarlet vetch ( Vicia fulgens) is an annual, native 

 to the Mediterranean region. It is cultivated to a small 

 extent in France. Scarlet vetch is the most erect growing 

 of the annual slender-stemmed vetches. It is charac- 

 terized by its narrow leaflets and beautiful scarlet flowers 

 in one-sided clusters. It is even less hardy than common 

 vetch, but usually withstands the winters of the Pacific 

 coast and the cotton states. Only rarely does it produce 

 seed in large quantities, and the pods shatter readily, so 

 that the seed is comparatively expensive. The plant is 

 quite drought resistant, and from spring sowings has suc- 

 ceeded better in the semi-arid regions than any other vetch 

 except the purple. It is very doubtful whether the seed 

 of this vetch will ever be cheap enough to enable it to com- 

 pete with other varieties. 



586. Ervil or black bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia) was culti- 

 vated for fodder by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and 

 seeds have been found in the ruins of ancient Troy. It 

 still is a crop of some importance in Asiatic Turkey. The 

 plant is apparently native to the region about the eastern 

 end of the Mediterranean. 



Unlike most other vetches, it is upright in habit, and 

 without tendrils. The plants grow to a height of 2 to 2-| 



