MISCELLANEOUS PERENNIAL LEGUMES 567 



it is cultivated much like red clover, being sown in Ger- 

 many in fall with a grain crop. The plants grow so slowly 

 that there is but little fall pasturage after the grain crop 

 is removed. Thereafter it yields moderate hay crops for 

 two years ; if pastured, it lasts 3 to 4 years. Usually 

 but one hay crop a year can be obtained, and the after- 

 math is very small. Kidney vetch is, however, rarely 

 sown alone but in mixtures, and is better adapted for pas- 

 tures than for meadows. Both as pasturage and as hay, 

 kidney vetch is more readily eaten by sheep than by other 

 animals. It seems never to cause bloating. 



The harvesting of the seed is rather difficult, as, if cut 

 too green, it will not thrash out, and if too ripe, it shatters 

 much. The plants usually die after seed harvest. The 

 seed yield varies from 350 to 700 pounds an acre. A 

 bushel weighs 60 to 64 pounds, and one pound contains 

 126,000 to 182,000 seeds, according to Stebler. 



Kidney vetch is usually sown in mixtures, but if sown 

 alone 20 pounds of seed an acre is used. Werner says 

 that the yield of hay on calcareous sand is 5000 to 9000 

 pounds an acre ; on good sandy soil, 3500 to 5000 pounds ; 

 and on poor sandy soils, 1800 to 2500 pounds ; or on the 

 average about 4000 pounds to the acre. 



Kidney vetch has not proved of any particular value 

 under American conditions. The plant is not rarely found 

 in ballast grounds, but nowhere has it become really natu- 

 ralized. It has been tested in a small way at many Ameri- 

 can Experiment Stations, but none have recommended 

 it as being promising. 



At the Utah Experiment Station it gave a yield of only 

 1 150 pounds of hay to the acre. At the Ontario Agricultural 

 College the average yield for 2 years was 2,6 tons green 

 matter to the acre. 



