LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. IIQ 



in a rich soil, it will grow better relatively in a poor 

 soil than field peas. In nearly all respects it is a 

 more rugged plant than the pea. But very hot suns 

 and warm winds will blight the vetch quite as read- 

 ily as the pea. 



Preparing the Soil. — When preparing the soil 

 for vetches, the pulverization should be fine. For 

 spring sown vetches, deep fall plowing is to be pre- 

 ferred. For autumn sown vetches the nature of the 

 preparatory cultivation will depend somewhat on the 

 crop which they follow. The aim should be to have 

 the lancl clean, firm and moist. If the vetch follows 

 a hoed crop, as, for instance, early harvested pota- 

 toes, it will suffice to disk the ground deeply and to 

 smooth it with the harrow. If the crop follows a 

 cereal, the land should be plowed some time before 

 sowing the seed, especially in dry weather, and then 

 it ought to be rolled and harrowed with a view to 

 enabling it to gather and hold moisture. 



Solving the Seed. — The spring vetch should be 

 sown for forage as early as the ground is dry enough 

 to be worked without injury. The winter vetch 

 ought to be sown long enough before winter to 

 enable it to become firmly established that it may the 

 better withstand the rigors of the winter. But it 

 will not avail to sow it until there is enough of mois- 

 ture in the soil to sprout the seed. The seed may 

 be broadcasted, but is better §own with the grain 

 drill, either when sown alone or along with other 

 seed. It should be buried about as deeply as cereals. 

 When sown alone for pasture, four to six pecks of 

 seed per acre ought to be enough, but some authori- 

 ties recommend an amount considerably larger, on 

 the ground that when sown thus thickly the vetches 



