436 PEAS, BEANS, VETCHES, PEANUTS 



biennial or winter annual, making a slow growth the first year, but a 

 rapid, heavy growth the second year, reaching maturity in the 

 northern States during July. It is found growing wild through- 

 out north Europe, where it was first brought into cultivation. At- 

 tention was first called to its culture in the United States about 1886. 

 Adaptations. Hairy vetch is very hardy and is rarely known to 

 winter-kill in northern United States or southern Canada. Hairy 

 vetch will not do well under high summer temperatures, and is prob- 

 ably best adapted to the region north of the Ohio River, while com- 

 mon vetch is probably best for the southern States. Hairy vetch is 



FIG. 186. Seeds of common vetch on left, and hairy vetch on right (enlarged). 



generally considered very drought-resistant, especially on sandy, 

 coastal plain soils. 



Hairy vetch grows well on practically all productive soils. Its 

 success on sandy soils is well known and gives it the name of sand 

 vetch. It is probably the best legume in the northern States as a 

 restorative crop to be plowed under for green manure on sandy soils. 



Culture. Hairy vetch is commonly sown in the fall with rye 

 or wheat, usually at the rate of about thirty pounds of vetch to one 

 bushel of grain per acre. When sown alone, sixty pounds per acre are 

 required. It is usually sown with grain because its heavy twining 

 vines are difficult to harvest when sown alone. When sown with 

 rye, it is comparatively easy to harvest with the rye, and after 

 the two are threshed together, the seed of the vetch is separated out. 



