TARES. 



instead of winter tares, they may oc- 

 casionally stand tlie frost, if not very 

 severe ; but, in general, tiiey rot 

 on the ground and never recover ; 

 ■whereas, the reiil hardy winter tares, 

 whose vegetation is slower, seem in- 

 sensible to the severest frosts. 



" In the early part of summer, green 

 rye and tares, mi.xed, are sold at a 

 great price in larg(^ towns, for horses 

 which have worked hard and been 

 highly fed in winter. They act as a 

 gentle laxative, and cool the blood : 

 near London, where every produce 

 is forced with an abundance of ma- 

 nure, tares are often fit to cut early 

 in May, and the land is immediatel)' 

 ploughed and planted with potatoes, 

 or sown with mangel-wurzel or ruta 

 haga, which come off in September or 

 Octolier, in time for wheat sowing. 

 Thus two very profitable crops are 

 raised during the time that the land, 

 according to the old system, would 

 have been fallow ; and, at the same 

 time, it is left as clean, by careful 

 hoeing, as the best fallow would have 

 made it. 



" There are a great many species 

 of tares or vetches, for the terms are 

 synonymous, many of which have 

 been proposed to be introduced into 

 general cultivation ; but none seem, ■ 

 on the whole, to be so well adapted 

 to our climate as the common tare: 

 some have biennial and some peren- 

 nial roots. The Vicia biennis has a 

 strong stem and large leaves, and 

 grows four or five feet high ; but it is 

 not so succulent as the common sort. ,' 

 It might, perhaps, by cultivation and i 

 early cutting, become a useful early 

 fodder, and it may be worth while 

 to make some experiments with it. 

 There are several species of tares 

 which grow wild in bushesand hedges, 

 but they have never been cultivated 

 in the fields, perhaps from the diffi- 

 culty in collecting the seeds, which 

 shed as they are ripe. Of these, the 

 Vicia craca appears most deserving of 

 attention. It bears its blue flower on 

 stems or spikes longer than the leaves, 

 which are downy. It is very com- 

 m'j>i in France among wheat; and, 

 although a decided weed there, it is 

 782 



! not much dreaded by the peasants, as 

 it improves the fodder greatly. It 

 j has the appearance of great luxuri- 

 I ance in its growth, where it meets 

 with a proper support. If it were 

 mixed with some plants with a strong 

 stem, such as the Bokhara clover 

 {Mclilotus arborcu altissima), which it- 

 self affords much fodder, it might 

 probably be cultivated to great ad- 

 vantage. 



" In the south of France there is a 

 white perennial vetch or tare, called 

 Vicia pisifonnis, which is cultivated 

 for its white seeds, of wliich soups 

 aie made, as with the pea and lentil. 

 It grows in very light soils ; and, al- 

 though indigenous to a southern cli- 

 mate, it is said not to be impatient of 

 frost. It has been called by some the 

 Canadian lentil, or the white tare. 



"We shall only notice one more 

 of the wild tares, which is an annual : 

 it is called the yellow tare ( Vicui lu- 

 tea). It grows in stony soils and 

 among bushes, is very branching, and 

 rises from one to two feet high. From 

 some experiments made by the Ag- 

 ricultural Society of Versailles sev- 

 eral years ago, it would appear that 

 this tare might be cultivated with 

 great advantage, and is even superi- 

 or to the common sort, because it 

 can be cut two or three times during 

 tiie summer, and affords a very good 

 pasture in winter, which does not 

 stop its vegetation ; it will even bloom 

 in a mild winter. Although short, it 

 is so thick upon the ground, that its 

 first cut is as heavy as that of the 

 common taie, which is seldom worth 

 cutting a second time. 



" Tares should be sown on land 

 which is well pulverized. If after 

 wheat, the stubble should be plough- 

 ed in with a deep furrow after a pow- 

 erful scarifier has gone over the land 

 several times to loosen it; five or six 

 cart-loads of good farm-yard <lung 

 should be ploughed in. The tares 

 should be drilled or dibbled, and the 

 surface well harrowed. The inter- 

 vals should be hoed early in spring : 

 this will accelerate the growth, and 

 ensure a complete covering of the 

 ground. As soon as the tares show 



