FORAGE CROPS 



141 



were found to be well covered with tubercles, being in some 

 instances as large as hickory nuts. The plants rarely grow 

 over 2jE^ feet in height, averaging usually about 2 feet. 



RUSSIAN VETCH ( Victa villosd) 



This plant has been grown at the Station in small plots dur- 

 ing the past three years. The seed resembles that of the pea, 

 but is much smaller, being about the size of ordinary buck- 

 wheat, only round. The plant is a legume, and therefore, like 

 clover, is valuable as a nitrogen gatherer. The United States 

 Department of Agriculture introduced the seed into this coun- 

 try, in 1886, from Russia. The seed is sown in this climate 

 usually during May or early June for summer forage, and dur" 

 ing August for winter forage, at the rate of 1^2 bushels per 

 acre. The plant is said to have been tested in all parts of this 

 country, and found to be both hardy and drought-resisting. 



A plot was sown to vetch the fore part of June the present 

 season, and the crop was not cut until the middle of September, 

 at which time the plants stood on an average 20 inches high 

 and were very thickly matted. When cut, it averaged in the 

 green state at the rate of 13 tons, 1,588 pounds per acre. The 

 soil was a fairly rich loam. The natural tendency of the plants 

 to mat thickly renders it a hard crop to harvest or to plow under 

 as a green manure. When some erect-growing crop is grown 

 with it, it stands up better. This was evident when the seed 

 was sown broadcast and weeds came up, helping to hold up the 

 vetch. It doubtless would do much better if sown like peas 

 with oats. Vetch is being tested in other places in the state, 

 and doubtless will be more commonly known in the near 

 future. 



OATS AND CANADA PEAS 



Neither oats nor peas, when planted by themselves, give suffi- 

 cient weight to make them valuable as forage crops, but when 

 sown together, they produce a fairly heavy yield of valuable fod- 

 der. The yield per acre varies according to the ground used 

 and its state of fertility. Our custom has been to sow them in 

 early spring, utilizing them for soiling until they are matured 



