CULTURE 433 



VETCHES 



Wild vetches are very commonly distributed throughout the 

 world, and botanists recognize at least 120 kinds. Several vetches 

 have been brought into cultivation, but only two have received ex- 

 tensive culture, namely, the common or spring vetch or tares ( Vicia 

 sativa) and the hairy or winter vetch or sand vetch ( Vicia villosa) 

 (Fig. 185). Another member of the same family (Vicia faba) is 

 never known as a vetch, but is usually called horse bean or Windsor 

 bean. 



Common vetch is an annual, but quite frost-resistant, and can 

 be sown in the fall as a winter annual in all regions having a mild 

 winter where only light freezing takes place. In more severe climates 

 it is sown in early spring. It is a prostrate vine, usually three to 

 five feet long, with tendrils at the ends of all the leaves, and purple 

 flowers borne in pairs. It is found growing wild in southern Europe, 

 and has probably been cultivated since the beginning of the Christian 

 era. 



Adaptations. Spring vetch requires a cool climate and will not 

 withstand the hot summer heat of the southern States. In the 

 North it is sown in the spring, but in the southern States and on the 

 Pacific Coast it is usually sown in the fall. It grows slowly during 

 the fall and winter months, makes a rapid growth in the spring, 

 and is usually ' harvested before the heat of summer. It is best 

 adapted for culture where it can be fall sown, and in such climates 

 is often preferred to the hairy vetch, as it is more productive. In the 

 North, however, the hairy vetch is to be preferred, as spring vetch 

 does not make sufficient yield when spring sown in the North. 



Vetch can be grown in any well-drained soil, but has a preference 

 for the lighter types. Vetch also has the merit of growing in soils 

 quite low in lime content, which is a common fault of the poorer 

 soils throughout the eastern part of the United States. Vetches are 

 also better adapted to sandy soils than most of our cultivated plants. 



Culture. While several varieties of common vetch are recog- 

 nized in Europe, we know little about the different varieties in 

 America and generally recognize only the one. In this country we 

 usually call it spring vetch in contrast with hairy vetch, which is 

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