GROWING LEGUMES IN DRY AREAS 331 



so well as on those that are of open texture. The sand 

 vetch, as the name implies, is best adapted to a soil of 

 open texture which may be easily penetrated by the 

 roots. It has more power to grow in soils low in fer- 

 tility than the common vetch, but it will, of course, grow 

 much better on soils that are well stored with plant 

 food. 



Place in the rotation. The common vetch may be 

 given any place in the rotation, but, of course, not with 

 equal adaptation. It comes naturally after a crop of small 

 grain, to make amends for the depletion of fertility when 

 growing the grain. But more frequently it will probably 

 be sown along with some kind of grain to provide forage. 

 The sand vetch is usually sown with some kind of small 

 grain to provide forage or pasture, whether sown in the 

 spring or in the autumn. 



Preparing the soil. The preparation of the soil for 

 vetches will be the same usually as the preparation of 

 the same for the grain crop amid which it is sown. This 

 means that the crop will very frequently be sown on 

 summer-fallowed land when sown in the autumn, and 

 on similar land when sown in the spring, or on land that 

 has been cultivated. 



Sowing. The common vetch is sometimes sown in 

 the spring only, and in other instances both in the spring 

 arid fall, whether sown alone or with other grain. But 

 it cannot be sown in the fall save where the winters are 

 mild. The sand vetch is in some instances sown in the 

 spring along with small grain and again it is sown simi- 

 larly in the fall. More experimentation is wanted to 

 determine conclusively the best time for sowing vetches. 

 They are sown with the ordinary grain drill. The 

 depth that will be most suitable' for the grain will also 

 answer for the vetches, hence the seeds may be mixed 

 and sown with one cast rather than at different times. 

 When the common vetch is sown alone, which is done 



