41 8 LEGUMINOS^E 



apart ; the amount used is from 2 to 4 bushels, according to the 

 size of the bean. 



Yield. — The average yield is about 30 bushels of seed and 

 from 20 to 30 cwt. of ' straw.' 



Composition. — Bean seeds contain 14 per cent, of water and 

 about 23 per cent, of albuminoids, mainly in the form of fine 

 aleuron-grains in the cells of the cotyledons of the embryo. The 

 carbohydrates, the chief of which is starch, average 48 per cent, j 

 the fat, i| per cent. ; and the fibre, 7 per cent. 



6. Common Vetch or Tare {Vicia sativa L.). — An annual 

 vetch with trailing or climbing stems and compound pinnate 

 leaves. The primary stems branch extensively from the axils 

 of the lower leaves, and the secondary and tertiary branches also 

 branch freely. 



The first few leaves of the seedling plant have one or two 

 pairs of narrow leaflets and no tendrils ; those appearing later 

 are, however, furnished with two or three terminal tendrils and 

 six or seven pairs of leaflets, which are broader and oblong or 

 obovate in form, with a stiff mucronate point. 



The stipules are small and pointed, with a dark purple blotch 

 in the centre. 



The flowers, which are reddish purple, are borne singly or in 

 pairs on very short stalks in the axils of the leaves. 



The fruit is a more or less hairy legume, containing from four 

 to ten smooth round seeds. 



The cultivated vetch (V. sativa L.) is probably merely a 

 form of Vicia angustifolia Roth., which is a common wild plant 

 in dry soils throughout the country. 



There are two races of the cultivated vetch or tare, namely. 

 Winter Vetches and Spring Vetches. 



The Winter Vetch is a hardy form, capable of enduring 

 frost ; it has smoother, more cylindrical pods, with smaller 

 seeds than the summer variety, and gives less bulk of stem and 

 leaves. 



