SPRING VARIETY 419 



This form is usually sown in September, October, or Novem- 

 ber, either alone or mixed with rye for early spring fodder. 



The rye is not only nutritious but acts as a support for the 

 vetches, and keeps the latter from trailing on the ground and 

 rotting at the base of the stem. 



The Spring VarLety grows more rapidly and luxuriantly 

 than the winter one, and is a more delicate plant. When used 

 for green fodder it is sown either alone at the rate of 4 bushels 

 per acre, or in mixture with oats or barley at the rate of 2^ 

 bushels of vetches to i^ bushels of the cereal. 



Small areas are sown from February onwards at short intervals 

 so as to provide a succession of crops during the summer. 



It must be borne in mind that the spring variety is uncertain 

 for autumn sowing, and that the true winter variety if sown re- 

 peatedly in spring produces seeds which give rise to somewhat 

 delicate plants. 



As the botanical morphological features present no points 

 of constant difference by which the winter form may be dis- 

 tinguished from the spring one, the farmer is compelled to 

 depend on the honesty of the vendor when purchasing either 

 kind. 



Vetches grown for hay should be cut when in bloom ; at this 

 stage of growth it is superior in nutritive value to good meadow 

 hay; when grown for seed, the yield of which is always very 

 uncertain, vetches may be sown alone or in mixture with beans 

 whose stiff stems act as supports and enable the crop to obtain 

 a better supply of the light and air necessary for healthy 

 growth. 



The seeds of the vetch have practically the same composition 

 as those of the field bean. 



Ex. 220. — Sow the seeds of bean, pea and vetch in garden soil or pots ; dig 

 up the seedling as soon as two full-grown leaves appear on the stems above 

 ground, and examine the root system and the form and size of the leaves on 

 the stem above the cotyledons. 



