20 



FARM PRACTICE WITH FORAGE CROPS IN OREGON, ETC. 



upon the swath just cut and holds it so that the shoe of the sickle bar 

 slips over with little or no clogging. In this way the swath upon 

 which the wheels of the mower are running is cut in two again and 

 another clean swath is also cut at the same time. Cutting each swath 

 in two twice makes the handling of the hay much easier. After being 

 cut the hay may be cured and handled in the usual way. 



THE SEEL) CROP. 



It is very difficult to separate the seeds of wheat or rye from vetch 

 seed, while those of oats and vetch can be separated reasonably well. 

 For a seed crop that is intended for market, therefore, oats and vetch 



Fig. 1.— A common method of cutting tangled vetch. The first swath cut is rolled on the uncut 

 vetch; after the mower passes again, the double swath is rolled on the uncut vetch; when the 

 mower has cut under this, the triple swath is rolled outward. 



are usually sown together in the early fall — about a bushel of each 

 per acre. In the spring they are usually pastured until April to keep 

 the growth from becoming so rank that it will fall. The vetch then 

 matures in July. The seed matures very unevenly; the pods burst 

 open when overripe and exposed to the sun, and much of the seed 

 may be lost in this way. The best seed is always produced in the 

 lower pods and the seed crop is usually cut when these pods are 

 turning brown and before they have begun to drop their seed. 



If the crop stands up well and is not too heavy it is cut with a 

 binder and shocked immediately. From 12 to 15 bundles are put 

 in the bottom of the shock and other bundles built on top of this 



