HAIRY-VETCH SEED PRODUCTION. 13 
to be a poorer stand, but also because the plants which are produced 
are not so large or thrifty. Soil which has never produced hairy 
vetch usually requires twice the quantity of seed necessary on soil 
where the crop has been 
erown repeatedly. 
The following rates of 
seeding per acre may be 
considered the average in 
Michigan: On sandy soils 
and coarse sandy loams, 
18 pounds of hairy vetch 
in from 3 pecks to 1 bushel 
of rye; on fine, sandy 
loam, 15 pounds of hairy 
vetch in 1 bushel of rye; 
on gravelly clay loam, 10 
to 12 pounds of hairy 
vetch in 1 bushel of rye. 
‘These figures vary widely 
and are at best only ap- 
proximations, but they 
may assist the grower in 
determining the proper 
quantity to sow. 
On fields where rye and 
hairy vetch follow rye and 
hairy vetch, aconsiderable 
saving in seed is possible 
because of the volunteer 
crop which usually comes 
up from the seed shattered 
in the previous harvest. 
This growth often 
amounts to one-third to 
three-fourths of a full 
stand. Reseeding is fre- 
quently avoided by allow- 
ing the crop to become , 
dead ripe before harvesting, this practice being especially popular in 
districts where hairy vetch is just becoming established. This 
method saves labor in preparing the seed bed and planting, but the 
practice is very wasteful of seed, as there are frequently 3 or 4 
bushels of shattered seed to the acre, whereas a peck is sufficient for 
planting. In the long run it is usually better economy to harvest all 
the seed possible and resow whatever quantity is necessary. 
Fic. 3.—Rye and hairy vetch in the proper proportions for a 
seed-crop. More hairy vetch would drag down therye. 
