HAIRY-VETCH SEED PRODUCTION. 7 
considered very objectionable in wheat, and the two are never grown 
together intentionally, except occasionally for hay. The wheat 
plant is not tall enough to support the vetch properly and ripens 
several days later than vetch. The seeds are very difficult to sepa- 
rate, but unless separated cause severe dockage. Wheat containing 
as high as 3 pounds of hairy-vetch seed per bushel usually yields 
enough vetch seed on separating to pay the cost of separation. A 
lesser quantity reduces the value of the wheat 10 to 20 cents a 
bushel. Hairy-vetch seed from this source is more likely to contain 
seeds of cockle and other weeds than that from other sources, but is 
less liable to contain immature vetch seed. 
The centers of production of hairy-vetch seed shift from year to 
year, but the Michigan counties of greatest production in the approxi- 
mate order of importance are Oceana, Muskegon, Ottawa, Newaygo, 
Allegan, Mason, Manistee, Kent, Antrim, Ogemaw, Barry, Charle- 
voix, Osceola, Wexford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, and Benzie. The 
counties along Lake Michigan are the largest producers of seed, but 
they are also the largest users and do not necessarily export as much 
as some of the counties farther inland. Vetch seed has been raised 
in nearly every county in Michigan at one time or another, but in 
the eastern half of the State the industry is not important. 
GROWING THE SEED CROP IN MICHIGAN. 
Hairy vetch that is to be saved for seed is handled somewhat 
differently from that grown for forage or green manure. ‘The general 
cultural requirements of the plant are much the same, but the 
details of planting, harvesting, and marketing are different. A 
thorough understanding of tnese details is necessary for the best 
success with a seed crop, and failure to observe them may result in 
very unsatisfactory returns. | 
SOIL AND CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS. 
The best crops of hairy-vetch seed are produced on medium rich 
soils in regions of moderate rainfall and fairly cool temperatures. 
Conditions favorable to the best development of potatoes may be 
regarded as standard for hairy-vetch seed production. Excessive 
plant food and unusual warmth and moisture are to be especially 
avoided, as they promote luxuriant vegetative growth at the expense 
of the seed-bearing pods. A fairly dry, cool sandy loam, not too well 
supplied with nitrogen, gives the most profitable returns. Such con- 
ditions produce stocky, robust vines, heavily set with pods, giving 
the highest possible yields with the least trouble and expense. In 
choosing a location for seed production, therefore, it is better not to 
use the richest land on the farm, but rather a field that has not 
recently been manured or has not been growing heavy crops of clover, 
alfalfa, or other legumes. 
