VETCHES. 
9 1 
upon this system, vetches as green food may he secured 
generally through the months of May, June, July, and 
August. 
Mr. C. further says, upon an arable enclosed farm, 
one-tenth of the arable is not too much to be sown 
with winter vetches, in a dry summer all will be want¬ 
ed, or cut in full blossom ; they make excellent fodder, 
or may be saved for seed; in general, they do best sown 
about the end of September for general use. 
He also says, horses are best fed with vetches in the 
stable, as they are then always in readiness for work, 
besides making a deal of manure ; some, however, 
think tying the best, especially for young horses. Cat¬ 
tle, sheep, and pigs, are equally fond of vetches ; in 
some years, when grass has run short for milking cows, 
I have cut vetches for them, and thereby kept them up 
to their milk, till rain came to bring forth the grass, 
otherwise the cows would have been nearly dry. 
In order to be sure of the true winter vetch, it is best 
for the farmer to save his own seed ; the winter vetch 
is known by its growing bushy for some time after 
springing up ; the other sort growing spiry, and will 
not stand a hard winter ; seedsmen are sometimes de¬ 
ceived themselves, and the value of the seed has been 
known to be returned when the crop has perished by 
frost; but this does not make amends for the lost crop. 
— Mr. C. 
I shall beg leave to conclude the subject of vetches, 
by an attempt to correct an error very prevalent, which 
is that of calling vetches tares; vetches are no more 
tares, than wheat is rye or barley, being of a distinct 
and different genera and species, though of the same 
class and order, but having distinct essential characters. 
The vicia, or vetch tribe, includes the plant in question 
(vicia 
