THeKinadf SoUBmaers How-When-Where to Grow It liVa»li(4>1(l]i*<' How It Builds Up Sandy Soil How Its Humus Feeds Orchards How It Helps All Other Crops How It Must Be Inoculated How It Saves Fertilizer Bills All This and More REAT $ CASH MONEY Cit READ EVERY WORD ON THIS PAGE A Brand New Idea in Books for the Farm. Ten Crop Books — the very first of their kind. Every one a gold-mine of information. Every one packed _/&// of money-saving, money-making plans. Every one practical, dtrect-tO'ihe-poini, simple and readable. Any one or more of these books will be sent postpaid on reeeipt of prices listed. Address Galloway Brothers — Bowtaan Company, Waterloo, Iowa, U.* S. A. ALFALFA — '*How to Grow Alfalfa the Wonder Crop*' 2 5 CenU This book shows some astounding facts and figures regarding Alfalfa— It tells how it can be grown on practically every farm in the United States— It treats briefly and concisely of drainage— Testing soil for acidity— Liming— Preparation of the seed bed— lime of seeding— Amount of seed to sow— Method of seeding— Use as cover crops— How to inoculate— Care of growing crops— Harvesting Alfalfa for seed— Things to do and things not to do— How to avoid Alfalfa failures. CLOVERS —"Clover The Great $ Cash Money $ Crop** 3S Cents Sixteen varieties are treated fully— Kind of soil require'd for clover— Treatment of growing crops— Harvesting for hay— Care of hay— Rotation— Bloat— Clover troubles and how to avoid them — Value of inoculation— Preventing loss from (i) Heat and drought, (2) Winter killing, (3) Ground-heaving- "Clover sickness" — The book is fully illustrated and contains facts and figures galore — Many valuable suggestions for every practical farmer. SOY BEANS and COWPEIAS —"The Twin Soil-Makerrf» 20 CenU The rapid spread of these excellent forage crops— Compared as to merits — As covef crops — ^As green manure crops — For the silo — As soil enrichers — In rotation — Wide adaptability — As to soil and climate — As crops grown in mixtures — Farmers East, Westi North or Kouth will be glad to learn more about these crops. CORN — **How to Get 1 OO Bushels of Com from An Acr^* 1 6 Cents No empty corn crib tor the farmer who follows the hints this book gives — Some brand new ideas in growing this king of money crops— How to build up poor soils so they will produce bumper crops — Pointers from the standpoint of scientific facts as well as the actual experience of practical growers — Feeding the soil with organic matter— Inoculated legumes for green manuring corn land — No theories, just good, cold facts presented in simple understandable form, so that every up-to-date farmer can and will make practical use of what he reads. VETCH— **The King of Soil Builders'* 25 Cents This book fully describes the merits of this crop new to America— As a soil improver and cover crop — On corn lands— On potato land— On tobacco fields — In orchards — Its feeding value — Inoculated and uninoculated Vetch — Building up run out soils and reclaiming new barren sandy soils — Seeding— Harvesting— Vetch as a nitrogen- gathering crop — Cirown with the grains. PEAS and BEANS— **Two $ Cash Money $ Crops** 85 Cents Where peas can be grown with profit — Soils— How and when to plant— Value as Feed for stock — Harvesting the crop — Enemies and How to Fight Them — ^A sure market — Varieties — Uses on the farm — Inoculation of peas and beans and their value as soil builders. POTATOES —"How to Grow More and Better Potatoes** 1 5 CenU Profits made in potato g^rowing — Methods of planting and preparing soil that will bring increased yields— Green manures for potato land — Figures showing increase due to green manure system. COTTON —"Relieving the Cotton Calamity** 18 CenU This book explains a method by which money now spent for commercial fertilizers goes into the pockets of the grower— Permanent cotton culture— The value ©f humus in the soil of cotton lands — How to increase humus — Green manuring — Growing cot- ton on same land year after year and at profit — How healthful conditions of soil may be secured, yield and quality improved, and cost of production lowered to a mini- mum— Tha cotton grower cannot afford to be without the information which Is con- tained in this book. ORCHARDS — **Cover and Shade Crops for Orchards** 1 5 Cents Methods of managing soils to insure the future of orchards— Soil mulch system- Continuous clean culture system— Cover crop system— Prevention of soil washing- benefits of green manures— increasing humus in soils— Improving soil in texture, drainage, ventilation, water holding capacity— Use of commercial fertilizers— Kinds of cover crops to use— Orchards of Eastern and Northern states— Orchards of Southern and Western states. TOBACCO — **Fertilizing the Tobacco Field** 1 CenU A plan clearly showing how tobacco land can be fertilized more effectively, with less labor, and at less cost than by methods now in common use. — The grower is shown now to keep his soil productive while cropping tobacco from the same land year after year-How to increase the yield and improve the quality of tobacco. VETCH "The King of Soil Builders" By W. H. Matchette Price 25 cents Published by The Galloway Bros.- Bowman Co. Waterloo, Iowa Ccpyright, 1913, by German- American " NUragin" Co., Milwaukee, Wis. 9B ^t,5 ©Ci,A346620 VETCH The King of Soil Builders DID you ever read the "Arabian Nights"? Did you ever read the story of "Aladdin's Lamp"? , Now these stories, of course, are fables and sound like great ex- aggerations, but — I want you to read this book on Vetch, because when you sit down, take a pencil and figure out what this King of Soil Builders, Vetch, will do for land that you want to build up, for any old, cropped out, de- pleted soil, or for any unprofitable, sandy soil, it will almost make you say that it sounds like a story in the "Arabian Nights", If you have any thin, cold, dry, hungry soil, which you want turned into warm, moist, fertile soil, rich in humus and nitrogen, you should carefully read and study this book twice. It will tell you about Vetch, the wonderful Green IManure Crop. How it makes a greater growth of vegetable matter, than almost any other crop, and at the same time steals more free nitrogen from the air than an^^ other farm legume. This book also tells how Vetch in- creases the yield of corn, potatoes, cotton, tobacco and the grain crops. Imagine for example, a corn crop that takes out $35 worth of nitro- gen an acre. This can be replaced by simply sowing vetch between the rows at the last cultivation, which will give you a green forage crop for fall and spring, that will draw the $35 worth of nitrogen back to the soil from the air, which the corn consumed in its growth, and then by turning the green crop under, it gives you humus the equal of which cannot be put into the soil either in quality or quantity by barnyard manure or commercial fertilizer. If you want cattle food of the highest excellence — If you want a profitable soiling feed which may be cut and fed green to stock at most any stage of its growth — Put in Vetch. If you want a palatable, digestible hay, one that makes a good sub- stitute for red clover and is ready to harvest by the middle of June — Put in Vetch. If you want an early spring pasture that makes a crop when green forage is scarce (before spring and summer grasses come in) — Put in Vetch between the rows of corn at the last cultivation. To me this is one of the most wonderful crops the farmer can grow. It clearly demonstrates what nature will do for you if you let her, and give her an opportunity. No farmer's land would remain sick and worn out if he but studied the different legume crops, used his head, and let Nature do the work. That's why I want you to especially study this book on Vetch — the King of Soil Builders. Many farmers have sandy land a^id have been at a loss to know how to make it valuable and productive. Vetch is th^ answer. Nearly all farmers have a piece of ground, a field, or a part of their farm which has been cropped so long and so often that it will scarcely grow a crop, even a decent crops of weeds. How to bring such worth- less soil back to its original fertility is a vital question never answered more fully in detail than it is in this new book on Vetch. For a long time sandy land in some localities has been considered without value, and not only a drug on the market but an expense to the owner, and in many cases not even worth the taxes. Grow in- oculated Vetch on this kind of land. You will be surprised at the results. Vetch will pay in the Corn Belt. Many farmers think because their land is black as their hat, be- cause it is in the Corn Belt, or even because it is in the fertile plains of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the great Canadian Northwest, that they don't need a crop like Vetch, when as a matter of fact they are fooling themselves and would find that Vetch even in the very deepest black soil would prove a money maker for them. It is a dividend payer, and a crop that every farmer should grow on his farm. For that reason I would like to have you study over this book very carefully because it is an eye opener to many and you will then know why we call this book "Vetch, the King of Soil Builders." President. GALLOWAY BROTHERS-BOWMAN CO., Waterloo, Iowa. CHAPTER I. Hairy Vetch A Great Forage Crop DESCRIPTION — DISTRIBUTION — SOIL REQUIRE- MENTS—PREPARING THE SOIL— SOWING— GROWING SEED FOR HOME USE— FEEDING VALUE— ITS CHIEF USES AS FEED— SPRING PASTURE— ENSILAGE— FOR SOILING— FOR HAY— FOR MILK COWS— FOR HORSES- CHIEF CAUSE OF FAILURE. KINDS OF VETCH The reader will not care to learn particulars about all the different kinds of vetch. He will be chiefly interested in the varieties best known in this country. Hence the facts set forth in this little booklet deal mainly with hairy and commjon vetch, with but little space — far less than they deserve — devoted to the other varieties, such as black bitter vetch, scarlet vetch, purple vetch, and wool- ly-podded vetch. There are about 120 kinds of vetch. In the United States, where some twenty wild kinds are found, they are commonly knoAvn as wild peas. Many of these different vetches are compara- tively unknown to the American farmer, while others are growing in favor and covering greater areas every year. But, as I have said, the varieties of vetch best known to American farmers are common vetch, or tares, and hairy vetch. As the latter is of much greater import- ance, particularly as a soil-builder, I will discuss it first. HAIRY VETCH is also known as sand vetch, Russian vetch, Sibe- rian vetch, and villous vetch. Its seeds are small and somewhat re- semble sweet pea seeds. The growing plant, until it blossoms, looks like the sweet pea; when in full bloom the field is a sea of beau- tiful, bluish-purple clustered flowers. The plant is a branching, climbing vine, a great many of its branches reaching the length of seiVen to ten feet. A full grown crop forms a dense mat, completely covering the ground to the depth of one to two feet. When grown in combination with some strong growing plant, say wheat, rye, or oats, it is supported and kept entirely above the ground. The main stem of the hairy vetch is soft and spongy and slightly ridged, the entire plant being covered with very fine hairs. DESCRIPTION OF HAIRY VETCH 6 VETCH: "THE K I \ U OF SOIL BUILDERS" DISTRIBUTION A Hfliry Vetch Plant. (From Bui. No. 149, Conn. Agr. Experiment Station.) Hairy vetch is, very hardy and is therefore adapted to a wide range of distribution. It has been successfully grown in nearly all parts of the United States; it succeeds well wherever the Common vetch will grow, and it will withstand the . winters of eastern Washington, Michigan, New York, and even of New England. It succeeds especially well on sandy soils, but it can be grown on any well-drained land. It is a common thing to see it grow and thrive and make a good crop under dry conditions that would kill off the common vetch. The question of what soils are most suitable for vetch is not par- ticularly important, for it is a very democratic plant ; it will grow and thrive on most any soil. It will grow on rich fertile fields and it will make its home on poor, thin, sandy soils. While it is grateful for what moisture is given it the first few weeks of its growth, when it is once established its ability to re- sist drought is astonishing. Another thing in its favor is the fact that it is quite resistant to alkali and will germinate well in soils too- alkaline for most legumes. ■ Although hairy vetch is no respecter of soils and will grow almost SOIL EEQUIREMENTS VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" PREPARING THE SOIL SOWING HAIRY VETCH anywhere Avithont any special preparation of the soil, provided the seed is well inoculated, it is always a wise practice tb give it as firm a seed bed as possible. It is an easy matter to do this on light soils, but snch soils should also be firmed by running the roller over them before sowing the seed. Sown in early spring, when the ground is moist and the conditions generally favorable for growth, hairy vetch will develop rapidly. It will be in full blossom by the middle of Au- gust and will continue to grow and remain green until the ground freezes in the winter. A fcAv seeds will be found in the late fail, but spring sowing is not advisable if one wishes to harvest a crop of seed. Sown in the fall, that is, any time between the first of August and the first of October, it will germinate after the first good rain and grow very rapidly before winter sets in. By the time the coldest weather appears the plants are well rooted and able to withstand the freezes. In the following spring it will continue its marvelous growth, developing blossoms by the first of June and ripening its seeds by the middle of July. When sOwn in the fall, September is considered the ideal month. If sown alone, about 40 poimds of good seed to the acre are sufficient, though as high as 50 pounds are frequently used. As a general prac- tice it is best to sow it in conjunction with a small-grain crop, such as oats, winter wheat, or rye. Oats are usually used in the South, but in the North wheat or rye must be used. Rye is generally the choice, but if intended for hay the wheat combination is more nutritious. "When growing such mixtures for seed, enough grain is used to make about two-thirds of a stand and twenty pounds of the vetch seed are added. Such a mixed crop is easily cut with a mower having a swather attachment, or even with a binder. If more vetch is used it is liable to lodge, especially in spots where the vetch is thick, and the moAving is therefore rendered more difficult. If its seed could be obtained anywhere' near as cheaply and abun- dantly as most other seeds, hairy vetch would quickly take a very im- portant place in American agriculture. In spite of the high price of seed, the crop is constantly growing in favor and its area rapidly extending. More and more the southern farmer is growing vetch for win- ter cover and hay, while the northern farmer is becoming alive to its superior qualities as a soil builder, especially on sandy lands and on soils where red clover no longer thrives. GROWING SEED FOR HOME USE 8 VETCH: ''THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" This increase in the American demand for vetch is the principal reason for the high price of its seed ; the actual supply in Europe is not large, and thus far very little vetch seed has been produced in this country. I often wonder why the American farmer does not grow his own vetch seed. He can economically grow it for home use in most any State in the Union, and if he has any surplus can always sell it at good prices. No, there is not the least doubt but that a good crop of seed may be grown in most any part of the country. The largest crops have been grown on the Pacific Coast. The northern States also produce big crops, while in the South the seed crop seems to vary with the season, but often yielding good returns. Hairy vetch is a winter annual, behaving much like winter wheat. If planted in the spring it may produce a few blossoms the same sea- son, but will make little or no seed until the following season. If planted in the fall it ripens its seed crop the following July. Hence it follows that spring sowing for a seed crop is seldom advisable ex- cept on the Pacific Coast and in the arid regions. When vetch is spring-sown for seed it is best to pasture the crop the first season. The most successful seed growers plant in the fall, using from 30 to 45 pounds of seed to the acre, together with about one peck of rye. The rye holds up the vetch, so that it can be easily harvested. When seed is ripe it is cut and threshed Avith the ordinary threshing ma- chine, the seed separated with fanning mill. Hairy vetch ripens its pods over a period of two or three weeks. The best crops are obtained when the first pods are fully ripe and the upper pods well filled. The upper pods will ripen in the shocks, and if carefully handled comparatively few of the ripe pods will shatter. It is always best to cut the crop early in the morning or on a cloudy day. At all events, the vetch, whether cut in bundles or otherwise, should be put into shocks at once and left till threshed. As already stated, the important thing is to handle the cut crop quickly and just as little as possible. Under favorable conditions 10 to 12 bushels of hairy vetch seed to the acre can be grown. Even at $3 or $4 a bushel, such crops are very profitable, and at this price the demand for the seed would increase enormously. A home-grown supply of this seed is badly needed and it is to be sincerely hoped that American farmers will take advantage of this fact, and that such source of seed will soon be avail- able. VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" Feeding Value Of Hairy Vetch One can more readily appreciate the increasing importance of vetch, as a farm crop if he realizes, not alone its fertilizing value to the soil, but also its value as a feed for animals. It is generally conceded that hairy vetch is our richest legume. It makes hay of fine, digestible quality, it provides excellent pasturage, and it is used very profitably as a soiling crop. Since these qualities depend largely upon the amount of digestible nutrients in the plant, I give below a table showing that in this respect hairy vetch ranks very high — in most instances pre-eminently so — when compared with other forage crops. This table is taken from Henry's Feeds and Feed- ing, pages 585-6. It also gives the fertilizing constituents of the re- spective plants, and in this connection you will note that none of these plants ranks as high in its protein (nitrogen) content as hairy vetch. TABLE 1— DiaESTIBLE NUTRIENTS AND FERTILIZING CON- STITUENTS. Total dry matter in 100 lbs. - Digestible nutrients in 100 lbs. Fertilizing Constituents In 100 lbs. Name of Feed Crude protein Lbs. Carbo- hy- drates Lbs. Fat Lbs. Nitro- gen Lbs. Phos- phoric Acid Lbs. Potash Lbs. Dried Roughage. Cured hay from the grasses, etc. English hay 86.0 85.0 85.8 85.9 90.1 91.1 86.0 86.0 84.7 78.8 90.3 90.3 90.4 91.0 90.8 92.4 85.0 93.2 88.7 4.5 3.4 2.5 2.1 4.9 4.8 4.4 5.0 7.1 6.2 8.4 11.5 10.5 8.2 11.4 6.7 10.4 11.1 11.9 44.0 43.3 39.2 40.1 42.4 46.9 40.2 46.9 37.8 34.7 39.7 42.2 34.9 39.0 38.6 42.2 36.5 39.1 40.7 1.2 1.4 1.5 1.1 1.4 1.0 0.7 1.1 1.8 2.1 1.1 1.5 1.2 2.1 1.7 3.0 2.0 0.6 1.6 12.6 9.6 9.1 8.0 12.9 12.6 12.5 12.1 19.7 17.1 20.5 25.1 24.3 21.8 24.3 17.1 23.7 24.7 27.2 3.2 5.0 3.7 3.6 4.0 4.3 5.5 5.2 5.0 7.8 4.0 7.4 3.2 5.0 6.1 9.7 16.1 Timothy, cut in full bloom 14.1 Timothy, cut soon aft- er bloom Timothy, cut nearly ripe Orchard grass : Red top Kentucky blue grass. . Hungarian grass Cured haj- from leg- umes : Red clover 16.9 10.2 15.7 15.4 18.7 Mammoth red clover. . Alsike clover White clover Crimson clover Bur clover 11.6 13.9 13.2 13.1 Serradella 26.3 Peanut vine 11.6 Sainfoin 14.7 Alfalfa Hairy vetch 17.9 24.4 10 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" From the above table it will be seen that, hairy vetch is remarkably rich in digestible protein and protein is "the substance in foods that goes to build red flesh and blood and to make nerve and brain. ' ' The chief component of protein is nitrogen, costliest of the plant foods, concerning which the reader will find some interesting facts in Chap- ter II of this booklet. It is well to state here, however, that it is the protein in foods that costs so much, and it is protein that is generally needed so badly. Your cows need it when they make milk, your chickens when they make eggs, your young animals need it to make them grow. Unless there is an abundant supply of protein in the ration there will be few eggs, little milk and slow animal growth. What nearly all farms are short of is this precious nitrogenous compound, protein. It is mainl}^ for this reason that the vetches — with a greater nitrogen content than even alfalfa — are coming into such prominence as food for animals. Its Chief Uses As Feed Vetch is being largely used for pasture because, when sown in the fall, it makes a crop when green forage is scarce, before spring and summer grasses come in. Early fall growing, sown alone or with rye, barley, or oats, makes a pasture very valuable for live- stock during April and May, and if planted in August it will be ready in February and ]\larch. Just how long it will provide pas- ture depends a great deal on the seasons and whether it is seeded lightly or heavily ; also, whether it is desirable to have the vetch reseed itself or not. The demand for early spring grazing crops is growing steadily, due mainly to the increasing interest in dairying and the beef indus- try. The regular pasture crops supply needed forage from early sum- mer until autumn, and ensilage tides over late autumn and winter. But on nearly every farm there is a period of shortage of succulent forage from March until grass starts, and this period may be bridged over very profitably by growing vetch for spring pasture. It is not a good plan to commence grazing the vetch too early. For best results the stock should be kept off the field until the vetch has made considerable growth. It also should be remembered that if the vetch is to reseed the land the stock should be taken off before they graze too closely. HAIRY VETCH FOR SPRING PASTURE HAIRY VETCH FOR THE SILO FOR SOILING VETCH: 'THE KIXG OF SOIL BUILDERS" 11 "While the principal means of utilizing hairy vetch as feed have been, thus far, in the form of soiling, hay and pasture, this rich legume is often profitably used as silage. The Michigan Experiment Station recommends ensiling it in alternate layers of corn. Con- sidering its high protein content this prac- tice ought to be a desirable one. But while it is being proved that siloing hairy vetch can be made a profitable farm practice on many farms, in many different states, it is not rational to expect that it will ever compete, as ensilage, with the great silo crops, such as corn and alfalfa. When sown alone, hairy vetch is not likely to prove a very pop- ular soiling crop. It is difficult to cut. But if sown as a mixed crop, either with, oats or some other kind of grain, it makes a very profitable soiling feed, and may be cut with a grass blade or mow- er and fed green to stock at most any stage of its growth. In Europe where vetch is cultivated extensively for forage pur- poses it is regarded equal to clover in nutritive qualities. Over there it is sown in late summer or early autumn, and harvested the next year. If sown in spring it is cut the same year. ■ There is no doubt but vetch makes excel- lent hay, though it is somewhat difficult to mow. "When planted in the spring it will permit a large amount of grazing the first season and a full crop of hay the next. "When soAvn in the fall with winter wheat for hay, the crop makes an excellent substitute for red clover and is ready to harvest as hay by the middle of June. Vetch is often grown for hay in combination with oats, using one and one-half bushels of oats to 15 to 20 pounds of vetch to the acre. Many growers prefer smooth headed wheat to any other grain for sowing with vetch, more particularly where a hay crop is desired. They figure that there is less danger of the wheat being winter killed, and, moreover, wheat makes a valuable hay, and the two are most always ready to cut at the same time. This is the combination most used in Europe, where the greater part of our hairy vetch seed is pro- cured. The wheat offers a support for the slender vetch plants and makes easy the harvesting of the seed and hay. "When sown with wheat, 15 to 20 pounds of vetch should be used to the acre and three- fourths to one bushel of wheat. FOR HAY 12 VETCH: "THE A'/2VG OF SOIL BUILDERS" The great feed value of hairy vetch hay may be better realized when we compare it with that of wheat bran. In the following figures taken from Henry's Feeds and Feeding the almost parallel analyses of the digestible nutrients of the two are shown: Total dry matter in 100 lbs. Digestible nutrients Name of feed Crude protein Carboiiy- drates Fat Wheat bran 88.1 88.7 11.9 11.9 42.0 40.7 2.5 Hairy vetch 1.6 From the above figures it can be seen that, pound for pound, vetch hay as a ration for livestock is very nearly equal in nutrient value to wheat bran. Other things being equal, it should be worth as much for feed, and the average price of wheat bran is about $20 per ton. Fur- thermore, it is as palatable as it is digestible, and livestock as a rule eat it greedily. The yield will run from 6 to 10, and sometimes, on very rich soil, from 12 to 15 tons of green forage per acre. The yield of dry hay, taken on this basis, would be l^/o to 4 tons per acre, the yield depend- ing on the fertility of the soil. In the June 28th (1912) issue of Hoard's Dairyman, ex-Governor Hoard, the well known authority on dairy subjects, says: "Hairy vetch compares very favorably with alfalfa and clover hay as a feed for milk cows. The vetch hay is consid- erably richer in protein than clover hay and contains a little more digestible protein than alfalfa, but not enough to be considered in practical feeding operations. So far as com- position is concerned, it is not very far from correct to say that alfalfa and vetch hay are practically the same," Rye makes a satisfactory mixture with vetch, although it is more particularly recommended when pasturage or soil improvement is the chief end in view. Under most conditions, a better combination is wheat or oats. Yet rye and vetch as feed for horses can be suc- cessfully grown, as shown by the following letter from L. R. Johnson to the Breeders'^ Gazette, Sept. 11, 1912: "We are pleased with our first expe- rience with winter vetch. Our first cutting was made towards the end of May, while the rye was still green and the grains HAIRY VETCH FOR MILK COWS HAIRY VETCH AS FEED FOR HORSES VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" 13 unformed. The object was to have it succulent enough for horse feed. At this time the vetch had grown up to a height of about four feet and was intermingled with and supported by the rj^e. Although the horses had never before tasted vetch, they ate it with the rye with good relish. After this first cut- ting the vetch again began to grow and soon was in flower. "Vetch is one of the legume family, all of which are en- dowed with the power of storing the free nitrogen of the air in tubercles on their roots and thus enriching the soil without ex- pense to the farmer. Another point in favor of vetch is that it matures, in less than a year, while red clover requires a full year and three or four months of the second year, thus extending over two seasons. * ' Sow vetch in September and cut it or turn it under the next ; May. This would be in time to use the ground for planting , corn. It grows as rapidly as the cowpea, but occupies almost exactly the months in the year which the cowpea does not. Thus it fills an unoccupied place." As already stated, unless vetch is grown as a cover or green- manure crop, some grain should be sown along with it. Such a com- bination offers many advantages, chief among which are: (1) The grain supports the vetch vine, making the harvesting of the hay a simpler matter; (2) it is easier to cure vetch hay when there is mixed with it the hay of one of the grains; (3) the yield is increased by the addition of the grain, and there is greater certainty of obtaining sat- isfactory returns in either hay or pasture from the mixture than from vetch alone; (4) it is cheaper to sow vetch for hay, in combination with some grain, since it reduces the amount of vetch seed needed, an important item so long as the price of hairy vetch seed remains as high as it is at present. The greatest care should be taken when handling the crop to pre- vent loss of leaves by shattering. When cut, the vetch should be at once cocked up in rather large cocks, so that the pods will be as little exposed to the sun as possible. "Where there is room it is a good prac- tice to remove the vetch to the barn to finish curing. Light should be excluded as much as possible without sacrificing the needed ventila- tion. After the hay is thoroughly cured it should be baled or closely stored in bulk. "Where a mixture of hairy vetch and grain is harvested the curing is more easily accomplished and with less danger of loss of leaves to the vetch. 14 VETCH: ''THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" In considering the feeding value of a crop we look first to the amount of digestible protein, or nitrogen, it contains, and then to its percentage of carbohydrates and fat. A crop which contains a low percentage of protein, like corn, for instance, is usually rich in carbo- hydrates; whereas, clover, alfalfa, and vetch contain a large percent- age of protein, while their percentages of carbohydrates are relatively low. A proper combination of two crops — one rich in protein, the other rich in carbohydrates — results in a far more economical feeding for livestock than the, use of either one or the other in too great pro- portion. The trouble is that in compounding rations for the various feeding purposes, it is, on most farms, much more difficult and far more expensive to procure the necessary amount of nitrogen, or pro- tein, than it is to procure the carbohydrates and fat. This fact alone gives great prominence to the feeding value of inoculated legumes, such as alfalfa, the clovers, and the vetches ; for all inoculated legumes are richer in nitrogen than cereal grains or hay from grasses ; and the astonishing part of it lies in the fact that all these inoculated legumes get their nitrogen from the air, while all other plants get their nitro- gen by robbing the soil. When we consider the adaptability and usefulness of vetch for pas- ture, for a soiling crop, for hay and silage, when we learn that its food is richer in the costly nitrogenous nutrients than any other legume, if we except sweet clover, that it can be successfully grown in almost any state in the Union, we cease to wonder why it is that this marvelous legume is being recommended more and more for its feeding value. The failures in vetch growing are main- ly due to lack of inoculation. No one should attempt to plant vetch without providing the necessary inoculation to produce the nodules on its roots. Failure follows where vetch is not inoculated. Just wbat inocula- tion means is clearly shown in the following chapter. CHIEF CAUSE OF FAILURE VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" 15 CHAPTER II. Hairy Vetch King of Soil Builders SOIL— HUMUS— TWO CHIEF SOURCES OF HUMUS— THE HUMUS REQUIRED FOR SOIL BUILDING— NITRO- GEN — LEGUMES — INOCULATED LEGUMES— LEGUME GERMS— LEGUME GERMS VARY IN POWER— HAIRY VETCH A GREAT HUMUS MAKER— A GREAT NITRO- GEN-GATHERER—THE ROOTS OF HAIRY VETCH— ITS MASSIVE FOLIAGE— HAIRY VETCH FOR WORN-OUT SOILS— WIND-BLOWN SAND— PLOWING SANDY LAND —THE ROLLER ON SANDY LAND— THE DISK HARROW —THE TIGHT HARROW— PLANT INOCULATED SEED^ SEEDING SANDY LANt)— BARN MANURE ON SANDY LAND— LIME ON SANDY SOIL. In the preceding chapter it was shown that hairy vetch is a forage crop that ranks very high in feeding value: It provides excellent pasturage at the most grateful time possible, early spring; it makes very good ensilage; it provides a soiling crop that is growing in favor every year; and it makes a digestible, palatable hay that is as rich and nutricious as alfalfa or clover. Nevertheless, the feeding value of this remarkable legume is of secondary importance when one realizes its fertilmng value. This latter value is so marked that many enthusiastic vetch growers give hairy vetch first place among all green-manure crops for increasing soil fertility. As alfalfa is unquestionably the most valuable forage crop ever dis- covered, so hairy vetch, it is claimed, is the most valuable fertilizing 16 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" plant ever discovered. If this is true every farmer in America should know it. Therefore, let us ascertain, if possible, just where this plant gets its wonderful re- putation for reclaiming poor or worn-out soil. Hairy Vetch, it is claimed, will build up worn-out soil better, quicker and cheaper than any other green-manure crop; that it best supplies those two great needs of the soil, humus and nitrogen. That the reader may better realize what these claims im- ply, I will go over, very brief- ly, four essential factors up- on which they are based: (1) Soil, (2) Humus, (3) Nitro- Hairy Vetch. gg^^ and (4) Legumes. S()il is a mixture of inorganic and organic material. The inorganic part of soil is composed of rocks or mineral substances broken into more or less fine particles. The organic part is composed of decayed or decaying material which once had life in the form of vegetable or animal tissue. The inorganic particles, composed of rock and mineral substance, constitute by far the greater portion of the soil, being 95 to 98 per cent of sandy or gravelly soils, from 80 to 95 per cent of loams and clayey soils and about 80 per cent of muck or peaty soils. This inorganic material supplies the necessary mineral elements of plant food. The organic portion of the soil furnishes the supply of nitrogen, that expensive element of plant food without which no crop can make any growth. It also supplies the other plant foods which are taken up in the growth of the plant or animal and which by their decay are returned to the soil in a form the plants can use. The organic portion of the soil also makes the mineral elements of the soil available by the action of acids upon the inorganic matter, the acids being produced by the decay of the organic matter. VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" 17 From the above facts it becomes as clear as day that if you want to make your farm more fertile and improve its physical condition the essential thing to do is to establish and maintain a proper balance between the organic portions (humus) and the inorganic (mineral) por- tions of your soil. It is a rare thing to find soil containing too much organic matter, especially if it is well drained. The trouble is usually if not always the other way, the amount of organic matter is too small. All run down, worn out, abandoned farms and sandy soils that are low iu productiveness are lacking in humus. So, also, are all soils that have been misused by improper methods of cropping. The proper way, the only way, and Nature's own way, to restore all such depleted soils to a fertile condition is to feed them an additional supply of vegetable matter. In other words, the thing to do is to restore the proper balance between the organic and inorganic portions of the soil. When speaking of humus I will refer to the organic portion of the soil although in the strict sense of the term this is not technically cor- rect. Scientific writers usually make the dis- tinction that humus does not refer to organic matter which is decaying in the soil but to that which is already decayed.' I HUMUS TWO CHIEF SOURCES OF HUMUS There are two methods of increasing the supply of humus in the soil ; one is the application of barn manure, the other is to plow under some farm crop grown for that purpose. The last method is called "green-manuring". While stable manure makes very valuable humus, containing some nitrogen and at the same time exercising a most important effect upon the physical feature of the soil, it is not available in sufficient quantities, the de- mand greatly exceeding the supply. Not alone is the supply of stable manure insufficient but it is the experience of many farmers that, for reasons they are unable to define, certain green-manure crops, more particularly vetch, make a better quality of humus, bring bigger results, than stable manure. Whether this be true or not, few farmers can economically secure stable manure in quantities that will suffice to keep up the supply of humus in their soil, to say nothing of any needed increase in the supply. It becomes evident, therefore, that green-manuring is the only available means of supplying soil with the humus it needs. The kind of crop to plow under depends upon the needs of the soil. THE HUMUS REQUIRED FOR SOIL BUILDING 18 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" When soil is naturally fertile and an increased supply of organic matter is the chief need, then any rank-growing farm crop may be used. But when the sup- ply of nitrogen in the soil is small and an increased supply of both nitrogen and humus is the chief necessity, then some legume crop must be used. No other crop can increase the nitrogen supply. No other crop can re- turn to the soil any essential element of fertility which it did not draw from it. The legumes are ideal humus makers. As a rule, they are succulent, juicy plants that decay quickly and are easily incorporated in the soil. What is more, they have deep, extensive root systems that bring up from below some of the mineral plant food which is present in the deeper layers of soil. Legumes grow luxuriously and provide vast quantities of vegetable matter which, when plowed under, quickly decay into plant-feeding, soil-building humus. This is the humus re- quired when the end in view is increased fertility. This is the kind, the only kind, of humus that increases the nitrogen supply of the soil. Ever since the world has known anything of the chemistry of plants, nitrogen has been considered as the great essential component of plant food. It has always been, and is now, the most costly element in fertilizers. No one need tell the farmer how expensive nitrogen is. Too often has he dug down in his pocket to pay for it, either as nitrate of soda, tankage, cotton seed meal, guano, or dried blood, its cost ranging from 15 to 20 cents a pound. But the progressive farmer is learning, thousands have already learned, that the most expensive nitrogen comes from the fertilizer bag and the cheapest nitrogen comes from growing some leguminous crop ; he is learning that he can make his own nitrogen far cheaper and better, and at the same time supply his soil with humus by growing and plowing under some inoculated legume. Today, no one, not even the fertilizer manufacturer, contends that nitrogen can be profitably bought in commercial fertilizers in quantities required by crops. There is only one economical source where it may be obtained in sufficient quantities and that is from the air. To get it from the air and put it in his soil the farmer must grow inoculated legumes. The legumes are a group of plants which grow their seed in pods. NITROGEN r ETCH: "THE Kiy G OF SOIL BUILDERS" 19 LEGUMES They embrace all the clovers, alfalfa, peas, beans, peanuts, lupines, sainfoin, serradella, and the vetches. These are the legumes most valuable to the farm. There is a multitude of others, of less value, both wild and cultivated, but these need not be enumerated here. For forage the legumes rank above grasses and other forage plants, being richer in nitrogen and producing a richer manure. As forage crops they help balance the food ration of man and domestic animals. The great bulk of farm products, either in grain or roughage, is from plants belonging to the grass family which produce plenty of starch and other heat-forming substances, but are deficient in protein or muscle-making foods. The legumes produce a large percentage of protein which, when used, teuds to correct the otherAvise one-sided ration. It is desirable to feed growing cattle alfalfa, clover, hairy vetch hay along with grain or corn, for the same reasons that human beings eat meat with potatoes. But with most farmers the profitable growing of legumes is not based upon their feeding value but more upon the fact that all inoculated legumes are soil-builders and soil- renovators. This is because (1) they are largely tap-rooted and feed at greater depth than other plants, thereby working up heavy soils and render- ing them more porous; (2) they bring certain mineral foods within the feeding area of more shallow-rooted plants and (3) their decaying roots leave humus in the soil upon which other plants can feed; (4) the legumes offer opportunity for a better system of rotation — not alone for reasons just stated, but because when brought into a rotation, they are not subject to the same insect enemies and fungous diseases of cereals and grasses; (5) legumes not only provide great quantities of organic matter so much needed by all thin soils Ijut (6) this organic matter, humus, is the means of adding to the soil large amounts of the one element of plant food that is most costly, most unstable, and most deficient in poor soils — nitrogen. This added nitrogen comes from the air. Although 75 per cent of the air in which all plants grow is nitrogen, no plants can use it except inoculated legumes. Inoculated legumes eat it and thrive on it and, better still, they store away a surplus of it in their roots, and when they are plowed under their total nitrogen is added to the soil. No one will appreciate this particular value of legumes unless he INOCULATED LEGUMES 20 VETCH: ''THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" gives it a little study. Let us take, for instance, the following six facts which Cyril G. Hopkins offers as a basis for the solution of the nitrogen problem in practical general agriculture: "(1) To produce 100 pounds of grain requires about 3 pounds of nitrogen, of which 2 pounds are deposited in the grain itself and 1 pound in the straw or stalks. "(2) In livestock farming one-fourth of the nitrogen in the food consumed is retained in the animal products — meat, milk, wool, and so on — and three-fourths may be returned to the land in the excrements if saved without loss. "(3) "When grown on soils of normal productive capacity legumes secure about two-thirds of their total nitrogen from the air and one-third from the soil. "(4) Clover and other biennial or perennial legumes have about two-thirds of their total nitrogen in the tops and one-third in the roots, while the roots of cowpeas and other annual legumes contain only about one-tenth of their total nitrogen. "(5) Hay made from our common legumes contains about 40 pounds of nitrogen per ton. "(6) Average farm manure contains 10 pounds of nitrogen per ton. "Question: How many tons of average farm manure must be applied to a 40-acre field in order to provide as much nitrogen as would be added to the soil by plowing under 2% tons of clover per acre? Answer: 400 tons. "Either method will furnish about as much nitrogen as would be taken from the soil by a^, 50-bushel crop of wheat, a 75-bushel crop of corn or a 100-bushel crop of oats per acre. The decision by the individ- ual between live stock farming and grain farming should be based upon preference and profit rather than upon the erroneous teaching that farm manure is either essential or sufiicient for the maintenance of soil fer- tility in this country. "Bread is the staff of life, and many must sell grain. I do not advise all grain farmers to become livestock farmers; but I advise both grain farmers and livestock farmers to enrich their soils by practical, profit- able and permanent methods. Both classes of farmers may secure new nitrogen — that is, they can positively increase their nitrogen supply by sufficient use of legume crops." Another way to grasp the full value of inoculated legumes is to see what would happen if they did not exist. For instance : A "good soil" contains from 2,500 to 10,000 pounds of nitrogen per acre. Let us call it 6,000 pounds. A good crop (except inoculated legumes) takes from this store from 75 to 400 pounds of nitrogen, depending on the crop. Call it 200 pounds. Question: How many crops could you grow upon "good soil" be- fore the nitrogen became exhausted? Answer: 30 crops. At this rate, supposing there were no inoculated legumes to get nitrogen from the air, all soils would soon wear out and all plants would refuse to grow because of no more nitrogen for them to feed upon. Since human life is based on plant life, and plant life is based on nitrogen, all human beings would gradually starve to death. In other words, if the supply of nitrogen in the soil became exhausted, man, as well as animals and plants, would perjsh from the earth. VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" 21 Luckily, legumes, when they are inoculated, have the power of tapping the vast sea of nitrogen that covers every acre of ground; they are able to take free nitrogen from the air and store it m the soil. How are they able to do this? They are aided by certam nitrogen- gathering bacteria which, for the present, we will call Legume Germs As already stated, inoculated legumes have power to obtain free nitrogen from the air. This is not strictly true. When a legume is "inoculated" it has certam germs living in its roots and it is these particular germs that really do the work of taking up free nitro- gen and making it into plant food. Without these germs the legumes are as helpless as corn, wheat potatoes, etc., and must get their LEGUME GERMS nitrogen out of the soil instead of the air. Getting nitrogen out of the air is a partnership busmess— the Legume Germs furnish the capital, the nitrogen and the legumes fur- nish free house rent. Each partner helps supply the table board, the Germs furnishing all the nitrogen and the legumes furmshmg the starch, sugar, and various mineral salts. One of the most astonishing things about these nitrogen-fixmg Germs is that they will not build their nitrogen homes any where but in the roots of a legume. When they have built their homes in the roots of a legume then that legume is said to be "inoculated", for that is just what inoculation means. , ^ • •+ If you carefully pull up an inoculated legume plant and examine its root you can see the nitrogen homes of the germs. Their homes look like little knots or warts. These are called nodules or tubercles. The tubercles vary in size. You will find that on some legumes they are smaller than a pinhead, on others they are larger than a pea; it is all owing to the kind of legume. They are especially small upon some of the clovers, and large upon cowpeas and soy beans. While the homes of the Legume Germs can be seen very easily with the eve it is impossible to see the germs except by means of the power- ful niiscroscope. Thev multiply very rapidly and increase to enormous numbers. Several miUion often Hve and work in the same house; in one tubercle. Another strange thing about these Legume Germs is this: While they all apparentlv belong to one family it requires a separate and dis- tinct branch of the family to inoculate each different legume. Thus, there is but one branch of the family that will buUd their homes m the roots of. red clover. And so in order to inoculate red clover it is 22 VETCH: "TEE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" iiecessary that the red clover branch of the Legume Germ family build i^^ieir homes in its roots. No other branch will do. Another branch ,>pll inoculate cowpeas, another soy beans, and still another vetch, and ,; Before they can build their tubercles the legume germs must first ,pe;u&trate the legume roots. And it seems that they differ a great deal in their ability to do this. Authorities agree LEGUME GERMS VARY IN POWER that the germs also display differences in their ability to gather nitrogen from the air after their tubercles are built. This variable power of the germs is called virulence. Germs with a high degree of virulence penetrate the legume roots easily and secure large quantities of nitrogen from the air. But germs of a low degree of virulence are feeble in this respect. Soil conditions have a great deal to do with the virulence of legume germs. Ill-drained soils, or those deficient in humus, tend to rob the germs of their virulence, to the injury of the legume crops that may be grown upon them. On the other hand, under favorable soil conditions the virulence of the germs may be increased; soils in good tilth, well aerated and supplied with an abundance of moisture, soils well pro- vided with lime and humus, are friendly to germs and greatly increase their power as nitrogen-gatherers. All of which goes to prove the great fundamental value of humus. The more we study the fertility problem the clearer becomes the fact that humus is the starting-point in furnishing added fertility to a soil and the finishing-point in main- taining its fertility. In fact, it becomes clear that in order to restore a depleted soil to a fertile condition, or to build up any barren, sterile soil, the first thing to do is to remedy the lack of balance between its organic and mineral portions by supplying more humus. If the right kind of humus is sup- plied not only will it improve the texture of the soil enabling it to hold more moisture and soluble plant foods, not only will it increase the energy of soil bacteria which in breaking down the humus also set free acids which dissolve other plant foods, not only will it increase the virulence of legume germs, but the right kind of humus will absolutely solve the nitrogen problem. This soil-making, soil-building humus can only be economically added to the soil by growing and plowing under an inoculated legume. But there are many legumes and, in a general way, they are all soil builders and renovators; so the question naturally arises, which one is the best? In determining this there is only space here to deal briefly with the VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" 23 two chief factors most likely to influence us : the comparative amount of vegetable matter the inoculated legume will supply and the com- parative amount of organic nitrogen it will assimilate from the soil and atmosphere. In supplying these two great essentials, let us see if, among all the legumes, hairy vetch does not display great prominence. Hairy Vetch A GREAT HUMUS MAKER A GREAT NITROGEN-GATHERER. It is no exaggeration to say that organic matter is the life of the soil. The productive power of most farming lands is proportionate to the amount of organic matter in it. Ordinarily the roots of a legume contain only about one-quarter or one-third as much vegetable matter and nitrogen as is contained in the plant above ground. This is why, when a legume is grown to increase the fertility of the soil, it is necessary to turn under the whole crop. By doing this nearly three times as much humus will be added as com- pared with the manure which would result from feeding the crop since about two-thirds of the organic matter in feed is decomposed in the animal. After the soil has been brought to a fairly fertile condition the humus and nitrogen supply can be maintained by the growth of in- oculated legumes in short rotation. This can be done even when the legume is cut for feed, provided the manure from such feeding is re- turned without loss to the soil. Since, through leaching in the soil and in the management of the manure there is a gradual, unavoidable loss of the elements phosphorus and potash, it may be necessary, under certain conditions, to add these elements from time to time. The value of any particular legume for green manuring purposes depends chiefly upon how heavy a growth it will make in a given time on a given soil and the total nitrogen which it will gather from the air. In Popular Bulletin No. 32, written by K, W. Thatcher, Director of the "Washington Experiment Station, there are certain analyses re- ported showing the percentage of nitrogen in various legumes. These analyses show the greoXer fertilizing value of hairy vetch — based on the market value of nitrogen it adds to the soil — even when compared with such great soil builders as alfalfa and red clover. The following is from Mr. Thatcher's bulletin: "The actual gain in nitrogen through any leguminous crop may, of course, be obtained l)y multiplying the weight of crop- 24 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS produced by the percentage of nitrogen which it contains. It was in order to ascertain the percentage of nitrogen in the various legumes which were being experimented with that the analyses reported below were made. NITROGEN CONTENT OF VARIOUS LEGUMES "The samples for these analyses were taken from adjacent plots where each legume was given equal conditions of soil, moisture-supply, etc., for its growth. It is believed, therefore, that the figures in the table show the comparative nitrogen- gathering capacity of the different crops. The percentages in each case are computed in dry weight of samples. CROP Tops Nitrogen in Dry Matter oots Nodules Whole Plant 0.90 1.60 1.85 2.47 4.00 3.50 2.38 2.84 2.62 2.24 4.56 2.10 2.54 5.09 2.58 1.71 4.82 2.28 1.27 6.92 1.50 1.91 5.97 2.18 1.73 5.86 1.82 2.45 5.07 2.80 Sainfoin 1.92 Tangier Pea (Lathyrus Tingitanus) 3.63 Field Pea (Pisum Arvense) 2.68 Giant Vetch (Vicia Pannonicum) 2.05 Spring Vetch (Cicia sativa) 2.61 Scarlet Vetch (Vicia sp.) 2.46 Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) 1.72 Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) 2.30 "White Clover (Trifolium repens) 1.87 Hairy Vetch (Vicia villosa) 2.96 GAIN OF NITROGEN PER ACRE AND MARKET VALUE ''The gain of nitrogen per acre to the soil, if any one of these crops be plowed under as a green manure, may be calculated by multiplying the percentage of nitrogen in the whole plant by the weight of dry matter produced on an acre . This weight of growth will, of course, vary extremely in different seasons, on different soils, and with different cultivation. As examples of possible gains which may be made, the following table, computed from ' the yields per acre as given, may be of interest. The present market value of nitrogen in commercial fertilizers as sold in this State is about twenty cents per pound. The market vahie of the gain in nitrogen per acre by plowing under the average crop as shown is indicated in the last column. CROP Pounds of Nitrogen Per Ton Eed Clover 43 Alfalfa ..- 30 Field Peas 52 Tangier Peas 70 Hairy Vetch 56 "It is probable that the yields assumed in this table are higher than could be obtained in actual field practice. Certainly they are larger than would be obtained in the dryer sections of Probable Yield Per Acre in Tons Nitrogen Gain Per Acre in Lbs. Market Value of Gain in Nitrogen 3 129 $25.80 3 90 18.00 4 208 40.16 3 210 42.00 4 224 44.80 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS 25 THE ROOTS OF HAIRY VETCH the State. They are not larger, however, than may be secured ■under irrigation, or in those parts of the State where the annual rainfall is heavy. Not all of the nitrogen shown as gain, in the above table, would be net gain in every instance. On soils rich in nitrogen, the crop takes only a part of its nitrogen from the air, securing a considerable proportion from the soil itself. Probably, the poorer the soil is in nitrogen, the greater the pro- portionate gain in nitrogen from the air. The net gain is, there- fore, likely to be greatest in those soils which are in greatest need of nitrogen. ' ' The figures shown in the above table are in accord with the claim of the Agricultural Department, that an acre of inoculated hairy vetch plowed under has a fertilizing value, based on what its equivalent in commercial fertilizer would cost, of from $20 to $45. Among many other things that make hairy vetch so superior a soil- builder is its mass of fibrous roots penetrat- ing the soil to a considerable depth. Seed sown at the Cornell Station on July 10 produced plants whose roots on Novem- ber 1 were traced to a depth of 3 feet 8 inches in a tough, impervious clay. Alfalfa and the clovers are con- sidered great soil builders because of their ability to gather nitrogen from the air ; but, as a rule, you will find ten nodules on the roots of a vetch plant to one on the roots of either alfalfa or clover. Another thing, the vetch tubercles are fresh and active during open weather in the winter and very early in the spring, showing that its legume germs have remarkable virulence. In this respect hairy vetch very pro- fitably differs from most of the other cultivated legumes. So numerous and thick are the roots of hairy vetch they will plow Roots of Hairr Vetch Showing Un- i-i i -i usually Large Tubercles. up like heavy SOd. ITS MASSIVE FOLIAGE 26 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" Another great feature of this wonderful manure plant is its massive foliage (See frontispiece). It is not at all unusual for it to go 20 tons to the acre. In fact, there is no other legume, unless it is serradella, that produces such a quantity of organic matter for plow- ing under. An ordinary, well-inoculated crop of hairy vetch will go 12 tons to the^ acre. At the Cornell Station a three months' growth of hairy vetch pro- duced 6,824 pounds of air-dried forage per acre. It contained 240 pounds of nitrogen, 53 pounds of phosphoric acid and 52 pounds of potash. During the same period cowpeas produced 2,262 pounds of forage per acre, containing 46 pounds of nitrogen, 23 pounds of phos- phoric acid and 19 pounds of potash. The above shows the immense amount of vegetable matter and new nitrogen the vetch grower is able to plow under and feed to his soiL It is truly a remarkable humus maker, strong, hardj^ able to grow where other legumes fail, with a tremendous ability to increase the nitrogen supply of the soil. But hairy vetch has still other valuable qualities in its favor. These will be brought to the reader's attention when the profitable uses of this marvelous manure plant are specifically discussed. Hairy Vetch for Worn-Out Soil Lucky is the farmer who has not some field or portion of his farm that is worn out and practically worthless. In the older settled sec- tions many entire farms have been sapped of their fertility until they no longer produce satisfactory crops. Some are worn-out and abso- lutely worthless. All such soils can be built up and made richer and more productive than they ever were if special care be taken to till them properly and to follow a type of farming suited to the locality and soil. But the first step that must be taken to put a worn-out soil on a pay- ing basis is to increase its supply of humus. Soil, as we have seen, was originally built up by mixing vegetable matter with disintegrated minerals and stones. Why can not a soil that is poor or worn-out, chiefly because it lacks vegetable matter, be built up by the same pro- cess? An abundance of vegetable matter will restore the proper balance between the. organic and inorganic portions of the soil^ im- prove its texture, add humus and plant food, and increase its water- holding power. VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" 27 This needed vegetable matter can be economically supplied only by plowing under some soil-building green-manure crop. This means a legume crop. And can there be a better legume for the purpose than hairy vetch? Can you find another soil-builder that has equal ability to withstand cold weather, to make rapid growth in the fall and spring months? Or one that has such a heavy mass of foliage to turn under? Or one that can quickly add so much humus and nitrogen to the soil? No matter if the soil you are to build up is sandy, gravelly, or cold tough clay, you will find hairy vetch a profitable humus maker. If inoculated, it will always live up to its title, King- of Soil Builders. For Poor Sandy Soils Another name for hairy vetch is Sand vetch. This name came from its ability to grow and thrive on poor sand}^ soils. On such soils, better than any other legume, it will supply the three things most needed: (1) nitrog-en, (2) fermentable organic material to aid in dissolving the mineral plant-food in the soil and (3) humus to aid in increasing the water-holding power of the soil. These three vital things are needed to build up all soils but they are needed most on light soils, and inoculated hairy vetch will best supply them. The losses of nitrogen are greater the lighter the soil, and, possiblj'-, leaches more readily from sandy soils than from any other. It was on Avorn-out sandy soil that hairy vetch got its reputation of being the King of Soil Builders. In the first place it has the advantage of other legumes in being better able to grow and thrive on sand soils. It is hardier and more drought resistant. It will grow in practically all the states, and is rapidly increasing in hardiness, thus adapting itself to our winters. (For this reason native seed should be preferred to imported seed, since it has been found to be better able to Avithstand our winters.) For badly run-down land and barren sandy soils, the farmer needs, above all else, a soil-building legume best adapted to such soils, and that legume is hairy vetch. If you, who are reading this booklet, have any such land my advice is to GROW INOCULATED HAIRY VETCH. You will find that your sandy soil will respond quickly and gratefully. In a remarkably short time your v/orn-out soil will grow the same bountiful crops it grew when its rich, virgin humus, deposited by nature herself, first turned dirt into dollars. 28 VETCH: THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS'' WIND-BLOWN SAND PLOWING SANDY LAND One of the chief virtues of hairy vetch is that it makes sandy soils much less subject to the action of the wind. "Wind storms occurring in the spring and early summer months often completely destroy the young vegetation, and corn, potatoes and other crops planted on hills are frequently cut more severely in a few hours by such storms than bj" a very heavy frost. A matted growth of vetch covering the ground like a "thick velvet carpet" makes sandy soil as immune from damaging wind storms as heavier soils. When you start in to build up very sandy soil with hairy vetch do not make the serious mistake of plowing too deep. The soil is thin and light and what humus it contains is most- ly within two or three inches of the surface. So begin by plowing but four or five inches deep and gradually increase the depth each year as humus and nitrogen are added to soil. After your land is plowed it should be gone over with a roller heavily weighted in order to pack the loosened soil and make it firm. This will hasten the rotting of the weeds, grasses and shrubby growths you have turned under and help supply moisture from below. Do not use a spring-tooth harrow, as many do, to pull out roots and shrubs. Leave all such trash in the soil. Its decay means that much more humus, the very thing you are afteir. The disk harrow, to cut the trash up and leave it in place, is a far better thing to use. The disk, too, will easily dispose of any new growth that comes up between the time you plow in July and the time you seed to vetch in August or September. The disk should not run more than about three inches deep and should be set at only a slight angle. If you have no disk, use a spike- tooth drag with the teeth slanting slightly backward. You should use the roller again just before you seed to vetch and again immediately after. After the roller has gone over the seeding you will find that the THE ROLLER ON SANDY SOILS THE DISK HARROW ON SANDY SOILS VETCH: "THE K I :N G OF SOIL BUILDERS" 29 THE HARROW ON SANDY SOIL smooth surface of the soil offers but little resistance to the wind. This is apt to cause more sand to blow and evaporation will go on more rapidly. You can prevent this to a great extent by following the roller with a light harrow. This will not only roughen the surface and lessen the blowing of sand, but it will also form a dust mulch and this will check evap- oration. Your sandy soil is now ready for the vetch. Make sure that your hairy vetch seed comes from a reliable seed house. (See page 74.) Before you plant see that your seed is in- oculated. That you may realize the abso- lute necessity of proper inoculation, I ^ve here a report of the comparative results from sowing inoculated and uninoculated hairy- vetch seed, taken from the Alabama Experi- ment Station Bulletin No. 87. "Yield per acre of hairy vetch with and without inoculation: Hairy Vetch / Green Forage Cured Hay Not inoculated I 900 I 232 Inoculated 1 9136 I 2540 PLANT INOCULATED HAIRY VETCH SEED Hairy Vetch and Rve on Jack-Tine (Sandy) Land Xear Muskegon, Mich. (This cut "kindly furnished by The Tiactical Farmer.) 30 VETCH:" T H E K I A (/ OF HO I L BUILDERS " You can sow your inoculated seed alone or with rye. If alone, sow 40 pounds of seed per acre the first year. This is not too much for it needs to be seeded thickly. Many vetch SEEDING HAIRY VETCH ON SANDY LAND growers use 50 pounds. Sow from 21/2 to 3 inches deep with a two-horse drill. If sown with rye, use 25 pounds of inoculated hairy vetch seed mixed with 2 or 3 pecks of rj-e. Sow anj' time in August or September. Early in its growth hairy vetch is very grateful for any moisture it can get. So if August is particularly hot and dry it may be well to plant in early September. The plant will grow slowly at first but if you have followed the above instructions carefully, you will see it spring up like magic after it once gets a foothold. Hairy vetch responds quickly to barn manure. And since manure is a great humus maker, it will also help your sandy soil. You should apply the marntre as a top-dressing on your growing vetch during the winter or early in spring. Spread it very even and thin so it will not choke out the vetch, and use noth- ing but well-rotted manure. BARN MANURE ON SANDY LAND There are two kinds of lime. Which is best for your poor, sandy soil? One is caustic or quick lime, such as LIME ON SANDY SOIL fresh-burned lime or fresh-slacked lime; the other is the natural form, sucli as limestone, marble, lime shells, and shell marl. First let us see what effects are produced by using lime on soils. The two principal eflPects are : (1) To correct the acidity of sour soils. Many of the legumes will not live or will not thrive to any advantage even when their seed is inoculated, on soils that are very sour. Prom- inent among these are alfalfa, and the clovers (red, white, crimson, and alsike). These legumes fail in sour soil because their bacteria (legume germs) will not develop and multiply. Any form of lime which can be thoroughly mixed with the soil Avill serve to correct the soil's acidity. (2) The other effect produced by lime is the decomposition of the soil itself. The organic matter of the soil is destroyed with the liberation of nitrogen and phosphorus held in organic form and the mineral particles of the soil are broken up with the liberation of some plant food elements, as potash and phosphorus in inorganic form. This effect is produced by caustic or quick lime. VETCH: "TEE K IX G OF SOIL BUILDER 8 31 The second effect, the decomposition of the soil, is in all respects a destructive process. It destroys organic matter and reduces the stock of plant food in the soil. But you are looking for soil-building ma- terial for your sandy land, so never use caustic lime in any shape or form. It is beneficial on some soils, especially heavy, plastic clay and all heavy soils in which organic matter decays slowly. Now let us look at the first effect of lime. The correction of soil acidity results in a building-up process for it helps inoculated legumes, to grow. Most of the legumes are great lime feeders; they sicken and die in sour soil. So the question arises, what kind of lime and how much lime will you use on your sandy soil before you seed it to hairy vetch ? ■ Answer: Use some natural form of lime, preferably ground lime- stone or marl. Always apply it on the surface so that it may dissolve and percolate down, sweetening the soil as it goes. Spread it on evenly after plowing, and then harrow it in. As to the amount, do not let this worry you on the start. One or two thousand pounds to the acre would be a great help. On the other hand, if you find it difficult to get this kind of lime right away, do not let this hinder you, but go right ahead and plant your hairy vetch. For unless your soil is very sour, it will grow and thrive, if well inoculated, without any appUca- Mi «9^V Hail. I ' \iM.riin(_'iit Staticiii. 32 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" tion of lime at all. Alfalfa and the clovers and certain other legumes must have lime. The lupins and velvet beans are distmctly injured by. lime, while the growth of hairy vetch, although lime will help it, is not seriously affected by more or less acidity in the soil. Another valuable asset in its favor, by the way. Yes, Sir, grow hairy vetch on your farm if you have any worn-out land or poor, sandy soil to build up. It will work like magic. On land so poor that corn is now almost a complete failure, hairy vetch and a careful treatment of the soil, as suggested^ above, will bring you astonishingly big yields of corn, potatoes, beans, buckwheat, straw- berries, truck crops, etc. The well-known writer, William C. Smith, of Delphi, Indiana, says : "Hairy Vetch is the greatest soil-builder ever discovered." With vetch and ditching I can reclaim any poor or worn- out soil." "With it the American farmer can make his soil produce as it has never produced since it was rescued from the wilderness." But hairy vetch, you must remember, makes no growth, no building material, it will not add an ounce of nitrogen to your soil, unless it is inoculated. Just how to inoculate hairy vetch and all legumes, is told in the suc- ceeding chapter. VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" 33 CHAPTER III. THE STORY OF ^^NITRAGIN^^ THE DISCOVERY OF INOCULATION— WHY DOES VETCH ENRICH SOIL— ALL HEALTHY LEGUMES HAVE NODULES— BACTERIA— HOW AND WHEN LEGUMES ENRICH SOIL— SOIL TRANSFER— DANGERS OF SOIL TRANSFER— PURE CULTURE—* ' NITRAGIN ' '— ' ' NITRA- GEN" A GOOD INVESTMENT— WHAT "NITRAGIN" WILL DO— GERMS INOCULATE LEGUMES. ONLY— HOW "NITRAGIN" IS APPLIED. The Discovery of Inoculation For ages man has known that vetch, instead of wearing out the soil very often makes it richer and more fertile than it was before. "Why ? Nobody knew. The secret never be- came known until about 25 years ago, and what led to its disclosure was this : In 1886 a noted German scientist (Hellriegel) by experiments performed in the laboratory conclusively proved that when clover devel- oped certain bunches or nodules on its roots it could then make use of the nitrogen of the air for its own growth, and, furthermore, could add to the supply of this element of plant-food in that soil where it was growing. It had always been observed that a certain class of plants, the legumes, very frequently bore these little knots (nodules) on their roots. WHY DOES VETCH ENRICH SOIL? 34: VETCH: "THB KING OF SOIL BUILDERS ALL HEALTHY LEGUMES HAVE NODULES Root of Sainfoin Showing Nodules. — From Bui. of Ont. Dept. Agrl. Further observation showed that whenever these knots M^ere found on the roots of legumes the plants were ni u c h m o r e vigorous a n d of greater val- ue as feed. Hellriegel and other scientists also observed that the greater the size and number of nodules on the roots of plants the more vigorous was the growth of these plants ; that those plants M'ithout nodules did not thrive well, but had a pale, sickly appearance. This scientist further discovered that these tubercles were filled with millions of germs, or bacteria, and that these bacteria feed the legume plants all the nitrogen they need ; that they then fill their tubercles full of nitrogen, and that they get their entire sup- ply, not from the soil, but from the air. In other words, Hellriegel discovered that Na- ture herself has a way of unlocking nitrogen from its vast reservoir, the atmosphere, and putting it where it will enrich the soil. She does it by means of certain germs that live in the roots of legumes. Practi- cally no other germs and no other farm plants but legumes have this wonderful power. It appears, too, that while there is but one species of nitrogen-gathering germs, yet each legume requires its particular kind, or strain. For instance, the germ that feeds vetch with nitro- gen from the air, differs from the germ that feeds the clover, etc. Thus Hellriegel taught the world why it is that vetch, clover, al- falfa and all other legumes enrich the soil. In partnership with these germs they tap the air for their nitrogen. They don't take it from the soil, the way wheat, corn and all non-leguminous plants must do. What is more, when a legume is cut or plowed under, its tubercles, of course, decay. What is the consequence? All the nitrogen stored up in the tubercles, together with millions of nitrogen-gathering germs, is distributed in BACTERIA HOW AND WHEN LEGUMES ENRICH SOIL V ETCH : "THE K I\ G F ft I L BUILDERS" 35 the soil. This gives the soil cnouph nitrog'en for the wheat, corn, oats, or any crop Avhich follows. This is wiiy you hear so much these days about plowing under legumes, or green-manuring, as it is called. 'NITRAGIN" Soil Germs Magnified 1,200 times. Rod Fonus of Bacteria from a Feuugreelj Nodule Magnified about 1.500 times. From Bui. of U. S. Dept. Agri. But many writers are apt to forget, and few farm owners seem to know, that getting nitrogen out of the air and putting it into the soil is a partnership affair; that a legume must have tubercles filled with certain germs, or else it robs the soil, the same as wheat and corn do; that to plow under a legume which has no tubercles adds no more nitrogen to the soil than it took out of the soil. So far as enriching the soil with more nitrogen is concerned, you might as well plow under barley or buckwheat, or any other non-leguminous crop. Soil Transfer When you see a farmer haul a wagon load of earth from some dis- tant farm where alfalfa has grown, and scatter it over one of his own fields in which he intends to plant alfalfa, you know now why he does it. Alfalfa stubbornly refuses to grow unless its partner, tlie alfalfa nitrogen-gathering germ, is in the soil. The soil must be what is termed inoculated. With his wagon loads of inoculated dirt from some other farm, the farmer hopes to secure enough alfalfa germs to inoculate his own soil. This method of soil inoculation is called soil transfer. Such a practice is laborious and expensive. You can see also that 36 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" DANGERS OF SOIL TRANSFER it has clangers : the farmer is apt to secure more bad weeds than o-ood germs; and so often does he transfer to his own clean land pests and parasites that breed plant disease, the Department of Agri- culture repeatedly cautions against the prac- tice, except where the soil to be transferred is positively known to be clean and whole- some. The following quotations from Government Bulletins bear out the truth of the above claims regarding the soil transfer method of inoculation : "The danger in this method lies in the possibility of introducing weed pests or plant diseases through the agency of the old soil. "The most scientific method of inoculating the clover field is to ' obtain a pure culture of clover bacteria and moisten the clover seed with it just before sowing." — From Farmers' Bulletin No. 323, published by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, May, 1908. "The old method of importing the bacteria by distributing soil from fields containing them is not only expensive, but there is very great danger of spreading weeds and destructive crop diseases, as well as the desirable bacteria. Under modem conditions, therefore, it is wisest to depend chiefly upon the intelligent manipulation of pure cultures for inoculating leguminous crops. "There are several insect and fungus diseases of clover to be avoided, and various diseases of beans and peas. There is also a disease of alfalfa, the 'leaf spot,' which is causing damage in some regions. These are only a few of many diseases liable to be transmitted in soils. The farmer sliould therefore be on his guard. The danger from such sources is by no means imaginary. The Department of Agriculture has had specific cases of such accidental distribution reported, and if the business of selling soil for inoculation is made to flourish by farmers purchasing without question 'alfalfa soil,' 'cow pea soil,' etc., there is every reason to believe that experience will demonstrate the folly of such haphazard methods." — U. S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin No. 315. Pure Culture In order that the world might get the full benefit of Hellriegel's great discovery, many scientists took up the study of legume bacteria. Instead of hauling soil from one field to another, why not breed strong, vigorous, nitrogen-gathering germs in the laboratory, and ship them straight to the farm? This was the question that first came to the minds of Nobbe and Hiltner, two noted German scientists. Years of study enabled them to put the idea into actual practice, and all lit- erature on this subject gives them due credit for it. By means of their pure-culture method of soil inoculation, the farmer can procure any amount of legume germs he wants, and sow them along with his legume seed. By this method he incurs none of the dangers of soil transfer, and he inoculates his soil in less time, with less labor, and at less expense. VETCH: "TEE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS 37 .Jt^^ ''"He bacteRS''^ ^'ONTAINED m THiS ^r^ACKAGE ARE,^ guaranteed "t^' Retain their vitality and r'^ MONTHS FROri '^ATE OF SHIPMENT "NITRAGIN" A TRADE- MARK A Can of "NITRAGIN". Nobbe and Hiltner named their product ''NITRAGIN" ( pronounc- ed Ni-tra- gene) which name they r e gistered all over the world as a trade-mark. It was reg- istered in the United States, December 6, 1898, as No. 32,- 212. This product is now sold in all agricultural countries of the world. Last year (1912) in Germany alone, there were nearly a million acres of legumes inoculated with nitro- gen-gathering "NITRAGIN" germs. "Nitragin" A Good Investment There is no one thing the farm-owner can buy that will bring him larger and more lasting returns than "NITRAGIN." Nor is there a product anywhere that is indorsed and recommended by so many unbiased, disinterested and unquestionable authorities. The product ("NITRAGIN") is — simply Germs, or, in other words, bacteria. These Germs are bred in a laboratory, after which they are packed in tin boxes (along with foodstuff to keep them alive), and then they are shipped to the farm-owner. There is nothing mysterious about this, no more than there is about making yeast cakes, nor, for that matter, than breeding cattle or hogs or sheep and shipping them to market. In fact, this business has many features in common with the yeast maker's business. Both breed Germs and ship them to the market. Both send foodstuffs along to keep the Germs alive until they are used. Both try to breed healthy, strong, active Germs. Both breed specific kinds of selected pure-bred Germs for specific work. "NITRAGIN" NOT A MYSTERY 38 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" The breeding of Germs has become as much a business, a science^ an economic necessity, as the breeding of stock, and both are equally recognized as legitimate enterprises. What "Nitragin" Will Do Generally speaking, it will do mankind more real lasting good than any product on the world's market. ^This fact has been already demon- strated by progressive American farm-owners, numbering thousands, and every day hundreds are being addisd to the list. Specifically, "NITRAGIN" Germs take nitrogen from the air and Convincing' proof of the effects of "NITRAGIN" germs on red clover. The plants are in the second vear of arrowth. Plant to the left treated with "NITRAGIN"; that to the right not treated. make it into a food for plants. ]\Iost farmers know that legumes are good green-manure crops. Many know that legumes help to enrich the soil. Some of them know that legumes bring nitrogen to the soiL But how many know that it is the legume GERM that has the power to take nitrogen out of the air and store it in the soil? The slogan, "Legumes are the salvation of the soil," is wrong, for legumes without the GERMS are as big soil robbers as oats, wheat, corn or cotton, or any other non-leguminous plant, and this is really the meat of the whole subject. It is the GERMS that do the work. It is the GERjMS that take the nitrogen out of the air. It is the GERMS that enrich the soil. You must know, however, that the Germs that perform this won- derful work must have the co-operation of the legumes. That they VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" 39 live and thrive on the roots of legume plants only, which, of course, is the reason why agricultural authorities all recommend the growing of legume crops. But you will now understand that these authorities should have gone a step farther and have urged farmers to grow inoculated legumes. GEBMS INOCULATE LEGUMES ONLY NINE FACTS And the slogan should be "Inoculated legumes are the salvation of the soil," or, to be more accurate, "Legume Germs are the salvation of the soil." You will now understand and appreciate the slogan, " 'NITRAGIN' the Salvation of the Soil," since "NITRAGIN" is simply the trade- name for the GERMS that live at the roots of the legumes, and it is these GERMS that make the soil richer by taking nitrogen from the air and storing it up in the soil. Scientists studied these germs or bacteria for years. They are still studying them, for these wonderful legume Germs are playing an im- portant part in the solution of man's might- iest problem — "How can the fertility of the soil be maintained?" Right here, let us give you nine facts which scientists have discovered concerning these great benefactors of Man — the nitrogen-gathering Germs: (1) The Germs live in the roots of legumes and will not live in the roots of any other farm plants. (2) These Germs make the legume plants healthier, hardier, deep- er-rooted, quicker of growth, and give them greater food value, since they contain more nitrogen (protein) than Germless legumes. (3) Legumes without these nitrogen-gathering Germs in their roots do not thrive well, and get all their nitrogen food out of the vege- table matter in the soil, the same as do oats, wheat, corn, etc. (4) Alfalfa and some of the clovers wither away and die, unless these GERMS are in their roots; at best they never produce a crop worth harvesting. (5) These Germs, in co-operation with legumes, build up worn- out land. (6) Legumes without these Germs never add an ounce of nitro- gen to the soil. (7) These Germs and legumes maintain soil fertility. (8) Legumes without these Germs, and all other crops (non- leguminous crops) rob the soil of its fertility. (9) Each different kind of legume (vetch, alfalfa, red clover, crim- 40 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" son clover, cowpeas, soy beans, etc.) requires a different kind, or strain, of nitrogen-gathering Germs, You should grasp the above facts firmly, for they are strong, vital, fundamental truths. ''NITRAGIN" is nothing more and nothing less than these nitrogen- gathering Germs, selected, cultivated, and pure-bred. Their scientific name all over the civilized world is the Bacillus radicicola. Their commercial name all over the civilized world is "NITRAGIN" (pro- nounced Nitra-gene). With the above facts in mind, ask yourself why you should plow under a legume crop for its nitrogen, unless it has these nitrogen- gathering Germs in the roots? Unless the crop is inoculated (or " NITRAGINED, " as farmers are beginning to call it) the green ma- nuring will not add an ounce of nitrogen to your soil. It will only put back what it took out of the land. You had far better plow under some crop the seed of which is Qheaper than the costly legume seed. But if you want a catch of alfalfa, clover, vetch, soy beans, etc., you must see to it that these legumes have "NITRAGIN" Germs in their roots. If you want greater fertility, instead of less, increased value of your land, rather than decreased, you should green-manure and rotate with some ' ' NITRAGINED ' ' legume plant. How "Nitragin" is Treated A legume becomes "Nitragined" -when its seeds are moistened with a mixture containing billions of the proper kind of legume, or "Nitra- gin," germs. Thousands of these tiny germs adhere to the surface of a single seed. The seeds are then spread over the floor to dry. When dry enough to handle, they are planted, along with their Germs, in the usual manner. (See pages 72 and 73.) The method is simple and comparatively inexpensive. It is the" common-sense, logical way of inoculating legumes. It is cheaper, easier, and surer than inoculating with wagon loads of borrowed legume earth and has none of its dangers. The "NITRAGIN" method is endorsed, recommended and encouraged everywhere by the highest agricultural authorities, including the United States Government, Ex- periment Stations, Soil Experts and Editors of best-known Farm pa- pers. "NITRAGIN" meets the great agricultural need of the hour- greater soil fertility. (The Galloway Brothers-Bowman Company of Waterloo, Iowa, U. S. A., is marketing this product in the United States and Canada. It is furnished to farmers at a cost of $2.00 an acre.) VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" 41 CHAPTER IV. Other Fertilizing Uses of HAIRY VETCH ORCHARD COVER CROPS— WHAT A COVER CROP IS —WHEN TO SOW A COVER CROP— WHAT A COVER CROP DOES— HUMUS FOR ORCHARDS— LEGUMES AS COVER CROPS— HAIRY VETCH AS AN ORCHARD COV- ER CROP— ON TOBACCO LANDS— FOR CORN— FOR PO- TATOES—FOR COTTON— HAIRY VETCH IN ROTATION —INOCULATION A VITAL NECESSITY WHAT A COVER CROP IS An orchard cover crop means any sort of annual crop which is planted among fruit trees during the summer, or early fall, and plowed under in the spring. It is grown solely for the benefit of the soil and the trees. A "catch crop," such as potatoes or corn, is different. When grown between orchard rows a catch crop may or may not benefit the land; it is grown mainly for it- self, for what it will produce. The name cover crop is derived from the fact that its seed, sown in late summer or early fall, results in a growth sufficient to cover and protect the ground during the winter. The cover crop is usually planted as soon as the trees have made their growth for the season; the growing cover crop uses the surplus moisture, and thus aids the trees to mature before cold weather comes on. A Cover crop should not, as a rule, be sown earlier than midsummer. The most thorough tillage can then be given early in the season, and the benefits of the Cover crop can be secured for the early fall and winter. A cover crop performs two important functions. WHEN TO SOW A COVER CROP WHAT A COVER CROP DOES 42 Y ETCH: ''TEE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" (1) It directly improves the physical condition of the land : It holds the rains and snows until they have time to soak into the soil. It prevents hard soils from cementing or puddling. It dries out the soil in spring, making early tillage possible. It often serves as a protection from frost. (2) A cover crop also improves the chemipal condition of the soil : It adds humus. It renders plant foods available. It catches and holds some of the leaching nitrates. And, when the cover crop is an inoculated legxime, it takes nitro- gen from the air and adds it to the soil. The above shows a few of the many advantages of a cpver crop. Each suggests pages of discussion for which there is no room in this booklet. What is better than any discussion is a close, careful analysis of the particular needs of a given soil. All soils cannot be treated alike. All soils differ and are subject to different conditions. No one knows the nature and peculiarities of a given soil like the man who tills it, who comes in contact with it day after day. If this be true it follows that ever}" orchardist should study out and solve his own soil troubles; in this vital thing, as in most other things of this world, he can best work out his own salvation. He should be able to decide for himself Avhether the conditions of his par- ticular soil require a cover crop or not, and if so, what crop is best to grow. He will be better qualified to make this decision the more fa- miliarly he acquaints himself with the amount of fertility in his soil, its available moisture, its physical qualities, and the climatic condi- tions that surround him. No one kind of treatment is best for all orchards. Young and old trees differ in their food requirements. Young trees use their food supply in the formation of wood and leaves. They grow vigorously for the first two or three years and then, when the bearing period is reached, their growth is less rapid; a large portion of their food is diverted to fruit formation. The demands on the trees being different, the food supplied should be different in character. Young trees require a large amount of nitrogen, while bearing trees require relatively less nitrogen and more phosphoric acid and potash. It has been estimated that the value of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash used up by an acre of apple trees in twenty years, in fruit, is $147; in foliage, $160; in wood, $70; total, $377. Many old orchards HUMUS FOR ORCHARDS VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" 43 not only make this big demand on the soil, but it is often compelled to furnish hay or grain, or to fatten lambs and pigs. Five bushels of apples remove about 11 pounds of ^nitrogen, nearly 1 pound of phosphoric acid, and 16 pounds of potash. The leaves of a tree large enough to produce the apples contain 10 pounds of nitro- gen, nearly 3 pounds of phosphoric acid, and 10 pounds of potash. When studying the physical and chemical needs of his orchard the orchardist should see that it is Avell supplied with humus. Orchards, the same as corn and wheat fields, lose their humus sooner than their mineral plant food. Without humus they become exhausted^ worn out; they cannot provide even the min- eral plant foods, for humus is the key that unlocks these elements, making them avail- able. Moreover, where humus is absent the light soils become lighter and clay soils become lumpy. Commercial fertilizers will not fill the bill ; the final and only remedy is to provide humus by growing cover crops. The Temarkable discovery that legumes have the power to take nitrogen froiv the air and add it to the soil has been a great boon for the orchardist as well as for t^e farmer. The I modern orchardist can quickly determine LEGUMES AS 1 the kind of cover crop his soil requires. If COVER CROPS it has a sufficient supply of nitrogen and plenty of humus, he uses some non-legume as a cover crop, such as oats, rye, millet and buckwheat. Of these, buckwheat is one of the best, sown not for grain, but to be plowed under in the spring. But, more often, the orchardist finds tbat his soil needs humus to feed the trees, and that nitrogen is needed to hasten their growth and to make the fruit plants grow more rapidly. When the nitrogen sup- ply is not sufficient, the leaves become yellow, the trees have a stunted, starved appearance and do not make a normal growth of branch and leaf. Here is where the legumes, the nitrogen gatherers, come in. They furnish a plentiful supply of humus, they furnish nitrogen at lowest cost, and at the same time they provide all the other money- saving qualities that any non-leguminous cover crop can possibly supply. It is very plain that the expensive commercial nitrogen need not be applied to orchards, but that the nitrogen should be supplied by some inoculated legume which, after it has fulfilled its work as a cover 44 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" crop, is plowed under for the purpose of adding humus and nitrogen to the soil. Hairy Vetch as an Orchard Cover Crop Hairy vetch, when inoculated, ranks very high, if not first, among the more valuable legume cover crops for orchards. Its great ma- nurial value is shown in Table 1, page 9. Another thing in its favor is that it makes a heavy growth by early spring, so that it can be plowed under soon enough to get the ground in shape for the thor- ough pulverizing of its surface to prevent evaporation of moisture dur- ing the long, dry summer. Crimson clover and cowpeas do not make good winter growth where the climate is very severe and frosts are frequent. These legumes make a rapid growth in late spring, when there is plenty of heat and^oisture, but at that time it is often too late for ploAving under because the soil is too dry for their quick de- cay. When winters are at all severe the hardier legumes, such as hairy vetch, red clover, bur clover, and Canada field peas, make the best crops for green manuring orchards. The Cornell Station and many other scientific authorities, as well as a great number of successful orchardists throughout the country, Hairy Vetch Used as a Winter Cover Crop in Peach Orchards, Wiggins, Miss. Light 6andy Soil, 30 Miles from Gulf of Mexico. (Reproduced' by/ kind permission of The Practical Farmer.) VETCH: "THE KIXG OF SOIL BUILDERS" 45 strongly recommend hairy vetch as a cover crop. It makes a remark- able cover, growings knee-high in a dense mat, and everywhere cover- ing the ground. It is strong and sturdy and is not injured by the trampling during harvest. It is adapted to all soils. Its close mass of herbage kills out weeds and holds the soil. IMoreover, inoculated hairy vetch Avill live through hard freezing weather and make a quick growth in the spring. The enormous increase in the use of hairy vetch as a cover crop for orchards the past few years bears witness to its practical importance. Every orchardist and fruit grower should give it a trial on part, at least, of his orchard. Wm. C. Smith, one of the best authorities on vetch in this country, writes : "It has been found that the vetch plant is the best all around plant for orchard growing, because it grows luxuriantly, furnishes a large sup- ply of organic matter, makes its growth quickly, and thus saves time and gathers nitrogen in vast quantities. And, then, it is an ideal orchard cover and green manuring crop to continue using during the life of the orchard, because it can be sown in the fall, when cultivation should cease in the orchard, affording a fine soil-covering plant, which prevents snow from drifting, and producing a large supply of organic matter for plowing under in the spring, when orchard cultivation should begin." In the Agricultural Epitomist of February, 1912, Mr. R. A. Smith saj's : "The department of agriculture of Washington states that a crop of vetch plowed under is worth $16 to $45 per acre as fertilizer. Its fertiliz- ing effect is felt the entire season and longer. There is nothing fruit growers can better invest money in than vetch; it will play a great part in making over our old orchards and vineyards and bringing them into greater productiveness." But it must be remembered that when vetch is recommended as a great nitrogen-gatherer, humus-maker and soil-builder, it is always assumed that the vetch is inoculated. If it is not inoculated vetch is forced to rob the soil for the nitrogen necessary for its growth just as corn or cotton ; and like corn, cotton and the cereals, it becomes an ex- haustive rather than a restorative crop, a soil-robber, instead of a soil-builder. To inoculate hairy Vetch, as you have already learned, simply consists in placing a supply of the right kind of germs (Hairy Vetch "NITRAGIN") on the hairy vetch seed; the "NITRAGIN "-treated seed are planted, the germs come in con- tact with fine, hair-like roots of the plant, in which they build their homes, called nodules or tubercles. In these tubercles, where they multiply into millions, they take free nitrogen from the air, a part of which is fed to the plant, the remainder, the surplus, enriches the soil. INOCULATION A VITAL NECESSITY 46 VETCH: "THE K I ^' G OF SOIL BUILDERS'' It is a wise precaution to inoculate the vetches in all instances. On land where they have not been previously grown, inoculation is a pos- itive necessity. Hairy Vetch on Tobacco Lands No tobacco grower need be told of the tremendous loss of plant food that results from the soil lying bare for nearly nine months after the tobacco has been harvested in August, or thereabouts. There is. leaching and drifting of the surface soil, to say nothing of the heavy fall and spring rains on sloping land, that may badly wash and gully the fields. This leaching and washing of the soil involves not only a waste of the costly manure and fertilizer which the tobacco grower applies to- his fields every year, but it is a useless, preventable waste of the soil's, natural fertility. In time it will impoverish the richest kind of soil, and all the sooner, where one crop, like tobacco, for instance, is suc- cessively cropped, year after year. The one, in fact, the only preventive is the right kind of cover crop. All tobacco growers know this, usually from bitter experience, and the question with them is which cover is best? Any good cover crop will help eliminate the twofold waste, espe- cially the loss of plant food. But the ideal cover crop will do more than this, it will do a thing of vital import- ance to the tobacco grower, it will not only prevent leaching away of valuable plant foods, but it will make the soil richer and more fertile every year, instead of exhaust- ing it and wearing it out. This means big- ger and better yields at a lessened cost of production. Rye is often used as a cover crop. Is it the ideal one? Is it the- money saver and money maker we are looking for? No, it comes far from filling the bill. On some lands it winter-kills badly. Then again on other lands you will find that it dries out the soil too much, espe- cially if allowed to get too high in the spring. Another bad feature about it is that when plowed under it does not decay quickly, and this, alone, is enough to condemn it for tobacco lands. The slow decay of rye is harmful; it impairs the capillary action of the soil, leaving it too- dry and loose for the young tobacco plants. In such a condition the soil yields up its plant food too slowly. No, rye is not the thing for RYE ON TOBACCO LANDS VETCH: "THE KI^G OF SOIL BUILDERS" 47 CLOVER FOR TOBACCO LANDS tobacco lands. In fact, where it makes a strong growth in the spring it may do more harm than good. Many clovers and other legumes have been tried witliout much success. Failure has been due chiefly to the fact that most of these crops require two seasons to reach their full development. This, of course, is a great handicap. The ideal cover crop should be sown in August or September and be ready to be plowed under about the first of May. Then, again, tobacco growers in the more northern regions, particularly in Connecticut, complain that the clo- sers, in many instances, have winter-killed after a good stand was secured. Others complain that in many cases it is difficult to get a good stand in the fall. While there is no doubt but what, if proper precautions were tak- en and the seed well inoculated with "NITRAGIN," the danger of "winter-killing would be greatly lessened and a good catch insured, the fact remains that the clovers make too slow a growth to ever become of great value as tobacco cover crops. Their place is in rotation with tobacco, not as cover crops. Are we not already sufficiently familiar with the qualities of hairy Tetch to see that it is pre-eminently fitted to fill the bill as a tobacco cover crop? Is it not the ideal money saver and money maker for which tobacco grow- ers for years have been looking? Many to- bacco growers will agree that this is true. Many of them have discovered the fact from personal experience, and their number is increasing all the time. Here are the assets in its favor. Can any other crop compete with it? Hairy vetch is a hardy plant that resists cold, heat, and drought. It covers the ground with a heavy matlike growth, which makes it an ideal preventive of erosion from wind or water and leaching of plant foods. When plowed under it decays rapidly. It occupies the land during fall, winter and spring. Then add to these ideal qualities the crowning fact that hairy vetch is a great humus maker and nitrogen gatherer, and its advantages over any other cover crop becomes pretty clearly established. HAIRY VETCH THE IDEAL COVER CROP 48 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" HAIRY VETCH on Wisconsin Tobacco Lands Writing on cover crops for tobacco, E. P. Sandsten, Horticulturist of the Wisconsin Experiment Station, says in Bulletin No. 124, of that station : "In planning tobacco experiments it occurred to the writer that cover crops might be used as a means of partially maintaining the fertility of the tobacco lands and improving the physical condition of the soil. * * * The crop used for this purpose was hairy vetch (vicia villosa). This plant belongs to the legume family and is perfectly hardy. It was sown the last week in July, at the time when the tobacco plants were cultivated for the last time. An examination of the fields in November this year showed that the vetch had completely covered the soil where the tobacco stood. Being hardy, the plant will keep on growing until stopped by a heavy frost, and remain green during the entire winter, and start to grow again early in the spring, forming a dense mat of green herbage, which can be plowed under in time to use the land for another crop of tobacco. Not only does this plant furnish protection for the soil during the winter, and yield a large amount of vegetable matter, thus improving the physical condition of the soil; but like other legumes, it is capable of assimilating atmospheric nitrogen, by the aid of bacteria which live on the roots, and which make it available for the plant, thus being a soil, improver and fertilizer at the same time. Vetch on Kentucky Tobacco Lands The following is quoted from the twenty-second annual report of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station for 1909, in which green manure crops are discussed: "Leguminous crops are valuable aside from the nitrogen and humus they add to the soil. Like clover, most of them root deeply and bring up the mineral elements of fertility from the lower depths of the soil, and when they are turned under, this matter is left in available form, and in reach of the more shallow-rooted crop. * * * "It has been stated that the legumes are enabled to use the nitrogen of the atmosphere through the agency of bacteria living on the roots of the plant. The bacteria in some way, through their activity and multi- plication, produce nodules or tubercles, little growths very much resem- bling warts. In the absence of nodules, it is safe to assume that the plant is getting its nitrogen from the soil rather than from the atmos- phere." • "^ Vetch on Connecticut Tobacco Lands Perhaps the most interesting report and most valuable experiments with hairy vetch as a cover crop for tobacco fields have been conducted in Connecticut. The Bureau of Plant Industry, United States De- partment of Agriculture, Circular No. 15, was written by T. R. Rob- VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" 49 inson, Assistant Physiologist, Soil Bacteriology Investigations. We quote some of the results reported in that circular : "In connection with the introduction of a leguminous cover crop of tobacco lands in Connecticut it became at once desirable to know to what extent such a crop would lessen the need for fertilizers, espe- cially those supplying nitrogen. Many experiments, mainly based on analyses of legumes, might be cited to show the amount of nitrogen which legumes furnish to a succeeding crop. * * * ADAPTABILITY OF HAIRY VETCH TO TOBACCO FIELDS "Mr. A. D. Shamel, of the Bureau of Plant Industry, published in 1905, in co-operation with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Sta- tion, the preliminary facts in regard to 'a new and valuable cover crop for tobacco fields,' namely, Russian or hairy vetch (vicia villosa). This legume was found to be resistant to cold, heat and drought; occupied the ground during the fall, winter, and spring; decayed rapidly when turned under; and enriched the soil by its ability to 'fix' or utilize the atmospheric nitrogen when properly inoculated — that is, when the bac- teria were present to cause the formation of root nodules. Unless the bacteria were artificially supplied it was found that the desired inocula- tion was lacking or very tardy on the tobacco lands of the Connecticut Valley." (Note that these scientific authorities declare that Vetch must be inoculated.) WHEN TO SOW.— Hairy vetch is sown in the tobacco field at the time of the last cultivation, or very soon after the harvest. If sown while the tobacco is still standing, a cultivator should be run over lightly to cover in the seed. It is usually best not to cover the seed deeper than one to one and one-half inches. If buried deeper than this the seed may fail to germinate from lack of air. If the vetch is sown"^fter the harvest it will be found advantageous to disk the field or run over it with a spring-tooth harrow, the seed being broadcasted and then harrowed in. Hairy vetch is a rapid grower and especially hardy, so that it is usually safe on the northernmost tobacco fields, to plant as late as the middle of September, while on tobacco fields further south the crop may be sown considerably later. AMOUNT OF SEED TO SOW. A heavy seeding is usually desira- ble because a greater quantity of organic matter can be secured. It is. possible, however, to get very good results on most soils by seeding at the rate of 35 pounds to the acre of vetch, putting in a half peck of rye to give the vetch vines something to cling to in order to keep them off the ground. It may be desirable in certain cases to use as many as 50 pounds of vetch seed to the acre. The soil-enriching properties of hairy vetch are never more clearly HAIRY VETCH FOR CORN 50 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" and profitably demonstrated than when it is sown in corn at the last cultivation. "When inoculated, it will grow rapidly on the poorest sort of sand land. By winter the ground will be completely cov- ered with its matted vines, so there is no leaching of plant foods or washing of the soil. Its roots will be thick with nodules which the legume germs have filled with nitrogen and early in the spring, before any other kinds of grass or vegetation have begun to grow, the vetch plants will push out their summer foliage, and by the first of May they will be three and often four feet in length. In its growth the vetch will assimilate considerable quantities of plant foods that have previously been applied to the corn in the way of fertilizer; also unused plant food which the cultivation and growing- of the corn have made available in the soil, and which would otherwise be lost by leaching. The worst thing about leaching is that the nitro- gen and mineral plant foods it carries away are available, and in the very best form as food for plants ; otherwise, they could not be so easily carried away, and thus this loss leaves the soil poorer, with its remain- ing plant foods in a less useful form. To check this waste from leach- ing is one of the main reasons for growing a cover crop. It conserves soil fertility and cuts down fertilizer bills. The latter is a big item^ especiall}^ where much costly manure and commercial fertilizers are used. While the loss from leaching of the minerals, phosphoric acid and potash, which exist in fixed compounds in the soil, is very great, it is undoubtedly much less than the loss of nitrogen. Nitrogen is more elusive, as well as more expensive, than the others; in the soil today, tomorrow it may be on its way to the ocean. Vetch, as a cover crop,, checks this waste of previous plant foods, and when plowed under adds nitrogen, which it has taken from the air, to the soil. Thus, hairy vetch saves fertility. But its great function is not to save, it is to create fertility. When, at the last cultivation, it is plant- ed in corn this year and plowed under next spring, the crop-producing^ power of your soil becomes greater; you grow more corn next year. On land where corn has been almost a failure, hairy vetch has built it up so that the first year it yielded 40 bushels to the acre. In fact, it is not unusual to hear vetch enthusiasts tell of corn after vetch yielding- an increase of 80, 90 and 100 per cent. One vetch enthusiast writes : "I plowed under a fine crop of well inoculated hairy vetch VETCH: ''THE KI^G OF SOIL BUILDERS"' 51 and planted to field corn. The corn produced over 90 bushels to the acre, an increase of over 100 per cent." In his article, called "Tonics for Sandy Soils," printed in the No- vember 23, 1912, issue of the Country Gentleman, J. Russell Smith very graphically tells the reader how to build up sandy soil : "Sow vetch in your corn the last time you plow it. Inocu- late your vetch, then let it alone for a whole season. Let it rest in the o-ood old wav. That vetch will mat itself and cover the ground by the end of May, it will die in July, and the second crop from its seed will come up in September and by plowmg time the second year you will have one of the biggest sods that was ever plowed in Delaware. Vetch has lumps of nitrogen on its roots about as big as broom-corn seed, and lots of them. The com that will follow this dose will make you thmk you have inherited money." Every corn grower who is not growing lOO bushels of corn to the acre should give this soil-builder a tryout. He shoiUd begin ..th a few acres and by comparative tests see what it will do. ^^ ^^ J^^ ; well inoculated, the writer believes that the experiment -^H^^t onb prove that hairy vetch is the thing to fill the corn-crib to overflowing, but that it is one green-manure crop with which to build up soil- fertility for all crops. ' Potato growers are learning the value o£ keepino; the S'-o"'«"=<'';;- ered with growing erops over winter to be turned "-1"^*'- J^^' °;; ing spring as green-manure. An excellent practice is to sow hairy vetch in corn, to be followed by potatoes. The vetch will pre- vent the leaching of plant foods and fine particles of soil. It will clean and purify the soil and build it up. This is vital when HAIRY VETCH FOR POTATOES ^.e stop to think that the yield' and quality of the potato depend almost directly upon the fertility of the soil. We have seen that hairy vetch not only saves nuich of the available plant food already in the soil, but that, when turned under, it quickly ^dds a liberal quantity of available plant food, particularly nitrogen^ Now. every potato grower knows that there is no farm crop in the world that is so grateful for available plant food, no crop that so readily respond to available plant food, as the potato. Potatoes are great feeders on nitrogen and potash. They con.ime ,nore nitrogen than corn. They also require — \-f ^/^ ^ f ^^^ '^ ^ acid Hence it is that the amount of these essential foods that is 52 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" available in the soil, especially in sections of the country where the growing season is limited, is a matter of the utmost importance. Here, again, vetch fills the bill. Grow vetch and get more and better potatoes. Supplement the vetch, of course, with whatever mineral plant food your soil needs, whether phosphorus or potash, or both. The Aroostook farmer in northern Maine is not satisfied unless he gets a yield of from 225 to 300 bushels per acre. His potatoes are grown on limestone soils, some strongly so, and it is his custom to grow them in a short rotation, so as to plant on clover sod. He will tell you that any rotation without clover, or some other thrifty legume, would cut down his enormous yields tremendously. Clover, no doubt, is excellent, in fact, clover, vetch, or some other legume should always precede potatoes. In its Correspondence Cir- cular No. 8, the Colorado Experiment Station says : "Potatoes should follow potatoes only once, or possibly in rare in- stances the third time on very rich, mellow soil. Potatoes should not be planted in all more than two or three times on new ground until after some legume has been grown. We have potato regions in Colorado — once producing potatoes by the trainload, that now produce none, because they could not, or would not, grow legumes." On sandy soils that are extremely deficient in humus, inoculated hairy vetch will grow and thrive better than any other legume, and give the potato grower bigger and. quicker returns. A potato crop needs no application of barnyard manure when a green-manure crop is turned under. Manure, as well as lime, often makes soil conditions that favor the development of the fungus which causes potato scab, and for this reason it should not be applied when preparing land for potatoes. Furthermore, many authorities, includ- ing the United States Department of Agriculture (Farmers' Bulletin 472), claim that the turning- under of a green manure tends to prevent the development of the scab fungus. Every potato grower anxious to grow bigger and better crops will find that the best previous crop is inoculated clover, or vetch. They root deeply, thus loosening and aerating the soil to a great depth. They add much nitrogen and humus and do not form a heavy sod, difficult to work up. They are usually free from wepds, which is im- portant ; the cleaner the ground, the lower the cost of production. But as a green-manure for potatoes, especially on soil that is un- friendly to clover, hairy vetch is the ideal crop. If you are a potato grower you should grow inoculated hairy vetch or clover. To keep in step with the big strides which the modern successful potato grower is taking, you must grow one of the legumes. HAIRY VETCH FOR COTTON VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" 53 SO why not pick out one that has so many remarkable qualities in its favor — hairy vetch? Hairy vetch is fast increasing in popularity among cotton growers, who have been compelled to turn to the various nitrogen-furnishing crops for assistance in their fight for soil fertility. This popularity is well founded. Planted in cotton at the last plowing it will take possession of the land when the cotton is removed and will continue to grow dur- ing the winter months, thus preventing the leaching away of the nitrates- already in the soil, and adding new ni- trogen from the atmosphere. Vetch may be successfully grown on any soils of the South where cotton and corn grow and on soils entirely too poor for either of these crops. It will thrive better on thin sandy soil than cowpeas. The following excerpt is taken from an article by Alex D. Hudson, in the Progressive Farmer, dated August 17, 1912 : "I have yet to find the kind of land that will not grow vetch success- fully, always provided you inoculate for it. I have been growing vetch for a number of years, but never take in a new field without Inoculating before sowing. I have made complete failures without inoculation on fields adjacent to the ones that had been growing vetch. I never seed vetch after October 20, and never use any but the hairy variety. "We are running a three-year rotation, the farm being divided into three great fields, the rotation being cotton, corn, oats and vetch, fol- lowed by peas. This year is the first that cotton has come since the rotation began. We have cut out nitrogen entirely upon 60 per cent of our cotton, only using it where the soil was badly worn. The cotton is growing off fine and is now lapping in four-foot rows. There are fields adjacent, where the owner has simply run all cotton, that will not aver- age one-third the size, and he has used a complete fertilizer. With an- other round of the rotation I will cut out all nitrogen on my corn. I have found it more profitable to grow vetch and oats than cotton, and at the same time the improvement to my soil is simply wonderful. Any- one that win follow this rotation will be able to cut down more than half of his fertilizer bill." Hairy vetch and cowpeas prove a desirable mixture for a green- manure crop, since it permits a greater accumulation of nitrogen and humus than is possible when but one of these crops is grown. Where the mineral plant foods are not deficient these two crops will add 100 pounds or more of nitrogen to the soil per acre. Prof. E. R. Lloyd, of the Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Sta- tion, reports an instance of a cotton grower who uses hairy vetch and cowpeas, in a manner as profitable as it is unique: This cotton grower began with sowing hairy vetch broad- cast in his cotton at the last plowing. The following spring the old cotton stalks were left stand- 54 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" ing, the new rows of cotton being planted in the middles, which were bedded np in the usual manner. When the vetch had made seed, the stalk cutter was run over the old rows and they Avere then plowed out and cowpeas planted in their place. The field was then cultivated between the cotton and the cowpea rows. In the autumn the vetch sprang up again and grew during the winter, the cowpeas being left to decay. The following spring the cotton rows followed the old cow- pea rows, and the vetch was left to seed on the old cotton stalks as before. This method requires that the cotton rows should be about five feet apart, but the cotton grower who practices it assured Professor Lloyd that his yield of cotton had doubled in the three years since the practice vs^as started. This practice is particularly called to the atten- tion of those who grow cotton continuously on the same land, and this ■class includes the vast majority of cotton growers. Whether the above practice appeals to you or not, if you grow cot- ton you owe it to yourself and to your cotton land to give inoculated hairy vetch a fair trial as a direct profit-making means of doubling your present yield, and at the same time increase, rather than de- crease, the crop-producing power of your land. Hairy Vetch in Rotation Long before they knew why, many farmers learned from observa- tion and experience that a rotation of different crops often increased crop productions, whereas one crop grown year after year on the same soil, diminished the supply of available plant food and decreased crop production. Today we understand fairly well the reasons underlying crop rotation, although it has some advantages not as clear to us as doubtless they will be some day. There is one thing we all agree upon, whether we are farming in Maine or California, Minnesota or Texas, and that is that if we grow a hoed crop or a grain crop, year after year, on the same soil its or- ganic matter gradually becomes less, and sooner or later, the soil be- comes wornout and worthless. This leads us to a further agreement: the supply of the soil's organic matter must be kept up and this can only be accomplished by the use of green-crop manures and farm manure in a rotation. Here is another vital point concerning crop rotation we should all V ETCH: "TH E K 1 1\- G OF SOIL BUILDERS" 56 know, and that is that in every rotation a shallow-rooted nitrogen- consuming crop should follow a deep-rooted nitrogen-furnishing crop. In other words, some inoculated legume should suj^ply the humus, the nitrogen, and, indirectly, the moisture required by the money crop which follows it. In fact, in every rational method of farming the legumes should be made to supply the needs of the non-legumes. The crops should follow each other in such succession that each crop will naturally pave the way for the next one that follows, or, at least, not place the succeeding crop at a disadvantage. The crops in a rotation should be those that are well adapted to the particular soil and climate. Cash crops, like corn, wheat, and potatoes, make a heavy draft upon fertility and need to be preceded in rotation by some thrifty legume that will not only abundantly supply them with humus and nitrogen, but, at the same time, build up and maintain the soil's fer- tility. "What better legume is there to feed the non-legumes in a rotation than hairy vetch? It commends itself, as we have already seen, in many practical, profitable ways, especially on badly run-down soils and wherever clover has ceased to make a thrifty growth. On some soils it is possible to grow a wheat or a corn crop each year, if vetch is grown as a catchcrop. Unlike clover, vetch will thrive year after year on the same soil.-' In some potato-growing sections it is l)ecoming quite a common practice to grow potatoes year after year, seeding to hairy vetch after the removal of the crop in August, and plowing the vetch down early in the spring. This, and similar close rotations, necessarily demands that available plant-food be freely supplied. Whatever crop rotation you employ, never forget this: your rota- tion must give prominence to at least one legume crop or your cash crops will soon wear out your soil. Simply a rotation is not enough. Nor is it sufficient to grow clover .or vetch and sell the hay ; nor will it build up soil fertility to feed the legumes and waste the stable manure. You must realize, if your yields per acre are diminishing, instead of increasing, that your soil must be fed the entire legume crop. It will not fatten on the crumbs from your legume table. It is hungry. Give it a good square meal. Plow under the legume and give your soil an abundance of organic matter it can easily and quickly digest; food that will make soil-flesh; food that will absorb three times its weight in water; food that will warm np the hungry soil nnd put new life and blood in its veins, 56 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" In every rotation, in every method of farming, you can dispense with many of the legumes all the time. You can dispense with all the legumes part of the time. But it is as sure as fate that if you expect to keep up the present productiveness of your farm (to say nothing of increasing its producing power) you cannot exclude the growing of all the legumes all the time. Rotate, by all means. It cleans, stimulates, and encourages the soil ; but in every rotation you should grow clover, vetch, or some other legume. Preferably. well inoculated hairy vetch, if your soil is hungry for moisture, humus, and nitrogen. VETCH: "TEE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" hi CHAPTER V. COMMON VETCH and Other Vetches VARIETIES— WHERE COMMON VETCH THRIVES BEST— IN OREGON— IN CALIFORNIA— IN SOUTHERN STATES — IN NORTHERN STATES — SOIL REQUIRE- MENTS— AS FEED— METHOD OF SOWING— TIME OF SOWING— RATE OF SEEDING— HARVESTING FOR HAY —HARVESTING FOR SEED— COMMON VETCH IN ROTA- TION—COMMON VETCH SEED— ADULTERATION OF VETCH SEED— OTHER IMPORTANT VETCHES— BLACK BITTER — PURPLE — SCARLET — WOOLLY-PODDED VETCH— SOME VALUABLE VETCH DON'TS. The common vetch is an annual with much the same habit of the garden or English pea, but the stems are more slender and usually taller, growing 3 to 5 ft., or more in length. The pods of the common vetch are brown and bear four or five seeds. These pods pop open easily and discharge their seed. VARIETIES OF COMMON VETCH There are numerous varieties of common vetch distinguished mainly by the color and size of the seeds, such as brown vetch, gray vetch, pearl vetch, etc. Then there are both spring and winter strains of common vetch ; they are distinguished in European agriculture as spring vetch and winter vetch. Sometimes common vetch is called Oregon winter vetch due to the fact that so much of the seed is grown, in Western Oregon, where it is usually sown in the Fall. To distin- guish it from hairy vetch common vetch is also known as smooth vetch and sometimes it is called English vetch. The grey-seeded varietj'' of common vetch is the one most cultivated in the United States. Where Common Vetch Thrives Best The most extensive area in this country where common vetch has become well established as a farm crop is Willamette Valley of Oregon, which lies between the Cascade Mountains and the Coast Range. This valley forms the largest agricultural region of Western Ore- gon. It is about 40 miles wide and 150 miles long. Common vetch is grown very gener- ally over this entire area, replacing red clover to some extent as it seems to thrive better unless land plaster is used on the clover. IN OREGON 58 VETCH: "THB KING OF 80IL BUILDERS" In Oregon the common vetch is seldom sown in the spring for spring- sown common vetch succeeds only where the summers are fairly cool; hot humid weather being injurious to it. Fall sowing gives best results. The yield is about 10 bushels of seed per acre. For seed it is sown either alone or with fall sown oats. AVhen sown alone II/2 to 2 bushels of seed are used per acre ; with oats, a bushel of oats and a bushel of vetch are used. Wheat, rye and barley may be used in combination with vetch, but oats are preferable not only on account of the superior quality of oat hay, but from the further IsCtt that where a seed crop is grown the oat seed can be easily separated from the vetch seed, while there is greater difficulty with rye, wheat or barley. It is often sown alone for common vetch has stiff er stems than hairy vetch. When it stands up, it may be cut with a binder unless the growth is very thick. If it falls down, as it often does, or if the growth is particularly heavy, the vetch is cut with a mower. In the Oregon foothills where the drainage is good and the amount of winterkilling small, it is customary to sow 60 pounds of seed to the acre. If a mixture is sown, it varies from 30 pounds of vetch and 20 pounds of oats to double this amount. In the valley lands, Avhere a certain amount of loss is likely from winterkilling, especially where the soils become wet, a larger quantity is sown. In combination with oats, 60 pounds of vetch and 40 pounds of oats are most commonly planted. The same rate of seeding is used as a rule whether the crop is grown for hay or for seed. The chief market for Oregon vetch seed is right at home, for many farmers sow vetch while very few grow their own seed. Certain quan- tities of Oregon grown seed are shipped East every year, but as a rule most of the seed used in the East comes from Europe, because the European seed is usually much cheaper. Common vetch is the most extensively grown green-manuring crop in California. You will find it grown throughout the orchard sections wherever green-manure crops are grown at all. It is adapted to quite varying condi- tions and succeeds in all sections of the state. It makes a good growth and does well on both the light and heavy soil. Orchardists in California are growing common vetch in preference to field peas which were largely grown a few years ago. There, it is also of much greater importance than the other green-manure crops, bur clover, fenugreek and Indian melilot. This is not to be wondered at for vetch has certain qualities superior to the others, qualities that make it particularly suitable for green- IN CALIFORNIA VETCH: "THE KING OF HOIL BUILDERS" 59 manure purposes. It not only yields a large tonnage, but groAvs well in the cool weather of winter, permitting it to be plowed under early in spring. Then again, when picking fruit and doing other work, the un- avoidable trampling interferes but little with the growth of the vetch. In Southern California common vetch when used as a green-manure is usually sown during September and the first half of October. Better results, however, are being secured with the earlier seedings and it is often good policy to sow during the first half of September. Sown this early the plants make a good growth before cold weather sets in and continue to grow during the winter. When sown late the plants often make but a small growth before the cold weather ; they then make no growth, to speak of, until the latter part of winter when the warmer weather appears. The rate of seeding varies from 40 to 60 pounds per acre. Forty pounds per acre is generally recommended, but the heavier seeding is giving much better crops and more than makes up for the difference in the cost of the seed. Early as well as heavy seeding is the practice among many growers and is bringing best results. Deeper seeding, too, has been found profitable where the plantings are early. In Northern California, under irrigation, vetches should be sown about the first of October. They will then make sufficient growth to be turned under in February or March. This later season of planting in the Northern part of the state is desirable in both citrus and deciduous orchards on account of the heavy winter rainfall which prevents turn- ing under the crop as early as in the Southern section. Vetch will make but little growth by February or March when sown in the Fall without irrigation. Orchardists in California, and in every State in the Union, are growing more and more alive to the many values of green-manuring. These values are shown in the improved condition of the soil, the more thrifty appearance of the trees, in the improved quality of the fruit and the increased yield. Orchards with unthrifty trees, with sickly, yellowish-colored leaves soon brighten up and take on a new lease of life, showing a decided improvement in color, general appearance and vigor, better yields, following a few years of careful, intelligent green- manuring. Green-manuring lessens. the chances of the trees becoming diseased. The California experiment station has demonstrated that gummosis of citrus trees is brought on by unfavorable soil conditions and that green-manures serve a useful purpose in remedying this dis- ease. In orchards that have been green-manured any length of time this disease is seldom found. As I have stated, green-manuring greatly improves the soil. Heavy 60 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" soils become open and friable and sandy soils more loamy. In Cali- fornia and elsewhere men handling orchards have learned that soils lacking in organic matter and humus wash easily, that they have little power to conserve moisture and that they are invariably "nitrogen hungry"; they are lacking in that precious plant food, nitrogen. They have learned that green-manuring their orchards will supply the soil with both humus and nitrogen providing the crop turned under is an inoculated legume with a heavy vegetable growth. Where orchardists have not learned this valuablie lesson from actual experience it is taught them by the best authorities in the country. For instance, you will find this paragraph on page 11 of Bulletin No. 190, United States Depart- ment of Agriculture: "A green-manure crop should be a legume wherever possible, in order to obtain the addition of nitrogen to the soil. It is also necessary that a good growth be made, in order to have a large quantity of organic matter to turn under and incorporate with the soil. Along with good growth should be a heavy develop- ment of nodules on the roots, as this is believed to indicate g^eat ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen." In California statistics prove that of the green-manure legume crops commonly grown there, such as vetch, peas, burr clover, and fenugreek, the inoculated vetch returns the most organic matter and adds the greatest amount of nitrogen to the soil. Common vetch is largely grown as a winter crop in the Southern States, usually with oats, rye, or barley. I don't believe that, as a rule, the yield is as great in the South as it is in the Pacific States where the average is about 21/2 tons per acre. The reason for this may lie in the fact that in the south less seed is usually sown, about 40 or 45 pounds of vetch and 8 to 10 pounds of oats to the acre. In the Southern States oats and common vetch should always be sown in the fall, October being the best month, though the planting may be delayed till the middle of December. For green-manuring early fall planting is recommended. I don't believe that in the South the average yield of vetch seed to the acre has been estimated. Five bushels is considered a very low yield and 25 bushels a very high one. The average, I should say, is around 12 and 14 bvishels. In Georgia vetch has become an important crop especially in the Savannah River bottom near Augusta, There it is principally grown as a winter hay crop, usually with oats. The variety most used is the IN THE SOUTHERN STATES VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL B UILDERS" 61 61 common vetch, often called Oregon vetch since it is the same variety as that grown in Oregon. This hay commands a good price as feed for horses and other kinds of stock. In other points in the South, including South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, common vetch is securing a stronger foothold every year. But it should be remembered that common vetch will not ordinarily withstand more cold than 15° above zero, Fahrenheit, while hairy vetch is so hardy it can be grown almost anywhere in the United- States. Map of the united States, Showing the Regions Suited to the Fall Seeding: of Com- mon Vetch. (From Bui. No. 515 of the U. S. Dept. of Agri.) Common vetch succeeds wherever Canada field peas do well. Where the winters are severe it must be planted in the spring. To provide pasture the spring vetch is usually sown with some cereal, such as oats or barley. Wher- ever climate conditions enable it to grow successfully, common vetch is found superior to hairy vetch in providing soiling food and fodder, chiefly because it is more upright in its habit of growth and hence easier to harvest and, besides, it is less tough in the stems. . , , , Some authorities recommend the use of spring vetch in the place of cowpeas especiallv in the northern states where the pea-louse has be£n very destructive. It is sown in early spring and under favorable con- ditions it is ready to harvest before the first of July. 62 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" SOIL REQUIRE- MENTS OF COMMON VETCH Like alfalfa, clover, and other legvmies, common vetch prefers a well drained soil, it will not thrive in badly drained land. While excellent crops are grown both on sandy and gravelly soils, it does best in loams or sandy loams. The seed bed for common vetch should be made firm. In "Washington and Oregon the common practice is to broadcast the seed in oat or wheat stubble and go over it with an ordinary disk harrow, or where the land is fairly loose the seed is simply sown in the stubble with a disk drill. This method brings good results especially if the previous small-grain crop has been spring-sown and if the vetch is sown quite early in the fall. If, however, the pre- vious grain crop was fall-sown and the vetch is planted rather late in the fall, the land usually becomes too compact and should be deep plowed and thoroughly worked. -Common vetch is often planted in corn at the last cultivation or it may be drilled into potato ground without plowing if the potatoes have been well cared for and the soil is worked up fresh after the potatoes are removed. In the South common vetch demands that more attention be paid to its seed bed. As is necessary, more or less, with all legumes, particu- larly alfalfa and clover, the soil should be finely pulverized. For spring grown vetches fall plowing should be the rule. For fall sown vetches it will depend somewhat on the preceding crop. The ideal condition is a clean, firm, moist, well-settled soil. AVhere following a hoed crop such as early potatoes it is enough to disk the ground deeply and then smooth it with a harrow. Following a cereal, the land should be plowed some time before seeding, especially if the weather be dry, and then to enable it to gather and hold moisture the land should be rolled and harrowed. In Oregon and Washington many dairymen use common vetch for pasturage during winter, spring and early summer. It is eaten eagerly by all farm live stock. As a general rule, the vetch is pastured only when the ground is dry, not only to avoid packing the soil, but because both cattle and sheep are liable to bloat on vetch, especially in wet weather. The vetches are much relished by all classes of live stock; in fact there are but few kinds of food that are equally suitable for the animals of the farm. Their fattening properties are of a very high order while for milk production they can scarcely be beaten. Vetch and oats make an excellent forage, being very palatable and VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS 63 highly digestible when in the best stage for feeding. This crop may be put into the silo and the silage, while a little richer than corn, will give about the same results. Legumes, however, should never be put in the silo alone. They should be mixed with some other crop. Any plant very rich in protein develops a very strong and somewhat objectionable odor, and great care must be taken in the feeding or there is danger of the milk be- coming tainted. For this reason it is best that the silage contain a mixture in order to counteract this unpleasant feature. The hay of the common vetch is remarkably nutritious, as much so as clover and is relished even more ; but it is easily injured by rain Avhen being cured. As a soiling food common vetch is also very suitable and is equally adapted to horses, cows, sheep and swine. Common vetch may be sown either broadcast or by drilling. The old. perhaps the most common, method is to broadcast it although the use of the drill is increasing every j-ear, es- pecially in Oregon. It is plain that drilling is more economical, it saves seed, and some growers claim that it lessens winterkilling by favoring the deeper rooting of the plant, so that there is less injury from frost heav- ing. METHOD OF SOWING COMMON VETCH Common vetch may be sown alone or with one of the small grains as a supporting crop. AYhere the crop is grown chiefly for hay it is the common practice to sow the vetch with grain so that its weak stems may be supported and kept from lodging. The favorite combination is oats and vetch though wheat, rye nnd barley may be used. As stated be- fore, oats are pre- ii'rred because it is easier to separate them from the vetch seed. Oats that have stiff straws are pre- ferred, such as Gray Winter and Black K u s s i a n. W h e n grown for seed, vetch is often planted alone. Vetch seed should be sown about the same depth as cereals. Common Vetch aiul Barley at Louisiana State Exp. Statiou. TIME OF SOWING COMMON VETCH 64 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" The common spring vetch should be sown for forage just as soon as the ground is dry enough to be worked without injury. The com- mon winter vetch ought to be sown long enough before winter to let it get firmly established before severe frosts set in. In western Oregon and western Wash- ington vetch is seeded in September and October, with the tendency to plant in the earlier month to reduce damage by winter- killing. Some dairy farmers plant vetch at various dates so as to use it as a soiling crop. Sown with oats about October 1, it is ready to feed about the first of May ; planted later, it can be cut about the first of June ; and if early spring sowing is practiced, say in February or March, the vetch can be fed from June 15 to July 15. AVhen cut early for soiling, a small second crop may be cut or used as pasture. In Southern California, when used for green-manuring purposes^ common vetch is sown in September, so that it can be plowed under by March. In the East vetches are used extensively for orchard cover crops, being sown at time of last cultivation. For this purpose, however, the vetch most commonly used is the hairy vetch. I have already given the reader some figures regarding the amount of common vetch seed to sow under stated conditions, but I'll set them all down here so that at any time he may have a definite place to turn and look for them. In Oregon when common vetch is sown alone 1% to 2 bushels of seed are used per acre. If with oats, 60 lbs. of vetch and 40 lbs. of oats are most commonly planted in the valley lands ; in the foothills it varies from 30 lbs. of vetch and 20 lbs. of oats to 60 lbs. of vetch and 40 lbs. of oats. Some growers plant as high as 2 bushels of vetch to the acre when grown for seed alone. Such thick plantings are apt to stand up better^ but it is doubtful if they result in any material gain. In California, when common vetch is planted as a green-manure crop, the usual rate of seeding is 60 lbs. to the acre, but as low as 40 lbs. are often used. In the South the amount of vetch seed sown per acre is less than on the Pacific Coast, probably on account of the higher price. The aver- age amount is about 45 lbs., or 3 pecks, to the acre. Sown with oats^ about 40 lbs. of vetch and 8 to 10 lbs. of oats are sown to the acre. RATE OF SEEDING COMMON VETCH VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" 65 Cutting Vetch with Mower. Cut Swath Thrown on Uncut Vetch. HARVESTING FOR HAY For hay, vetch should be cut from the period of full bloom to forma- tion of the first pods. It may be cut with an ordinary mower with a swather attachment. After cutting, the vetch should be bunched with a horserake and then shocked with pitchforks. This liandling should be done before the vetch leaves are dry. It should be allowed to cure in the shocks several days, and where pos- sible, hay caps should be used, especially if rainy weather is feared. It is sometimes well to pasture fall-sown vetch in the spring so as to bring the haying season somewhat later and also to prevent heavy lodging. This is frequently done in western Washington and Oregon. As already stated, both common and hairy vetch shatter their seed badly, for the reason that when the pods become ripe they pop open easily. This, in part, accounts for the low yield of seed. If the seed is to be saved it is necessary to handle these crops with ex- treme care. As a rule it is best to cut vetch for seed just as soon as the lower pods are ripe, at which time the upper pods will be fully formed and the plant will be HARVESTING FOR SEED 66 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS'' carrying its maximum quantity of seed. If it is cut later than this more seed is likelj^ to shatter, while earlier cuttings will result iu con- siderable immature seed. Some growers use an ordinary grain binder, especially if the vetch stands up well or when it is grown with a supporting crop, such as oats. When thus harvested, the crop is put in shocks similar to gr.xin shocks and allowed to remain until threshed. Wlien the cured vines, or bundles, are hauled to the stack or threshing machine, tight-bottomed beds are used so as to catch the seed that shatters. In threshing, the. concaves are removed, the cylin- der is run at slow speed and as much wind used as possible to clean the seed. Perhaps the most common way of harvesting vetch is to use an ordinary mower with a swather attachment. The swather, which is attached to and behind the sickle bar, rolls the vetch in a swath. AYhat- ever method is used in cutting, it is very important to handle the crop rapidly and as little as possible after it is cut. Common vetch is nearly always grown in rotation. In Oregon and Washington it is usually grown after spring-sown oats. It is also used in rotation with potatoes and corn. In the Savannah River bottom near Augusta, the most famous vetch-groAving section in the South, the crop is mostly grown in rotation with Johnson grass, es- pecially on valley lands where the Johnson grass volunteers. Vetch hay has a fine repu- tation at Augusta where it sells at top prices for horse feed. The vetch, usually mixed with oats or other small grain, is planted, in October and harvested by the middle of May. After the vetch crop is removed, the Johnson grass, more or less mixed with other grasses, begins to grow and commonly yields two hay cuttings during the sea- son. The vetch improves the groAvth of the grass, helps keep down w^eeds, and at the same time makes a fair cutting of very fine hay. AVhere Johnson grass does not permanently occupy the land it is not advisable to sow it, as it is extremely difficult to eradicate. In this ease various summer crops can be grown in the rotation, such as sorghum, cowpeas, sorghum and cowpeas, soy beans, etc. As a rule, the vetches should not be sown in rotation with wheat, as they tend to volunteer and their seed is very difficult to separate from wheat. If grown in rotation with wheat they should not be al- COMMON VETCH IN ROTATION VETCH: "THE K I X G OF SOIL BUILDERS" 67 lowed to mature their seed, but where this is done the vetch should be followed by a cultivated crop before wheat is again planted. OTHER IMPORTANT VETCHES Woolly-Podded Vetch Both in appearance and in agricultural value the woolly-podded vetch closely resembles hairy vetch. It is equally hardy and much earlier, maturing even earlier than common vetch. It differs from hairy vetch in having nearly smooth leaves, purple flowers, and hairy pods. Its flowers are very fragrant and attract bees in great numbers. In California and western Oregon this legume often shoWs a stronger growth during the cool w^eather of. early winter than the common or hairy vetch, but not so strong as the purple or black-bitter vetch. When inoculated it succeeds splendidly and on account of its earliness and good seed-bearing qualities it has some advantages over hairy vetch. It stands trampling well and for sowing without irrigation in deciduous orchards it may be of special value. Except that a little less seed may be used it is handled the same as common vetch. Scarlet Vetch This plant is the most erect growing of the annual slender-stemmed vetches. While it usually withstands the winters of the Pacific Coast and the Cotton States, it is even less hardy than the common vetch. It is a rare thing for scarlet vetch to produce seed in large quantities; furthermore its pods shatter very easily, so that the seed is comparatively expensive. , Like the other vetches, it is drought resistant and from spring sow- ings has succeeded better in the semiarid regions than any other vetch except the purple. Purple Vetch This legume, often called black-purple vetch, is a smooth annual with dark purple flowers. Its seed habits are excellent and it can be grown as cheaply as common vetch although it is not so hardy. 68 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" On the Pacific coast and in the South this species has proved very- promising. In the semiarid regions larger yields have resulted from spring plantings than from any other vetch. The time and manner of seeding this crop are much the same as with common vetch. As the seed is a little smaller, however, a smaller quantity may be used. To insure profitable returns the seed should be well inoculated. Black Bitter Vetch This legume is forging to the front as a green-manure crop, more particularly in California. This is because of its upright growth which gives it a big advantage over most other vetches and its superior growth during the cool weather of early winter. Its seeding habits are also better than those of other vetches. Its pods shatter but very little, which makes the harvesting of the seed much easier. It has still another advantage over the common vetch in that its fibrous roots penetrate deeper. On the other hand it is not so readily eaten by live stock and it requires a slightly greater quantity of seed when planted. From 60 to 70 pounds per acre is recommended. Aside from this, the crop is handled like common vetch. When inoculated^ it produces splendid crops. It is predicted that under California con- ditions it will in time replace other green-manure crops to a great extent. VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" 69 A REVIEW OF MAIN POINTS THINGS TO REMEMBER PREPARATION OF THE SOIL (1) If plowed at a season of the year when the loss of moisture is apt to be a set-back for the new seeding, go on and drag the field as soon as possible after plowing to form a surface mulch that will prevent excessive evaporation of moisture. If harrowed immediately following the plowing then the soil will be able to hold literally tons of moisture which would otherwise escape. Thus moisture supply for growing crops will be abundant throughout the entire season, even through droughts, meaning in many cases the difference between success and failure. (2) After considerable quantities of fresh organic matter have been plowed under, the moisture conserved by frequent harrowing will hasten the decay of such organic matter and hasten its change into soil humus. The fur- ther effect of harrowing will be to improve the ventilation of the soil, thus contributing also to the conditions favorable to a quick decomposition of the vegetable growth and its final breaking down into desirable humus. (3) Provide a well settled, firmed, or compacted seed bed. This is done first by permitting time to elapse between plowing and seeding; second, by constantly working the field with disk, harrow and roller. (4) Provide a seed-bed that will be free of weeds. (5) By harrowing the field quickly after plowing and working it contin- ually secure a moist condition of soil, hastening germination and favoring young growing crops during possible periods of drought. (6) If following a clean culture crop a well settled seed-bed and well cul- tivated soil is provided already; therefore do not plow such a field. Disking and harrowing will in this case usually properly prepare for a vetch seeding. (7) Likewise the preparation of the soil, when vetch or other legumes are Bowed between the rows of hoe crops after the last cultivation, is in every way favorable and usually preferable to that ordinarily provided for vetch seeding. . (8) In laying out the field plan for a check plat to be seeded with unin- oculated seed for comparison with the main field which is inoculated with "NITRAGIN." SEED (1) The best seed is the cheapest seed. Buy reliable seed. (2) Several weeks in advance of seeding procure samples of seed from the seed house of which you expect to purchase seed and have samples tested at the Experiment Station of your own state or by the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture at Washington, D. C, or — (3) Make a home-germinating test whenever possible. (4) Estimate impurities in the sample. (5) Determine percentage of germination. (6) Do not buy old seed. (7) Purchase "NITRAGIN" and inoculate seed before sowing on fields where vetch has never been grown or on fields that have not raised the crop for some years, or on fields that have failed to give profitable yields. Re- member first to prepare the soil and treat it in the right way to make a suit- able home for the germs freshly stocked in the soil by means of the "NITRA- GIN" culture applied to and sown with the seed. 70 VETCH: "THE K I IS' G OF SOI L BUILDERS" (8) Order "NITRAGIN" for the variety or varieties of vetch which you intend to sow^ and for the acreage to be sown. (9) Since "NITRAGIN" is a laboratory product and is always supplied fresh, your order should be booked well in advance of seeding time. (10) Remember "NITRAGIN" germs, as now prepared, are guaranteed to be virulent and effective for six months from date of shipment, thorough tests having proved conclusively that the germs are effective in producing inocula- tion several months after they are put in the "NT^TRAGIN" cans. (11) Purchasers of "NITRAGIN" will find a book containing full direc- tions for care and use of Ihe inoculation material "NITRAGIN" with each and every shipment of same. (12) In determining what variety of vetch seed to buy consider well what kind will be most profitable as a crop on your land. Carefully read the require- ments peculiar to each variety as discussed in this book before purchasing seed. (13) Seed of hairy vetch is often adulterated, especially with that of com- mon vetch and of wild vetches, and weed seeds are frequently present. Care- ful examination with the aid of the descriptions in this booklet will help enable anyone to determine whether the seed is pure. SEEDING (1) The time of seeding and amount of seed depend on the variety used, the geographical situation, and what use is to be made of the crop. (2) Vetch may be sown alone or with one of the small grains as a sup- porting crop, and is frequently sown with crimson clover. (3) The depth at which seed is planted depends on the nature of the soil. It is planted deeper in sandy or loose, light soils or soils where depth is re- quired to insure sufficient moisture for germination. (4) In loose, light soils it is advisable to roll the ground well both before and after seeding to secure a seed-bed sufficiently firm to insure a close contact of soil with seed. Rolling also has the further desirable result of increasing the water-holding capacity of such soils. Following the last operation of roll- ing the ground it is well to lightly harrow the surface to lessen the action of the wind and loss of moisture through evaporation. (5) To rid fields of troublesome weeds, clip high so as to cut off the heads of the weeds. Rake these up if extremely heavy; if not, leave on the ground as a mulch. 10 SOIL DON'TS. (1) Don't hesitate to grow vetch because it is comparatively a new crop. Give it a trial, either as a forage or fertilizing crop. (2) Don't think that crop rotation alone will build up your soil. It needs' the helpful bountiful assistance of a hardy, vigorous legume like hairy vetch. (3) Don't forget that farm values are based on soil fertility. When you put more fertility in your soil you are putting more money in your till. Hairy vetch fills the bill in a-bil-i-ty and it fills the till in fer-til-i-ty. (4) Don't forget that the cash value of your farm depends on how, when,, and what you feed it. (5) Don't forget that the best farmer is he who most economically puts back into the soil each year more fertility than his growing crops remove. (6) Don't forget to forget how the pioneer farmer farmed. Think only of the way your soil must be fed and farmed today. (7) Don't forget that it is money thrown away to use commercial fertilizer oa soils lacking in organic matter. (8) Don't forget that it takes plant food to grow weeds; kill the weeds. (9) Don't forget that soil-building is the most vital problem of the century. (10) Don't forget that hairy vetch makes the best soil-building material. 10 VETCH SEED DON'TS. (1) Don't try to save money by purchasing cheap seed. (2) Don't trust to luck for getting the best seed. Buy from a firm such as Galloway Brothers-Bowman Co., Waterloo, Iowa, U. S. A., known to handle only pure unadulterated seed. VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" 71 (3) Don't put any stock in seed offered on the markel as "inoculated" seed. Inoculation by such a method cannot be fairly claimed as reliable. (4) Don't take chances by sowing seed on water-soaked land, on land that is poorly drained, or on the snow in spring. (5) Don't throw money away by seeding vetch on newly plowed land, no matter how carefully prepared; give it time to settle. (6) Don't plant vetch on soils new to the crop without first inoculating the seed with fresh "NITRAGIN" culture prepared for the variety and for the acreage which you intend to sow. (7) Don't plant vetch seed on soils that have not raised the crop for several seasons without using "MTRAGIN" to supply a fresh stock of germs. (8) Don't plant vetch on very sour land. If the field is found to be very acid, see that it is well limed a few weeks previous to the planting. (9) When using "NlTRAGIN"-treated seed don't allow the seed to be exposed to the sun's rays after they are treated, for intense light kills the germs; therefore, sow "NITRAGIN"-treated seed and preferably with a drill. If broadcasted or sown with a seeder this should be done early in the morning or late in the evening, or else on a cloudy day, in a mist, or in a drizzling rain. The harrowing following the seeding should be done before the sun comes out. (10) Don't spread disease or the seeds of noxious weeds by attempting to inoculate your soil by means of soil transferred from old fields where fungus diseases are sure to abound. 10 CROP DON'TS. (1) Don't forget that when vetch is spring-sown for seed it is best to pasture the crop the first season. (2) Don't fail to exercise care in pasturing vetch crops. Prevent too close pasturing in the early spring and likewise avoid this in the late fall, else the crop may not have the protection it needs in the winter. (3) Don't try to cut vetch hay during rainy seasons when it cannot be properly cured. Rather take the risk of having it over-ripe. If provided with suitable equipment another plan is to cut the crop and use it green for en- silage. (4) Don't think that the sun's rays are necessary to cure hay. The cir- culation of air is the curing agent. More damage than benefit is caused by the sun, since the leaves are usually burned, preventing evaporation of moisture and causing them to shatter, whereas if they are shade-cured a large percentage of them can be saved, thus making a hay of the highest quality. Shade-curing is facilitated by using hay caps. (5) Don't overlook the high protein content of vetch or fail to make the right use of it in the ration, whether fed as pasture, ensilage or as hay. (G) Don't forget that, pound for pound, vetch hay as a ration for live stock is very nearly equal in nutrient value to wheat bran. It is palatable and digestible and live stock eat it greedily. (7) Don't forget that inoculated vetch contains about 50 pounds of nitro- gen per ton while the average farm manure contains 10 pounds of nitrogen per ton. (8) Don't forget that plowing under 21/^ tons of vetch provides as much nitrogen as would be added to the soil by applying 12% tons of barn manure. (9) Don't forget that organic matter is the life of the soil: that the pro- ductive power of your land is proportionate to the amount of organic matter in it. (10) Don't forget that when looking for building material with which to increase the fertility of your soil you should not only get the right lumber but you should employ the right carpenter. There is only one thorough, capable carpenter and that is Nature, herself. It was she who built up all rich, virgin soils, and she is the only restorer of worn-out lands. She, alone, can trans- form infertile sandy land into rich productive soil. Give her good building material — and there is no better than inoculated hairy vetch — and she will pro- vide all the tools and do the greater part of all the work. She will build up and strengthen your thin hungry soil and fill it with the kind of humus that makes big, bumper crops. 72 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS" o ^ . CO s-" CO O T3 - f. Co I— t be. u o bc o ft cd ci3 VETCH: "THE KING OF SOIL BUILDERS 73 •mr- tc a," - o) S fl (U 133 Sj , = ^ » O" 3 CO ^ ■== a ci *^ fl -M O a 03 « O) ^ J2 >> a s CQ C (U O) CO 5 o lrt"g' O O oj ,£3 a> .2 >' .2^ u:; o Pi fl Lh cS (X) Co X3 ? 3 5 (3 c 2 c . 0) c (H 4> -1 i^2 O rt "^ M s,^ c c4 So :: J2 3° .5 a "cp X! fc? ,« Cd _^ 03 i:^ ^ cs a ^ S rt (D o ►-* w O O o ^ « CO -O >■ DC U > -O O to 03 c — — ca cs 5 tD cd a> (u " "^ 1^ Oh CU CO 03 C a a m a: o CO o 2 01 O c; cu Ui a rt ctf CJ 03 w cS C ►" O) Cd — — — i-Q ix> cd eS a> 'g|'O^Scd>.gJ XI ^ .2 c3 o .5 cd3 03 c a xi a> •a fcl .Si ^1 O o cti Ph c -- «a> ^ g 03 o « i; > t> :> '^ ? ? "O ID ^ ^ M .t; (D 03 O) ?; r« >- w ;> O O -=3 U 3 > i5 4_, . C8 t; 3 03 03 -O Pi .2 03 03 ^Z E ° fc, > t, t, > U 03 o 03 a> o is aj «^ E ^ rt i^ <;oiS<;uco^pQ S£ 2 < t- oc - a. tioS c — Oj <:Oo O M ^ o 03 a 03 g 0) o O 03 . c 03' *3 03 03 o o inia Beans — Red and Crimson Clover. I used "NITRAGIN" on an acre of Lima beans and it gave results equal to what 600 or 800 lbs. of bone or 300 lbs. of ni- trate of soda would have done and is first- class for beans. I intend to use it next year. I also used "NITRAGIN" on clover with splendid results and think it first- class for legume crops. Yours very truly, JOHN F. LBED. Waterford, N. J., Dec. 12, 1912. Crimson Clover. I used "NITRAGIN" according to direc- tions with little confidence, but after tak- ing particular notice of the clover after coming up, knowing that it was planted on land that was naturally a poor clover soil and in a very poor state of fertility, I find that my clo.ver is far superior to any clover crop in my section, even those that planted on old clover lots. The re- sults are astonishing to all who have seen my clover. • Yours very truly, W. T. STANCELL. Margarettsville, N. C, Dec. 13, 1912. Peas — Alfalfa — Hairy Vetch. I used "NITRAGIN" in April on peas