The Savannah morning news., 1903-07-27
The Forage Plants for the south.
y Winter Vetch.

If it were not for the difficulty of
saving the seed of vetch it would be
one of the most popular of Southern
forage plants. 1t belongs to the le-
gumes, and the little pods that bear
the seed pop open as soon as they get
a little dry, and scatter the seed over
the ground. On account of the care
involved in saving seed there is COM
paratiVely little seed saved, the price
is such as to deter most farmers from
sowing it. If a crop of vetch is allowed
TO seed once on a piece of land a crop
can be made for a number of years in
the same manner that a crop of burr
clover is renewed.
Vetch and burr clover are much alike
in habit. Springng up in autumn,
thinning in the winter time, Yielding
nne pasture or good moving in the
early spring. making seed and dying
down completely, as a general rule,
before the hot weather of June The
seeds lie in the ground with no dis
position to sprout until the fall rains
occur. Along in September or October
some times as early as August, the
seeds terminate after saturatlng rains.
Where the land is rich a good pasture
VIII result some weeks before Christ
mas. Stock should not be turned on
TO il until 1t gets well established and
If the full benefit would be derived
from 1t, never let stock run on it when
the ground is wet
Such a practice will soon spoil
good pasture and work decided injury
10 the soil. Let the soil get fairly
dry before turning in the stock Our
farmers generally are very reckless in
the treatment of their pastures, seem
ingly oblivious of the injury that fol-
lows the tramping of stock on land
while it is soft from the presence of
surface moisture. This reckless pas
turing Of soils through all kinds Of
weather in the winter and spring has
had much to do with the improvement
of them.
Such practice should be followed
no longer. One should be especially
careful in the treatment of a winter
pasture.
The Southern stock grower and
dairyman will find the vetch very
useful plant, even along with those
previously commended for their quail
ity and permanency. Like a few 9TH
ers such as burr clover, saplng Glow
er and white clover, the vetch makes
an excellent Combination" plant Like
peas and clover, II is ameliorating to
the soil, is easy to manage and is very
nutritious, making the richest of milk
and butter. If seed could be secured
readily and cheaply II would always
be in order to SOW some vetch with
the oats and rye and barley that are
sown for early cutting for forage. II
can be grown on Bermuda sward the
same as white or burr clover, alter
mating with the Bermuda doing II nc
harm, but rather good. Where the
vetch occupies land to itself after
it dies down in the early summer q
crop of corn can be made on the land
and in the fall the vetch will come
up again after the corn. and renew The
pasture and be the means of supply
ing humus to the soil. Narrowed in
with a heavy, sharp-toothed harrow
on Bermuda sward in October. II
makes a very good pasture in the early
spring, and as soon as it dies down ir
May or June the Bermuda will renew
its growth more vigorously than il
would have done without the vetch's
influence for good. Mixed crops make
more per acre and mixed food is bet.
ter for stock of all kinds.