THE VALUE OF VETCHES.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 53, 8 April 1914, Page 11

THE VALUE OF VETCHES.

A man of wide experience puts the case for a crop of vetches thus: — "When sown in the autumn it will smother weeds and help to clean the land from annuals; it is one of the best forage crops groAvn, being hardy,-bulky, and nutritious; it makes, when mixed with oats or barley, first-rate hay; when mixed with some cereal it affords excellent early spring feed, to be grazed by ewes; and it may be sown in tho early spring with rape, when it will offer for early lambs at Aveaning a fattening forage mixture unsurpassed. Let there be added to these merits its value in adding fertility t.d the land, and the case for the vetch is surely proven." There are*several distinct varieties of vetches growji, but the two that are most useful for farm purposes are the Winter, or Scotch, vetch, and the Golden vetch. The habits of growth of the two varieties are very si-mi lar, and it appears to be more a matter of soil and climate than anything else as to which is the more profitable variety to grow. The seed of the Scotch tare is black, while that of the Golden is of a fawnygrey colour. A factor which has doubtless been prominent in limiting the use of vetches is the price of the seed, which price often runs as high as 12/- per bushel. The price of the seed is, however, now getting more reasonable, and the seed at present runs about 9/- per bushel. Of course there is nothing to prevent a farmer growing a small patch of vetches for seed, but this point will be discussed later.

Vetches, being a leguminous crop, resemble in their requirements of soil, manuring, etc., the field pea. They thrive on most soils, but are particularly partial to limestone country. The writer, however, has seen vetches grown on many classes of soils with conspicuous success —in fact, they are often grown on worn-out lanil with the object of restoring part of the lost fertility. For fodder purposes vetches are best sown with some cereal crop, as oats, Cape barley, or ryecorn. The object of this is twofold. First, the cereals hold the vetches off the ground, encouraging greater growth, and limiting the loss from rotting, and, secondly, they provide a mixture of feed, for vetches alone are very high in albuminoids, and require other feed with them to make a better balanced ration for stock. Oats are the most common crop to grow with vetches, and this crop is best sown in the autumn or spring, the usual seeding being about two bushels of oats to one bushel or one and a-half bushels of vetch seed. The 3eed of the two is usually mixed before sowing, and then sown with the grain drill. It is well to use a strong strawed variety of oats to support the vetches, Records, Gartons, Yielders, or Triumphs being suitable varieties. The firstmentioned variety is ti late introduction, and as it possesses strong, upright straw, with excellent milling grain, it should prove a useful oat for both green feed and for grain. Where the oats and vetches are sown in the autumn they may be fed down in winter and let go for soiling purposes or for hay iu the spring. One dairy farmer known to the writer sows the oats and vetches in this way, and grazes his herd on the crop till the mangels are matured and ready for feeding. It would be well' to sow the crop in several small blocks at intervals rather than at one time, so as to have a succession of feed. As to manuring, 2cwt of superphosphate, basic superphosphate or slag, or a similar quantity of some proprietary grain manure mixture would prove profitable when sown at seeding time. Where the crop is not to be kept for hay it may be grazed up to Christmas, and will give a considerable quantity of feed. A useful practice Avould be to follow the vetches by a crop of Italian ryegrass and clover sown in autumn, or if lifted early enough, by rape-and mustard for autumn feeding. The hay produced from a mixture of oats, barley, or ryecorn with vetches is unsurpassed, and three to four tons may be secured under favourable conditions. The crop is usually cut with the mower, placed in cocks, and treated as is usual with grass and clover hay. Sowing vetches with rape in the early spring is a practice that can be recommended to fat lamb raisers. Drill the vetches in with Icwt of superphosphate and cross-drill with rape and, say, lewt of rape manure, sowing the rape quite shallow. About one bushel of vetches and lib of rape should be an average seeding, with perhaps a heavier sowing on strong land. No better lamb-fatten-ing forage crop can be grown than this mixture, but it would be necessary in order to derive full benefits from the crop to have the lambs dropped in time for weaning about the middle* of December. The velvet vetch is probably the best variety to sow with rape, as it grows finer in the straw and stands feeding better than the other varieties. If this variety is sown it should not be allowed to seed, as it is inclined to overrun a farm if it gets any chance whatever.

Extension ladders, which can be "shot" to a height of 85ft almost instantly by power, and a ''water mast," which throws a stream into places which cannot be reached by men on ladders, were novelties exhibited before the Kaiser during the "imperial Review" of the Berlin Fire Brigade lately. The review was brought to a close by a fireman who wore a diver-like fireproof suit, tramping unconcernedly through a blazing pile of petroleum-soaked wood while putting out the flames.