VETCH, OR TARE.
Vicia sativa.
The Vetch, or Tare, in its properties and habits, somewhat resembles the Common Pea. There are numerous species as well as varieties, and the seeds of all may be used for food; but they are generally too small, or produced too sparingly, to repay the cost of cultivation.
The only variety of much importance to the garden is the following:—
White Tare, or Vetch. Law.
Lentil, of Canada. Napoléon Pea.
Annual; stem slender and climbing, about three feet high, the leaves terminating in a branching tendril, or clasper; flowers purplish; pods brown, slender, containing from eight to twelve seeds, or grains, which are globular, sometimes slightly flattened, smooth, and of a yellowish-white color; they retain their germinative quality three years; an ounce contains about six hundred seeds.
In France and Canada, the seeds are used as a substitute for pease, both green and ripe, in soups and other dishes. They are also ground, and made into bread; but in this case their flour is generally mixed with that of wheat, or other of the edible grains.
The seeds may be sown in drills, in April or May, in the manner of garden-pease, or broadcast with oats for agricultural purposes.