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FORAGE
CROPS |

OTHER
THAN GRASSES

How to Cultivate,
Harvest
and Use Them

By... :
THOMAS SHAW

Professor of Animal Husbandry at the University of Minnesota

Author of

“Public School Agriculture’? ‘‘ Weeds and How to Eradicate Them”
**The Study of Breeds’’ ‘Soiling Crops and the Silo”

ILLUSTRATED

New York
ORANGE JUDD COMPANY

1900

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SECOND COPY, eg roe gs

Library of iene |
Office of the

‘DEC 1.9 1899
Register of Copyrights
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Afr. 2Y,/900

649
Copyright, 1899
BY

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY

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he Farmers and Stockmen of America, th

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ectfully dedicated by the Author.

v

AUILHOR S PREFACE

This work has been written in the hope of meet-
ing a long-felt want. It has been the aim of the
writer to adapt it to the needs of the farmer, the
stockman and the agricultural student. It is left
with the agriculturists of this country to say how far
these objects have been attained.

University Experiment Farm,
St. Anthony Park, Minn., 1900.

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TABLEOF- CONTENTS

CHAPTER
Forage Crops - - - -

CHAPTER
Indian Corn or Maize - -
CHAPTER
Sorghum - ~ - - -

CHAPTER

The Non-Saccharine Sorghums

CHAPTER
Plants of the Clover Family -

CHAPTER

Leguminous Plants Other Than Clover
CHAPTER VII.

Rape and Cabbage - - -

CHAPTER VIII.

The Common Cereals - -

E

Vi,

CHAPTER IX.

Millet - - - - -

CHAPTER
Root Crops - - - -

X.

CHAPTER XI.

Miscellaneous Plants’ - -

CHAPTER XII.

Succession in Forage Crops’ -

CHAPTER XIII.
Sheep Pastures Grown at the Minnesota University

periment Farm

Ex-

202

221

252

261

CHAPTER L
FORAGE CROPS.

Forage in its widest sense means any food
suitable for horses, cattle, sheep and swine. Thus
applied, it would include pasture, soiling and fodder
crops, and all manner of matured seeds. In the title
given to this book, however, and in the book itself,
it will be used only in the more restricted sense of
pasture crops other than those provided by the vari-
ous grasses. It is thus used for the reason, first, that
in the ordinary phraseology of the farm, it is so
understood. Second, that there is a felt necessity for
a more restricted and precise use of certain terms in
agriculture that have heretofore been used in a loose
sense. And, third, that it would seem to express the
various subjects considered in the book more accu-
rately and more concisely than any other term that
could be chosen. The terms forage crops as thus
defined, and pastures, are frequently regarded as
synonymous and interchangeable. But grasses are
not included in the discussion, for the reason, first,
that where grazed off they are usually spoken of as
pasture crops, and, second, that to include them
would unduly swell the contents of this volume.

In nearly all instances these forage crops are
sown from year to year, whereas grass pastures usu-
ally endure for several years. In many instances the
latter grow, as it were, spontaneously; the former
seldom do. Forage crops, like pastures, are fed off

I

2 FORAGE CROPS.

by the animals where they grow, and usually in the
green form; but there are instances where both may
be grazed in the matured form, as in the gleaning of
ripe peas by swine, or the grazing of buffalo or bunch
erass by cattle and sheep in the winter. Some of these
forage crops are grown and grazed off in succession
the same season, and are also sown as “catch”
crops, while grasses are never thus sown or grazed.
And some forage crops, as, for instance, Jerusalem
artichokes, are gathered from beneath the surface of
the ground, whereas grass pastures are grazed only
on the surface.

Soiling and Fodder Crops not Considered.—
In this book the question of forage crops only will be
considered, although excellent reasons may be given
for including soiling and fodder crops in the discus-
sion. Soiling food may be defined as food cut or
pulled and fed to animals in the green form. And
fodder crops may be defined as food for live stock in
the matured form, and fed before or after the
removal of the seeds. Both definitions are
restricted rather than general, as both terms
are sometimes used, and, perhaps unfortunately,
in a wider and more general sense. Among
the reasons that may be given for including
these crops in the discussion, are the follow-
ing: First, forage, soiling and fodder crops each
includes a large number of the same plants. And, sec-
ond, the processes of preparing the land for many of
these and of growing them up to a certain stage are
exactly the same. Discussing these various classes
of crops therefore together would avoid no little repe-
tition, which it would be impossible to avoid when
discussing them separately. But to this plan there is

FORAGE CROPS. 3

the one strong objection, viz., that it would so swell
the contents of the book as to make it too unwieldy
for commercial use as a text-book. It would also
increase unduly the cost of the book to those readers
who are desirous of obtaining information only with
reference to one phase of this three-fold question.
Possible Exception to Defimtions.—Agricultural
literature is only in what may be termed the
formative stage. And more especially is this
true of agricultural text-books. Exception may
be taken, therefore, by those critically inclined
to almost any definition that may be given of
forage crops, and, indeed, of other classes of
crops, as, for instance, cereals and field roots.
In formulating definitions in agriculture, no bet-
ter plan, perhaps, can be followed than to give
heed to the common understanding regarding the
meaning and application of the various terms in use.
But this common understanding is not an absolutely
safe guide, since it differs sometimes in communities
in regard to the use of a certain term, and often it
differs even in the same community. Some time must
elapse, therefore, before definitions in agriculture
will so crystallize as to assume a form so definite and
abiding that it will meet with universal acceptance.

A Greatly Important Question.—The growing
of forage crops is to-day what may be termed a burn-
ing question, and it is likely to become more and more
so with the passing of the years. Some time, and in
the future that is near, forage crops other than
grasses will be grown from sea to sea, but, of course,
not equally in all parts of the continent. The excep-
tions will be the range and mountain districts, which
forbid a varied agriculture.

4 FORAGE CROPS.

But little attention has been given to the grow-
ing of this class of forage crops in the past, and for
manifest reasons. The history of our agriculture has
been largely one of occupancy. Men have taken pos-
session of the soil and tilled it after the most primi-
tive fashion. Such, at least, has been its history in
all the west. While it is true that some progress has
been made in intensive cultivation in the east, such
farming has been greatly hampered by the tide of
agricultural products which has flowed eastward in
great volume from the cheap and fertile lands of the
Mississippi basin. On every hand, however, there
are indications of change. The unoccupied tillable
domain is only a fraction of what it was. And this
means that the great grazing lands of the tillable
prairies are only a fraction of what they once were.
There is no further west. Populations are increasing
at a very rapid rate, and, therefore, a more intensive
cultivation will soon become a necessity in all parts
of the continent. And with the increase of intensive
cultivation, as surely as the sun goes down in the
evening, increased attention will be given to the
growing of these forage crops, some of the reasons
for which will be stated below.

Why Forage Crops Should be Grown.—Forage
crops, other than grasses and clovers, should be
grown because of the many benefits which they bring
to those who grow them. Chief among these are the
following: First, they may be made to supplement
pasture crops that are more permanent, that is to say,
perennial in character, when the area of these is insuf-
ficient,or when from any cause or causes they may fail
to produce plentifully. Second, many of them may be
grown as catch crops where other crops have failed

FORAGE CROPS. 5

to grow, hence the use of the land for the season is
not lost. Third, by growing these crops the farmer
is enabled proportionately to increase the live stock
of his farm, and, in consequence, proportionately to
increase its producing power. Fourth, such a system
exercises a salutary influence on weed eradication,
because of the frequency with which the ground is
plowed and otherwise disturbed, and because the
weeds which grow in the forage are usually eaten
down before they mature their seeds. Fifth, it
enables the farmer to provide succulent pasture for
animals at certain seasons of the year, when ordi-
narily it could not be obtained in any other way. And,
sixth, it provides vegetation that may be plowed
under with great benefit to the land, when; because
of its abundance, it has been only partially consumed
while being grazed.

Who Should Grow Forage Crops.—All farmers
on small or moderately sized holdings who keep live
stock should also grow forage crops in addition to
their grass pastures, since they so much reduce the
area required for the latter. But those stock grow-
ers who live on large holdings, and more especially
those of them whose tillable lands are in climates
where the rainfall is oftentimes less than could be
desired, should also grow them. In these areas the
yields from grass pastures are frequently small, very
much less than can be obtained from crops sown
expressly to provide pasture for a single season or but
a part of a season. As a rule, therefore, the neces-
sity for growing these crops will increase with the
less favorable conditions for growing grass pastures,
and vice versa. Those crops can, however, be more
profitably grown to furnish grazing for sheep and

6 FORAGE CROPS.

swine than to furnish the same for cattle and horses,
since the tramping of the latter, while grazing, leads
to a greater percentage of waste in the pasture.
Nevertheless, some of these pasture crops may be
grown with great advantage by dairymen, more
especially in the prairie country west of the
Mississippi.

The Possible Outcome.—When farmers gener-
ally who live upon arable lands give that attention to
the growing of this class of forage crops which they
ought to, from the standpoint of self-interest, no
limit can be set to the possible increase in live stock
and live stock products. More especially will this be
true when they give that attention also to the grow-
ing of soiling and fodder crops which their impor-
tance demands. In those encouraging days that are
drawing near, the production in these lines that will
be obtained from small areas would astonish many
of the farmers of to-day. And the increase will no
less apply to the quantity than to the quality of the
product, because of the suitable character of the food
furnished, because of its seasonableness and because
of its abundance. When nearly one hundred sheep
can be pastured from the closing days of April to the
opening days of November on ten acres of such
forage, as was done in 1897 at the Minnesota Uni-
versity experiment farm, the possibilities in live stock
production in our republic light up with a peculiar
brightness. When it is remembered that the soil was
sandy, that the-subsoil was sand or gravel or a mix-
ture of the two, that the land had been but feebly
fertilized, the brightness grows more radiant. And
when it is called to mind that 10.33 tons of cured
fodder and 10.39 tons of soiling food were also taken

FORAGE CROPS. 7

from the same ten acres during the growing period
of the year mentioned, and that much unused forage
was plowed under as green manure, the firmament
of possible production becomes all ablaze with prom-
ise. The first to look at those happy indications will
probably be the first to engage in growing forage
crops.

Plants Discussed.—The plants discussed in the
book include those which can be grown for forage
in any part of the tillable areas of the United States
and Canada, grasses/excepted. Some varieties, how-
ever, but little known, or of only local value, are
doubtless not included. The attempt has been made
to classify or group them in the hope of rendering
the discussion more simple and concise. But in the
absence of a guide, it is possible that some exception
may be taken to the classification adopted. It is
based largely on family relationships and, to some
extent, on similarity of treatment required in grow-
ing them.

In discussing the various plants considered, it
has been the aim to give them space in the order of
their relative importance. But it was not in all
instances found practicable to do so, and for the
reason that the relative importance of several of
these plants has not yet been determined. Expert-
ence in growing them has also been so limited that
some time must yet elapse before such experience will
be forthcoming. In the judgment of the writer, a
great future awaits the growing of vetches for
forage and soiling food in our country, but at the
present time the growth of these crops is greatly
circumscribed. Their adaptation, therefore, to cer-
tain localities is, in the meantime, a matter of con-

8 FORAGE CROPS.

jecture rather than one of fact. And the same may
be said of certain other crops.

In addition to the various plants that are discussed
in the book, a chapter is written on succession in
forage crops, and also one on sheep pastures at the
Minnesota University experiment farm. In the
latter an exemplification is given of what is advo-
cated in the book.

CHAPTER. TT.
INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE.

Indian corn (Zea Mays) is one of the greatest
“food plants that was ever bestowed on any country.
It is indigenous to this continent, and can be grown,
in one or the other of its forms, in nearly all parts of
the continent capable of maturing cereals. There is
probably no other plant at the present time that pro-
duces more food for man and beast, and that is sus-
ceptible of being grown under so great a variety of
conditions.

Corn is of many varieties. They run up into
the hundreds, and the number of varieties is sure to
be increased. It is well that it is so, for in this way
new kinds can be produced with special adaptation
to the needs of the respective regions in which they
are to be grown. While new varieties are thus being
evolved, established varieties are continually being
introduced into sections where they had not been
grown hitherto, and in these sections they are being
acclimatized ; hence we can confidently hope that in
the near future almost every part of America that
can mature grain crops will be possessed of those
varieties of corn best adapted to its needs.

Corn varies exceedingly in its habits of growth.
Some kinds grow only to the hight of a few inches
from the ground. Other varieties grow to the
hight of twelve feet and more. Some varieties pro-
duce only one stalk and but one or two ears. Other

9

10 FORAGE CROPS.

kinds produce several stalks and bear a number of
ears. Some kinds produce but few leaves and much
grain, other varieties grow many leaves and but little
grain. Some are sweet, others much less so. Some
are flint and some are dent, and others are hybrid, as
it were, between these. Some kinds mature under
ninety days, other varieties require many months to
complete their growth. Various other distinctions
appertain to the multi-form varieties of this food
product. Verily, their name is legion.

At one time corn was grown chiefly for the
erain product, but it is now grown more and more
to provide soiling food and fodder. It is not improb-
able that, ere many years shall pass, the area of corn
fed green and in the cured form unhusked, will much
exceed the area that will be husked. Notwithstand-
_ ing the rapid increase in the growing of corn for soil-
ing, for ensilage and for fodder to be fed in the
autumn and winter, the idea of growing corn for
pasture does not seem to have made an impression
on the mind of the corn growers of this country.
When the author sought information on this point,
in 1894, prior to taking up the work of experiment-
ing in growing corn for sheep pasture, none could be
found. It may be that the search was too narrow
and restricted, but the fact stated will make it clear
that at that time information on the point at issue
was not plentiful. It is of this particular feature of
corn production that the present chapter will treat.
A view of sheep pasturing on first growth of corn
and rape at the Minnesota University experiment
farm is seen in Fig. 2.

While it is more than probable that corn will
never become generally popular as a pasture for

MAIZE. i

INDIAN CORN OR

‘Fig. 2. Sheep Pasturing on First Growth of Corn and Rape.
—-Minnesota University

Experiment Farm.

I2 FORAGE CROPS,

other classes of domestic animals than sheep, never-
theless there are circumstances under which it may
be fittingly grown to furnish grazing for cattle. In
the upper Mississippi basin and the country lying
still further north, grasses are much prone to lose
their succulence in the early summer, and frequently
they do not regain it again the same year. In these
areas much wheat is grown from year to year on the
same land. Asa result, the lands become foul, and
must be occasionally summer fallowed to clean them.
It is while summer fallowing the land that corn may
be thus grown to provide pasture for cattle or horses
not at work. While the cattle are grazing tne corn
much of it will be broken down and fouled, so as to
be unfit for food. Notwithstanding, much pasture
relatively can be thus furnished per acre. And when
the plow immediately follows the grazing, as it ought
to, the uneaten portion of the corn plowed under will
very materially increase the power of the land to hold
moisture during the years following. The land will
thus be cleaned and supplied with humus in the one
season, and much pasture will have been secured at
no added cost, other than that of the seed. This
method of growing corn forage is applicable to all
lands that are to be summer fallowed, wherever they
may be located.

But it is in providing pasture for sheep that the
best results are obtained from growing corn forage.
At the Minnesota University experiment station the
tests that have been made thus far in growing corn,
alone or in combination with other forage plants, to
provide food for sheep, have been decidedly encour-
aging. Further reference will be made to these experi-
ments in the closing chapter. The waste in pasturing

INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 13

corn with sheep is very little, as compared with the
waste in pasturing it with cattle. And, in providing
pasture for this class of live stock, it may be success-
fully grown wherever sheep are kept in the arable
portions of the United States and Canada.

The greatest obstacle in the way of growing
corn for pasture lies in the cost of the seed, which in
some seasons is a considerable item. But this cost is

” offset in the abundance of the pasture furnished, and
in its timeliness.

Distribution.—Corn can be grown successfully
for forage in any part of the United States that is
susceptible of cultivation. As would naturally be
expected, some sections are much more favorable
than others to its production; but there is no state in
the Union in which at least one crop of pasture can-
not be grown every season, and in some of the states
two or more crops can be grown in succession. The
states included in what is known as the corn belt have
a most decided advantage in growing corn for the
grain product; but in growing it as forage, the
advantage is materially lessened. Since a corn crop
will reach a stage sufficiently advanced for being pas-
tured off in from six to ten weeks from the time of
sowing the seed, according to the weather, the period
of growth is quite long enough to admit of growing
a crop of corn forage as far north as Lake Winnipeg.
Corn wants heat and moisture to produce it quickly,
and in nearly all the tillable portions of the United
States and Canada there is enough of both to pro-
duce a maximum crop of corn that will become suffi-
ciently advanced for being eaten down before the
coming of the cool weather of autumn.

Inland from the oceans, the average heat of the

14 FORAGE CROPS.

days during the summer months is not much less
than the average much further south; hence corn
grows almost as quickly at that period in the north-
ern states as in the states included in the lower
Mississippi basin. But in the states that lie
along the northern boundary, the whole season
of growth is so short that the large and slow-
maturing varieties of corn cannot always be ripened
in the areas adjacent to the Canadian border.
Nor can the ripening of some of the small varieties
always be depended on. But there is always time
enough to grow a crop of corn forage, and to pasture
it off before it is liable to be stricken down by frost.

In the northern states in proximity to the sea,
both east and west, the period without frost is longer
than with the states inland, but the summer heat is
also less, more especially on the Pacific side of the
continent; hence the growth of the corn is much
slower. It is not improbable that corn sown at the
proper season at Duluth, would be as far advanced
in six to eight weeks from the time of planting as the
same kind of corn would be at Puget Sound in ten to
twelve weeks from the time of planting.

At St. Paul, Minn., there is ample time to grow
two crops of corn to provide forage in succession on
the same land in the average season. In the Gulf
states, therefore, there should be ample time to grow
as many more crops in succession within the year,
providing ample moisture is present. Hence, in this
way in the “sunny south” a very large quantity of
corn forage could be obtained in one season from a
piece of land.

In portions of the semi-arid region adjacent to
the Rocky mountains on the eastern side, corn forage

INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 15

can assuredly be grown and turned to good account.
The reference here is to much of the tillable land in
the region named that cannot be supplied with irri-
gating waters. Some moisture is precipitated on
these lands every winter and spring. Now, if the
land has been plowed in the autumn previously, and
if pains is taken to so stir the surface of the ground
in the early spring that the ground moisture will not
escape by evaporation until the season has come for
corn planting, the moisture thus retained in the soil
is likely to grow a good crop of corn forage. If not
eaten off when grown, it will cure on the ground
when the moisture fails; but still it will provide
much food.

Place in the Rotation.—Corn for forage may be
given any place in the rotation. First, it may with
propriety be made to follow a cereal crop that has
been grown on foul land which requires to be
cleaned. Or, second, it may follow a hay or pasture
crop when the presence of vegetable matter in the
soil is an important consideration. Or, third, it may
with peculiar fitness be grown as a catch crop. When
grown as a catch crop, it may come after rye that has
just been pastured off ; after any kind of spring grain
that may have failed to grow; after a stand of grass
pastured off early, but that is not good enough to
retain; after winter oats, or crimson clover that has
been eaten down or harvested; or, where the season
is long enough, it may follow rape eaten down. There
may also be instances when it would be prudent to
sow corn again, although the principle of thus grow-
ing two crops upon the same land in succession is
not a good one. And it may, with much propriety,
be sown on the bare fallow.

16 FORAGE CROPS.

The crops that should immediately follow corn
sown for pasture will depend somewhat on the fact
as to whether other plants have been grown with the
corn and, to some extent, on the character of the
plants so grown. When the corn is sown alone, it
may fitly be followed the same season with winter
rye and rape to furnish fall pasture, or with crimson
clover or winter wheat, according to the locality. But
it will not avail to sow these crops unless there is
sufficient moisture in the soil to sprout the seed. A
crop of corn growing thickly, as for pasture, is
mighty to pump water out of the soil. When sown
with such crops as rape, cowpeas or vetches, these
crops will furnish more or less pasture after the corn
has been eaten down. The amount of the pasture
thus furnished will, of course, be largely dependent
upon the amount of moisture that falls late in the
season. The natural order the next year will be a
grain crop where some crop has not been sown after
the corn that is to live through the winter.

Soil_—The soil best suited to growing corn for
pasture will be much the same as that best suited to
growing corn for other uses, that is to say, it will be
a deep, rich, mild, moist, friable loam. If well sup-
plied with humus, the condition will be further
improved. The decaying humus furnishes readily
available plant food and also much increases the
power of the soil to hold moisture. Stiff clay soils
may be made to produce strong crops of corn when
the season is favorable and when the plants get a
good start, but it is usually at an expenditure of
much labor in preparing the land. Moreover, the
corn grows slowly on these, and in a dry season it is
not likely to prove a success. Light, sandy soils are

INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. r7

not good, unless they have been artificially enriched.
The same is true of gravelly soils low in fertility, and
when these poor soils lie on a subsoil of sand or
gravel. the condition 1s still less hopeful. And, if it
should become dry, it is still further aggravated.
Peat soils are not good in a dry season. Muck soils
are excellent when moist, and the same is true of the
average dark colored soils of the prairie and of the
gray soils of the Rocky mountain region. Hardpan
subsoils that come near the surface are not good.
They prevent the corn roots from getting down into
the soil, and corn naturally ransacks the soil for food,
both near the surface and down from it. Subsoils in
which-the water table lies quite near the surface are
not good, since they hinder the downward course of
the roots; nor will corn grow in saturated surface
soils. Mild clay subsoils are considered the best,
since the moisture does not filter too quickly through
them, and the roots of the corn can easily penetrate
into them in search of food.

Preparing the Soil—When preparing the soil
for corn that is to be sown for pasture, the aim should
be to secure a deep, firm, finely pulverized, moist and

‘clean seed bed. Sometimes, as, for instance, when

the ground is plowed the autumn previously, all these
conditions can be secured. At other times some of
them only can be reached, owing to the too limited
period for giving it the necessary cultivation. When
the ground is plowed in the autumn, the plowing
should be deep. It should be deep to enable the
voung roots and rootlets of the corn to penetrate it
easily during the earlier stages of growth and to give
the soil power to retain more moisture near the sur-
face. And the aim should be to plow it in the fall,
2

ite) FORAGE CROPS.

that time may be given for the upturned soil to
become warmer than it would be if spring plowed,
through the influence of the sun shining on it and of
the warm rain penetrating it. Second, to give time
for weathering influences, as that of frost, to operate
upon it, so that inert fertility will be unlocked and
made available. Third, that the seed bed will be
given time to regain its former density. And, fourth,
that ample time may be given to sprout the weeds on
the surface before sowing the corn. This can be
done by running the harrow or cultivator over the
surface of the soil as soon as the ground is dry, and
by using the harrow again and again on the same
soil as often as the weeds have sprouted in consid-
erable numbers. It is very important that this shall
be done even on fallow land that is to be sown with
corn. In addition to the cleaning of the land, the
soil moisture will be retained in it. But in some
localities, especially those in which the soils are essen-
tially clay, and where the winters are mild and rainy,
it may be unwise to plow the land in the fall, lest it
assume an impacted and clammy condition that
would seriously interfere with and hinder the opera-
tions of tillage. Under these conditions the land
should be plowed as early as possible in the spring
and subsequently managed like fall plowed land up
to the time of sowing the corn.

When the corn is to follow rye or crimson clover
or winter oats, or any other crop that has been grazed
off in the spring, or grain that has been sown and
failed to make a stand, the depth of the plowing
should be regulated by the composition of the soil,
its present condition as to moisture, and the general
character of the climate. The more clay the soil con-

INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 19

tains, so long as it may be classed as a loam and not
a clay soil, the moister its condition. The more
humid the climate and the more frequent the show-
ers, the more deeply may the land be plowed, and
vice versa.

When light and springy soils are plowed deeply
in the spring, they lie so loosely upon themselves that
there is much loss by surface evaporation. The same
is true of these soils, but in a less degree, when they
are plowed shallow in the spring. And the drier the
climate, the more aggravated does this condition
become. As soon, therefore, as such lands are
plowed in the spring, they should be at once rolled.
The aim should be to roll them the same day that the
plowing is done. The pressure of the roller lessens
the surface evaporation. But the rolled surface
should ere long be followed by the harrow, to hinder
the soil from lifting with the wind, as it does in cer-
tain sections of the prairie, and to create a more per-
fect dust blanket, that will hinder the escape of
ground moisture. Cloddy surfaces should be made
fine by the use of the roller and harrow.

The best time for applying fertilizers will be
dependent upon conditions, as, for instance, the sea-
son of the year at which the plowing is done. When
the land is plowed in the fall, farmyard manure
should then also be applied, when on hand. It should
be plowed under, except in leechy soils, and where
the rainfall is heavy in winter. On such soils it
should be applied on the surface, and in the com-
posted or reduced form when spread on fall plowed
soil. It may then be incorporated with the soil in the
spring by the aid of the disc or some other form of
cultivator. When the land is spring plowed, the

20 FORAGE CROPS,

manure may be spread in the winter or at such other
time as may be convenient, up to the season when
the land is to be plowed. When moisture is abun-
dant, fresh manure may be applied, providing it is
buried to a sufficient depth and with sufficient care to
prevent it from interfering with the proper sowing
of the seed. But in dry climates, fresh and long
manure should not be thus buried in the spring, lest
it should keep the land so open and loose that the
manure will not decay.

Potash as a commercial fertilizer may be applied
any time previous to the sowing of the crop, phos-
phoric acid shortly before or when the crop is sown,
and nitrogen when the crop is sown or subsequently,
but before the plants have reached an advanced stage
of growth. The first may be incorporated with the
soil as may be convenient. The second should be
incorporated with the surface soil, and the third
should be similarly incorporated, or, what would be
preferable, sown upon the surface.

Sowing.—The seed should not be sown until
reasonable danger from frost is past, until that sea-
son has arrived when fairly warm weather may be
looked for, or until the ground has become warm.
A slight frost, however, that only nips off the tops
of the blades may not work very serious harm. Corn
for pasture may be sown, if desired, a few days earlier
than corn grown for other uses. Owing to the thick
character of the sowing, though a proportion of the
plants should fail, they will not be seriously missed
from the crop. And it may be sown far on into the
summer, according to climatic and other conditions.

As to the mode of sowing corn for pasture,
something will depend upon the facilities at hand

INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 21

for sowing it, and something upon the combination
of the seeds sown along with it. Sowing it broad-
cast, however, is to be deprecated, since some of the
seed will not be covered by the harrow. And ifa
shower of rain should fall soon after the seed is
sown, much of it would be washed bare, thus increas-
ing the percentage of the seed that would perish
from exposure to air and sun. And when the harrow
was run over the crop subsequent to the sprouting of
“the corn, many of the young plants would be dis-
turbed in their growth, if not, indeed, killed outright.
Nevertheless, such harrowing may be done with
profit when a plentiful supply of seed has been sown.
The aim should be to plant the seed with the grain
drill deeply in loose-lying soils, as deeply as three
inches, and less deeply in heavier loam soils.

When cowpeas or vetches are planted along
with the corn, the seed should first be mixed with
that of the corn. When rape is sown, it may be
broadcasted before the corn is sown. The drill tubes
are likely to give it sufficient covering when the corn
is being planted. Or it may be sown just when the
first blades of the corn appear, and covered with the
harrow. The first method is preferable where the
corn is to be given more than one harrowing. But
in such instances, the rape seed should be sown
thickly, to allow for the loss of Bes that will result
from using the harrow.

The amount of seed to sow will depend upon
the soil, upon the kind of corn, and upon the other
kinds of forage sown along with the corn. Soils low
in fertility should be given a thick seeding to increase
the sum total of the forage produced. Soils very
rich should also be sown very thickly, to produce

ae FORAGE CROPS.

forage less coarse than would result from thin sow-
ing. And intermediate quantities of seed should be
sown on intermediate soils. Varieties of corn with
a large seed kernel should be sown more thickly than
those with a small seed kernel. And those kinds that
are naturally of a leafy habit of growth should be
sown more thinly than those opposite in character.
The larger the proportion of other seeds sown
along with the corn, the less will be the proportion
of the seed corn required. When corn is sown to
provide forage without intermixture of other seeds,
the quantity of seed to be used will range from one
to three bushels per acre. When sown in combina-
tion with other forage plants, the proportion of corn
may be reduced as low, in some instances, as one-
half bushel per acre. Equal quantities of cowpeas
and corn sown together would answer well in some
localities. The proportions of two parts corn and
one of vetches would answer well in other localities,
and Dwarf Essex rape seed sown with the corn, or
with the corn and vetches, at the rate of two and
three pounds of the seed per acre, should further
improve the pasture. And when the corn had all
disappeared, in consequence of the grazing, the other
plants would, under certain conditions, make a good
second growth. But the proportion of the seed of
the respective plants used that would best meet the
requirements of each locality can be fully ascertained
only by actual test. <A field of second growth of
rape sown with corn is seen in Fig. 3.
Cultivation.—When the corn is sown alone, it
will be greatly benefited by harrowing it judiciously
at least two or three times from the period of sowing
the corn and the period when it shall have attained

MAIZE.

OR

INDIAN CORN

aa

Fig. 3. Second Growth of Rape Sown with Corn.
— Minnesota University Experiment Farm.

24 FORAGE CROPS.

the hight of four to six inches. By judicious har-
rowing is meant, using a light harrow, adjusting the
teeth to a backward slant that will hinder them from
cutting too deeply and too erectly, and using it when
the land is not overmoist. When the harrow teeth
are used in an erect position, they tear out too much
of the corn. As soon as the seed has been sown, the
roller may, in nearly all instances, be made to follow
the drill with much advantage. It presses the par-
ticles of soil more closely around the seed, lessens
the degree of the exposure of the seeds to the light,
and lessens the drying out of the soil; hence the
quick germination of the corn will be greatly facil-
itated, unless where moisture is abundant. On soils
that lift with the wind, the harrow should soon
follow the roller, and in any case the crop should be
harrowed before the corn has appeared. The other
harrowings, of course, come later. But when other
plants are sown with the corn, one harrowing given
before the plants are up may be all that can be given
without hazard to the plants.

Pasturing.—When pasturing corn with cattle or
with sheep, it should be allowed to make a good
growth before the animals are turned in to graze it
' down, as it does not sprout up again. The grazing
should commence when the plants are from eighteen
to twenty-four inches high. But where the promise
of forage is so abundant that the supply is likely to
be quite beyond the requirements of the live stock
that are to be grazed upon the corn, the pasturing
should begin somewhat earlier, unless in instances in
which the residuum of waste from the pasturing
should be looked upon as an important factor when
plowed under for improving the land. Care should

INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE, 25

be taken not to turn the animals in to graze when
they are hungry, at least at the beginning of the pas-
turing, on the principle that sudden changes of diet
are not good. But corn is not so much liable to pro-
duce bloating as some other kinds of green forage,
nor should the animals be pastured upon it when it
is wet, as then they foul the feed and impact the land
too much with their treading, and in the case of
sheep the fleeces would become more or less satu-
rated with water.

As already intimated, there will be much waste
from treading by cattle, so much that it would not
seem profitable to graze them on corn, unless when
the residuum of waste forage to be plowed under just
after the pasturing, is looked upon as an important
factor. But when sheep are pastured upon corn, the
waste is not nearly so great. They do not break
down nearly so much of the corn as cattle, and much
of what is broken down they will consume in the
cured form.

Observations.—The chief strength of corn as a
forage plant lies, first, in the quickness with which it
will grow; second, in the large amount of forage
which it produces; third, in the succession of the
crops that can be grown the same season; fourth, in
the combinations in which it may be grown; and, °
fifth, in its power to grow under dry conditions. Its
weakness as a forage plant lies, first, in the cost of
the seed; second, in the fact that it will not grow
again when grazed off; and, third, in the considera-
ble proportion of the waste when grazed off by cattle.

2.—The work of grazing corn as a pasture must
be regarded as being only in the experimental stage.
And it would seem to be important that the combina-

26 FORAGE CROPS.

tions in which it can best be grown, as adapted to dif-
ferent localities, should be made the subject of care-
ful experiment in the near future.

3.—It is at least possible that in the dry regions
of the northwest, east of the Rocky mountains, some
small varieties of corn, as, for instance, Squaw corn,
may yet be grown to provide what may be termed
finishing or fattening food for range sheep grown on
the adjacent lands. Squaw corn will mature any-
where within the area named. Although possessed
of a low, bantam-like habit of growth, it branches
out considerably, and produces much grain in pro-
portion to the stalk. It may be best grown on fall
plowed lands, managed in the spring with a view to
conserving moisture. It should then be sown with
the grain drill, care being taken to put the rows not
so distant as when planting larger varieties of corn,
and to give the crop proper cultivation. The sheep
should then be turned in upon it in a prudently cau-
tious manner at first, to graze it down and to fatten
upon it before the closing in of the winter. In the
absence of conclusive tests, judgment should not be
pronounced hastily as to the value of this theory, for
in practical agriculture we can never be quite sure of
the exact value of a reasonable theory until it has
been fairly tried. But it may be proper to mention
here, that experiments conducted at the Minnesota
University experiment farm, but not yet completed,
have proved decidedly encouraging in character.

4.—The pasturing of corn stover yet standing
where it grew, is to be deprecated. Corn stover, as
is generally known, is corn from which the ears have
been removed. It is to be deprecated, because of the
wastefulness of the process. The stover dries so

INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 27

much after maturity that a great deal of the nutri-
ment in the stalk is lost before the corn is eaten.
Because of this overcuring, the palatability of the
corn is greatly lessened ; hence much of it will not be
consumed. A large proportion of it becomes broken
down and fouled, which causes still further -waste.
And the cattle are oftentimes required to graze
upon it when the weather is unfavorable, hence there
is a loss from thus exposing the animals. Of course,
it is better to pasture the corn thus than not to pas-
ture it at all. But the stover would furnish much
more food if it were harvested and fed to other ant-
mals as needed. The prodigality of some of the
western farmers of this country finds a striking illus-
tration in this wasteful method of handling, or rather
not handling, corn stover. Each acre of the food, if
properly utilized, is worth as much as an acre of
average timothy hay,

CHAPTER Ti.
SORGHUM.

Sorghum (S. vulgare saccharatum) was intro-
duced into the United States from China, and also
from South Africa, more than forty years ago. For
many years it was grown only for the syrup made
from its juices. But within the last decade, and even
for a longer period, considerable attention has been
given to growing it as a food for live stock in certain
centers and in various sections of the country.

It isa wonderful plant. It can be grown to pro-
vide cane for making syrup in every state in the
Union. It is one of the best soiling foods that we
have. It furnishes fodder of an excellent quality for
live stock, when fed in the autumn and winter,
more especially the early winter, and it is one of the
best forage plants that we shall ever have. The seed
of sorghum can also be turned to good account as
food for all kinds of domestic animals kept upon the
farm. But it is as a forage plant that it will be dis-
cussed at this time. Sorghum grown for fodder is
seen in Fig. 4.

Although this plant, as just intimated, has hith-
erto been grown chiefly for the syrup which could be
extracted from it, in the near future it is more than
probable that a much larger area will be grown to
furnish food for live stock than to furnish syrup. In
some of the states in the Mississippi basin, on both
sides of the river, in the Gulf states and in Texas,

28

SORGHUM.

Fig. 4. Sorghum Grown for Fodder.
Minnesota University Experiment Warm.

30 FORQGE CROPS.

more or less of it has been grown for vears to provide
forage for cattle and swine; but, so far as known to
the author, it has not been grown until recently as
forage for sheep; and yet there is no other class of
live stock which are capable of turning sorghum pas-
ture to better account. During the winter of 1893-4
the author sought diligently for information as to the
adaptability of sorghum as a pasture plant for sheep,
but found none. In not a single instance, by corre-
spondence or otherwise, was anyone found who could
give a line of information as to the value of sorghum
for sheep pasture. Doubtless, there were those who
had tried it, but the fact just stated will show how
little was known at that time as to the value of this
most wonderful forage plant in providing pasture
for sheep. As an all-round food producing plant
corn is quite ahead of sorghum, but as a forage plant
sorghum is quite ahead of corn. It is at least ques-
tionable if we have a forage plant in the United
States that is so well adapted for being grown over
so wide an area.

Sorghum is pre-eminently a summer pasture.
Blue grass and various other grasses slumber during
much of the summer. Medium red clover languishes,
especially in the south, where midsummer suns wax
warm. Rape becomes crisp and faded at that season,
if sown early, unless under exceptionally favorable
conditions as to moisture. Mammoth clover has
done its work for the year, and the same is true of
alsike. These two take a rest after harvest, and as
a pasture in the autumn they are like the deceitful
water brooks that have dried. Then it is that sor-
ehum is at its best. Being a child of the sun, it strikes
its roots downward and pushes its leaves upward and

SORGHUM. a

outward through all the hot season, thus furnishing
an abundance of succulent pasture at a time of
the year when it cannot so well be obtained from
any other source.

There are two distinct classes of sorghum,
known as the saccharine and the non-saccharine,
respectively. This classification is based on the pres-
ence of sugar in considerable quantities in the
matured cane or on its almost entire absence. The first
of these only will be discussed in the present chapter.
Of the saccharine sorghums there are many varieties,
but for forage uses two of these are more extensively
grown than the others. These are the Early Amber
and the Early Orange. The former, with its sub-
variety, the Minnesota Early Amber, is grown in the
northern and northwestern states to the almost
entire exclusion of other varieties. And the latter,
with what is probably a sub-variety, the Kansas
Orange, is extensively grown in the south and south-
west. Folger’s Early is also a favorite in growing
forage, but it also is grown in the southwest and
south. But in all-round adaptation, it is questionable
if-any of the other varieties excels the Early Amber
and its sub-variety in the production of forage. The
Amber varieties are hardy, they furnish an abundance
of leaves, they have a high sugar content, and they
mature earlier than most other varieties.

When sorghum first appears above the surface
of the ground, it is a tiny plant bearing a close resem-
blance to foxtail (Setaria glauca), or, as it is some-
times called, summer grass or pigeon grass. It grows
slowly at first, and is easily pulled out or injured by
treading when live stock graze upon it at too early a
period. But after it has reached the hight of several

32 FORAGE CROPS.

inches, it grows very rapidly. When less than a foot
high, sorghum forage is a mass of leaves, and makes
a decidedly beautiful appearing forage crop. When
a foot high or thereabouts, it joints and sends up
stems or canes with much quickness. In grazing it
off therefore, especially with sheep, it is important
that it is eaten down before the crop has reached the
stage when it is common to begin to cut it for soiling,
that is to say, while it is not yet more than from one
to two feet high. When grazed down, it at once
springs up again. The pasture is likely to be thicker
in the second growth than it was in the first,
because of the increased number of sprouts that
spring from the root.

Sorghum has much power to withstand dry
weather, when once it has become established. It
will grow under certain conditions where corn would
curl in the leaf and shrivel from want of moisture.
In its power to grow under dry conditions it will
rival Kaffir corn, and when the crop has become so
imperiled through long continued drouth that it
shows signs of languishing, it has much pow er to
revive again when rain falls.

As a forage plant it is not usually grown in cul-
tivation with other forage plants, and for the reason,
first, that when sown thickly it fully occupies the
ground, and, second, that it at once begins to grow
again when eaten down, thus rendering it unneces-
sary to sow a crop along with the sorghum to furnish.
forage after the latter has been grazed off. But
some forage plants may be sown along with it to pro-
vide a variety in the pasture. These will be referred
to again.

Distribution.—There is probably no plant

SORGHUM. 33

grown on this continent that has a wider range of
distribution than sorghum. “It can be grown for
forage with much success in nearly all parts of the
United States where the land can be tilled. And in
no part of the Union where crops are grown can it be
said to be a decided failure. It can also be grown
with more or less of success in every portion of
Canada that has been disturbed with the plowshare.
* Notwithstanding this wide range of adaptation,
there are certain areas where its mission as a forage
crop will be vastly more important than in other
areas. The areas which will be most benefited by
erowing sorghum are those in which the summer
temperature is warm, where the rainfall is fitful
and insufficient, and where the winters are mild
enough and sufficiently dry to admit of feeding sor-
_ghum out of doors, or of grazing it off where it grew.
And the areas that will profit the least by its growth
are those with much moisture and comparatively low
summer temperatures. Moisture is of course not
antagonistic to the growth of sorghum. On the
contrary, it is favorable, but where the mean tem-
perature in summer is low the sorghum grows too
slowly. And cool and moist climates are so well
adapted to the abundant production of grasses and
certain other forage plants that in these sorghum
pasture is much less needed.

The states therefore that are likely to profit
most by the growth of sorghum for forage are those
that lie on the border of the semi-range country to
the west, as, for instance, South Dakota, Nebraska,
Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. And those that will
profit least by its growth are those parts of Wash-
ington and Oregon that lie west of the Cascades.

3

34 FORAGE CROPS.

A wonderful field lies open for the growth of
sorghum in all the states which border on the
Mississippi and Ohio rivers, and also in the
lower Atlantic and Gulf states. In New Eng-
land and the adjacent states it will also be freely
erown. But in the Rocky mountain states, although
it has a mission, it is less important than that of their
great forage plant, alfalfa. The best adaptation for
sorghum pasture in Canada is found in southern
Ontario, but it will also grow well in other sections.
And the least adaptation probably will be found for
it in British Columbia.

Place in the Rotation.—The place given to sor-
ghum in the rotation will be much the same as that
given to corn; hence nearly all that was said of corn
under this head will equally apply to sorghum. (See
Page 15.) Like corn, it may fitly be made to come
after a cereal crop when the land is foul, after winter
rye, winter oats, rape or crimson clover, when one
or the other of these has been pastured off; or, in
southern latitudes, after a crop of early matured mar-
ket products. Figure 5 shows a crop of sorghum and
rape, the third crop grown on the land for the season,
and Figure 6 a crop of sorghum and rye. The
order in these crops was, rye, sorghum, sorghum
and rape. It may also be sown as a catch crop on
lands that are being summer fallowed. Sorghum
pasture should in a sense be made a cleaning crop;
hence it may best be followed in the regular rotation
with some cereal. But when a succession of forage
plants is wanted in the rotation, sorghum may be
followed with winter rye, or winter oats.

Soil.—The soils that are best suited to the
erowth of corn are also those that are, in the main,

SORGHUM.

5.

Sorghum and Rape.
——Minnesota University Experiment Farm.

36 FORAGE CROPS.

best suited to the growth of sorghum. (See Page 16, )
But as sorghum has greater power than corn to
gather food from the soil, it is not so necessary to
have it in a high state of fertility. And yet it is true
of sorghum, as of corn, that the return in the crop
will usually be proportionate to the richness of the
land. This is particularly true of sorghum forage.
But it is not so essential in growing sorghum that
the land shall be well stored with nitrogen as that it
shall be well stored with phosphoric acid and potash.
The idea has obtained currency that, because several
crops of sorghum have been grown successively on
the same land in certain instances, that sorghum is
not hard on land. That simply proves that these
soils possess a wonderful adaptation for growing
sorghum. To say that any crop which produces
grain, other than a legume, is not hard on land is
simply absurd. But since sorghum feeds more deeply
than corn and, moreover, since it has greater power
to gather food in the soil and subsoil, good crops of
sorghum may be grown on land too low in fertility
to produce good crops of corn. The best soils for
sorghum are free-working, moist, sandy loams
underlaid with a mild porous clay subsoil, rich in the
elements of phosphoric acid and potash. Humus
soils are good, but not so good relatively as for corn.
Hard clays lying on harder subsoils are quite unfit
for growing sorghum. This plant will also grow on
soils possessed of more or less of alkali. But,beyond
a certain degree, the presence of this element would
be fatal to its growth.

Preparing the Soil.—It is even more important
with sorghum than with corn that it shall be sown on
land thoroughly pulverized and with moisture com-

ES
eae

SORGHUM.

*

x
*

$4 fad?

Fig. 6. Sorghum and Rye, Third Crop,
— Minnesota University

Experiment Farm

38 FORAGE CROPS.

ing up near to the surface, since sorghum plants
are more delicate when young than corn plants. In
order to clean the land, therefore, it is essential, first,
that it shall be plowed in the fall or in the early
spring, and, second, that it shall be occasionally
stirred on the surface with harrow or cultivator from
the opening of spring until the sowing of the seed.
It is evident, therefore, that the longer the period
between the dawn of spring and the sowing of the
seed, the better is the opportunity given to clean the
land. And that this process may be secured in a
more complete degree, it may be a wise plan to defer
sowing the sorghum for a week or two or even for a
longer period.

But when sorghum is to follow a crop of forage,
as, for instance, winter rye, crimson clover or winter
vetches, there will not be sufficient time to clean the
land in best form before the sowing of the sorghum
seed. And here, also, it may be wise in some
instances to defer sowing the sorghum immediately,
that opportunity may be thus given to secure a more
perfect degree of cleanness in the land. But the
seasons are in many places too short to admit of so
doing, and in many other places they are too dry. In
any event, as soon as the land has been plowed after |
one of these pasture crops, it should be at once rolled,
to keep in the moisture. And before the seed is
sown the pulverization of the soil should be thor-
ough. Too much care cannot be taken when prepar-
ing a seed bed for sorghum.

Substantially the same manures and fertilizers
may be supplied for sorghum as for corn, and by the
same methods. (See Page tg.) As previously inti-
mated, nitrogenous fertilizers are not so essential for
sorghum as for corn,

SORGHUM. 39

Sowing.—Sorghum should not be sown until
the weather has become decidedly warm. No good
can result from sowing it sooner, even though the
seed should germinate. It will not make any marked
advance in growth until the arrival of settled warm
weather, and if kept practically standing still after
it has sprouted, it would seem to lose much of its
natural power to grow on the return of weather

_ favorable to its progress. Sorghum sown late, under
favorable conditions as to growth, will produce more
and better forage, and at an earlier period, than sor-
ghum sown several weeks earlier, but which has been
severely checked in its growth by weather unduly
cool. This has been demonstrated more than once
in the experience of the author. :

Of course, no date can be fixed upon for sowing
sorghum that would be equally applicable to all parts
of the country. Nor would it be applicable to sec-
tions on the same parallel of latitude. The mean tem-
perature, as is well known, differs widely with a dif-
ference in altitude and a difference of distance from
large bodies of water. No better rule probably can
be given for sowing sorghum than that which would
invariably delay sowing until toward the close of the
corn-planting season. And where there is moisture
enough to produce a crop of forage the sowing may
be continued in warm or mild latitudes until within
eight to ten weeks of the arrival of frost. Frost will
injure sorghum more readily than corn, hence the
aim should be to delay sowing until the spring frosts
have disappeared, and to have the crop eaten off by
the time that the autumn frosts arrive.

Sorghum is frequently sown broadcast to pro-
vide soiling food and also winter fodder. But this

40 FORAGE CROPS.

mode of sowing it, as compared with drill sowing,
not only calls for more seed, but is attended with
greater hazard. It calls for more seed because of the
imperfect covering given to the same by the harrow.
In dry, hot weather that portion of the seed lying
near the surface will not germinate, even though the
ground should be moist below. And when the crop
is harrowed, more plants will be torn out by the har-
row than if the seed had been sown with the drill.
The hazard is also greater for the reason that, if dry
weather should follow the season of germination, the
plants that have rooted nearest the surface will be
the first to suffer. But in the absence of a seed drill
it may be thus sown with the expectation that ordi-
narily many of the seeds will fail to produce plants,
hence much seed ought to be sown.

There is no better mode of sowing it than with
the grain drill. When thus sown, ordinarily all the
tubes should plant seed. But in areas where moisture
is wont to be scant, every alternate tube only should
be in use. The seed should not be covered deeply,
never more deeply than one and one-half to two
inches, as in the black humus soils of the prairie, and
less deeply in soils of heavier texture. When sown
late in the season and the weather has turned dry, it
may also be well to close up some of the drill tubes,
lest there should be too many plants for the moisture.
The number of these can, of course, be reduced by
running over the crop with the harrow, with no other
cost than that of harrowing, and no other waste than
that of a portion of the seed. This mode of sowing
the sorghum would be especially applicable to semi-
arid regions, where the rainfall in summer is unreli-
able and ordinarily insufficient to perfect a crop. The

SORGHUM. AI

plants will not then rob each other of moisture so
readily because of their greater distance from one
another.

The quantity of seed to use will depend upon the
mode of sowing, the extent of the harrowing that is
to follow, and the other seeds along with which the
sorghum is sown. When broadcasted, from one
bushel to one and one-half bushels of seed are sown
per acre. When sown with the drill, the writer has
found three pecks of seed per acre quite sufficient.
But if the sorghum is to be harrowed more fre-
quently than once after the heads of the young plants
begin to show above ground, more than the amount
stated should be sown. If the sorghum is sown along
with rape seed, the proportion of the sorghum should
be reduced. From two to three pounds per acre of
the rape seed should suffice. By mixing in the rape
seed with the sorghum seed occasionally during the
sowing process, the seeds of both may be deposited
simultaneously by the drill tubes. The rape seed
may also be sown before the drill tubes in instances
where the action of the latter would cover the rape
seed sufficiently while the sorghum was being sown.
The rape seed may in other instances be sown broad-
cast and covered lightly with the harrow at the time
of sowing the sorghum seed, or when the first subse-
quent harrowing is being given to the crop. When
sown with millet or cowpeas, the seeds may be mixed
and drilled in at the same time. But on some soils
the cowpeas ought to be covered more deeply than
the sorghum. In such instances the cowpeas would
have to be sown first and then the sorghum, at a less
depth. When other seeds are added to that of the
sorghum, this should be proportionately reduced.

42 FORAGE CROPS.

Usually, but not always, the roller should follow
closely upon the sowing of the sorghum.

Cultivation.—Ordinarily no other cultivation is
given to sorghum sown for pasture than that of har-
rowing it once or oftener after it has sprouted. But
if planted in rows sufficiently distant from one
another to admit of using the cultivator, then it may
be cultivated several times at proper intervals, in
addition to the harrowing that may be given with
much benefit just as the first blades of the sorghum
begin to show above ground. But it is seldom neces-
sary thus to sow the sorghum to furnish pasture.

When the first harrowing is given to the sor-
ghum, it is important that the harrow shall be light
and that when used the teeth are placed as far as
possible at a backward slant. The harrow simply
stirs the surface of the land without cutting down
amid the roots of the young plants. Myriads of
weeds are at the same time destroyed as they are
springing into life near the surface of the soil.

Just how much harrowing sorghum will stand
without harm, and just when it ought to be given,
does not appear to have been made the subject of any
careful experiments, the results of which have been
published. It would seem probable, however, that
unless an excess of seed has been sown, if a second
harrowing is given, it should not be given until after
the plants have made a growth of, say, five to seven
inches. They will have then become more firmly
rooted, hence the harrow will not so readily pull them
out as if the harrowing had been given at an earlier
period. In sections where the supply of moisture is
insufficient or barely sufficient to produce a crop, the
loss of plants up to a certain limit would do no harm.

SORGHUM. 43

- Pasturing—Sorghum furnishes excellent pas-
ture for horses and mules not at work, for all kinds
of cattle and for sheep and swine. As it grows up
again when eaten down, it is not necessary that it
shall be so far advanced as corn before the pasturing
begins. When the area of the sorghum pasture is
large in proportion to the stock to be pastured on it,
then pasturing should begin early, and vice versa.
But in no case should it be eaten down until it has
made a growth of several inches from the ground,
as when young and tender it is easily injured by live
stock feeding upon it. At the Minnesota University
experiment station good results have been obtained
from turning sheep in upon the sorghum when it had
reached the hight of about fifteen to eighteen inches,
as shown in Fig. 6. But with the exception of a por-
tion of the stem, sheep will graze it down when it is
much higher than fifteen to eighteen inches. Cattle
will, of course, break down and waste much more
than sheep. Swine may be grazed upon it as early as
sheep. But it is when sorghum approaches maturity
and subsequently that swine would seem to be most
benefited by pasturing upon it. They chew the
stem and extract the nutriment from it without swal-
lowing much of the stem.

All things considered, however, sorghum pas-
ture is more valuable relatively for sheep than for any
other kind of live stock. And to get the best results
from sorghum pasture, the sheep should not be
allowed to graze it off too closely. It will grow
again, though grazed closely, but the growth will be
slower and less vigorous than if the pasturing had
not been so close. Stripping off all the leaves would
seem to detract somewhat from the inherent vigor

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FORAGE CROPS.

Fig. 7. Sheep Pasturing on First Growth Sorghum.

—Minnesota University Experiment Farm.

SORGHUM. 45

of the plant. When sorghum is grazed by sheep,
more pasture will be obtained if the ground thus
grazed can be divided into two or three sections and
if the sheep are grazed on these alternately. Sor-
ghum may thus be pastured off two or three or four
times in a season, according to conditions of soil and
climate.

Sometimes sorghum is grown, as described
above, to produce soiling food, and when one cutting
has been taken from it, the next or second growth 1s
pastured off. A very large amount of forage may
thus be obtained when all the conditions are
favorable.

_ The aim should be to have sorghum grazed off
before the arrival of killing frosts. It is easily injured
by the frost, and when so injured live stock do not
relish it. They will eat it under pressure, but do not
seem fond of it.

The claim has been made that there is considera-
ble hazard to animals, especially cattle, when pas-
tured on second growth sorghum. At the Minne-
sota experiment station we have not found it so dur-
ing three successive seasons of pasturing, beginning
with 1895. But our experience relates only to pas-
turing with sheep. A view of sheep pasturing on
second growth sorghum is presented in Fig. 8. The
first season some fifty-three animals, young and old,
were pastured on the sorghum, the second year an
average of eighty-six head, and the third year an
average of ninety-three head. But one animal, a
lamb, was lost while feeding on the sorghum, and
the cause of death in that instance arose from a lung
affection, and not from eating sorghum. ‘There are,
however, well-authenticated instances wherein cattle

AO

FORAGE CROPS.

Fig. 8. Sheep Pasturing on Second Growth Sorghum.

Experiment Farm.

Minnesota University

SORGHUM. A7

have died suddenly while grazing on second growth
sorghum. The exact cause or causes of such loss do
not appear to be well understood. It has been sur-
mised that death has been caused by some poisonous
element in the sorghum, and that frost may have
something to do with thus changing the character of
this splendid food. We must wait for a completely
satisfactory explanation, for it has not as yet been
forthcoming. In the meantime, caution should be
exercised in pasturing cattle on second growth sor-
ghum, especially late in the season.

Caution should also be exercised when cattle or
sheep are first put upon sorghum pasture. There is
some danger from hoven or bloat, but not nearly so
much as with clover, or alfalfa. shat, at least, has
been the experience of the Minnesota experiment sta-
tion. At the said station no instance of bloat
occurred from grazing on sorghum during the three
seasons of depasturing above referred to. Yet that
fact is not to be taken as positive evidence that sheep
will not suffer from bloat in all sections of the coun-
try and under all circumstances when pasturing on
sorghum.

Sometimes cattle are turned in to graze upon
the sorghum after it has matured. This practice is
frequent in portions of the semi-arid country adja-
cent to the Rocky mountains, especially those por-
tions of the same that have mild winters. The cattle
do well on it, but the practice is a wasteful one. Yet
where land is cheap and labor dear, sometimes it may
be a proper thing to do. Of course, where the winters
are severe the practice would be without justification.

CHAPTER AY.
THE NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS.

The non-saccharine sorghums are a somewhat
numerous class. They are so called because of the
relatively small proportion of sugar which they con-
tain, as compared with the saccharine varieties of
sorghum. Because of this, however, the conclusion
must not be reached that they do not possess any
sugar when matured, or that they do not possess it
in considerable quantities. All the non-saccharine
sorghums are more or less rich in sugar, and some
of them are possessed of it in a very considerable
degree.

The chief of the varieties of the non-saccharine
sorghums grown in this country include Kaffir corn
(Fig g), Milo maize, Dhourra and Jerusalem corn.
Teosinte is not, properly speaking, a sorghum, but it
will be discussed along with the non-saccharine sor-
ghums, because of the similarity of the cultivation
required to grow it and of the uses for which it is
grown. Chief among the varieties of Kaffir corn
are the red and the white. There are two prominent
varieties of Milo maize, named yellow and white,
respectively. And of Dhourra there are also two
varieties, the brown and the white. The last men-
tioned would seem to be identical with the plant
known as White African millet. As but little, com-
paratively, has yet appeared in print with reference
to the non-saccharine sorghums, unless it be Kaffir

48

49

THE NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS.

Fig. 9.

Red Kaffir Corn Grown for Fodder.
— Minnesota University Experiment Farm.

50 FORAGE CROPS.

x

corn, it may be well to give a very brief description
of each.

Kaffir corn, like sorghum, has an upright habit
of growth, but it does not grow to so great a hight
as sorghum or corn, hence it is more easily handled in
the sheaf, when matured, than either of these plants.
The stalks are sturdy and strong, and they taper as:
they grow upward, as seen in Fig. 10, showing white
Kafr corn grown for fodder. The leaves are large,
long and fairly numerous, more especially 1n the cen-
tral portion of the stalk, and they usually retain much
of their greenness for some time after the maturing
of the seed. The seed head is long and erect, and
the production of seed is abundant. The white and
red varieties are distinguished chiefly by the color of
the seed head and of the seed. The white variety is
later in maturing than the red, but it produces
more seed.

Milo maize, in both the yellow and white vari-
eties, has an erect habit of growth and usually attains
a great hight (Fig. 11). The stems are not so stocky
as those of Kaffir corn, and they are abundantly sup-
plied with leaves inclined to fine in quality. They
are the most numerous on the upper half of the stem.
When once well rooted, the plants grow rapidly and
produce a large amount of good soiling food or
fodder. The yellow variety is distinguished from the
white by the color of the seed and by some other
peculiarities not of very great moment.

Dhourra (Fig.12) grows a strong and some-
what coarse stalk; but, like Kaffir corn, it does not
grow to a great hight. The leaves are broad and
long, but are not so numerous as those produced by
Yellow or White Milo maize. The seed head is

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NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS. 51

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52 FORAGE CROPS.

thick and short and oval in shape, and the produc-
tion of seed is abundant. It does not produce so
much fodder as Milo maize.

Jerusalem corn (Fig. 13) grows to a less hight
than the other non-saccharine sorghums. The stems
are heavy and the leaf growth 1s not abundant. The
heads are large, thick and heavy, and are suspended
on short stems resembling in their curve the neck of
a goose. This plant would seem to be better adapted
relatively to the production of seed than of fodder.

Teosinte (Reana luxurians) is not erect, but
branching in its habit of growth. It is claimed that
as many as sixty stems have been produced from one
seed. The plant suckers wonderfully and produces
a great mass of long slender leaves. It has
been affirmed that in some of the Gulf states a
greater weight of green food can be obtained from
teosinte than from any variety of the non-saccharine
sorghums. It grows slowly for a time, but more
rapidly as the plants become older.

The non-saccharine sorghums bear no little
resemblance to one another in their habits of growth.
Chief among these resemblances are the following:
First, the seed of each is slow in germinating, con-
siderably more so than the seed of corn. The growth
is also relatively slower for a time, although in the
later stages thereof it is quite rapid. Second, the
plants are more tender than those of corn when
young, but when more advanced they are better able
to withstand vicissitudes of weather, and more espe-
cially such as arise from drouth. Third, with the
exception of teosinte, they all produce seed from a
head which grows on the top of the seed stem that
pushes upward from each plant. Teosinte produces

53

THE NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS.

Fig. 11. White Milo Maize Grown for Fodder.
— Minnesota University Experiment Farm.

54 FORAGE CROPS.

small ears. They grow numerously around every
top joint, and are inclosed in a husk. Some of the
heads remain erect, as those of Kaffir corn. Others,
as those of Dhourra and Jerusalem corn, hang down,
suspended on a goose neck curve of the seed stem.
Fourth, seeds are numerous, but are much smaller
than those of corn. Fifth, they require a longer
period to mature seed than is required by corn, hence
in the far south they may be cut from two to four
times in one season to provide green food. Strong
evidence is here presented of the marked adaptability
of these plants to furnish pasture, but with the excep-
tion of Kaffir corn the author is unable to cite conclu-
sive experience in growing these crops for pasture.
Reasoning from general principles, teosinte should
lead the list in such adaptability, because of its extra-
ordinary tendency to tiller and to produce an abun-
dance of fine leaves. But the question of palatability
will have an important bearing on the relative value
of these various plants for pasturing, and this does
not as yet appear to have been fully determined.
The non-saccharine sorghums differ from one
another in the following particulars among others
that could be enumerated: First, in the size and
strength of the stem. Second, in the size and number
of the leaves. Third, in the erect or pendulous char-
acter of the stem which sustains the matured seed.
Fourth, 1n the degree to which they sucker or tiller,
and, fifth, in the time which they require to mature
their seed. At the Minnesota University experiment
farm in 1897, but little ripe seed was produced by any
of the non-saccharine sorghums, although planted on
May 17th. ‘These plants were not seriously injured

55

NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS.

THE

Brown Dhourra Grown for Fodder.

Fig. 12.

Minnesota University Experiment Farm.

56 FORAGE CROPS.

by frost before October. White Milo maize did not
mature any seed, and teosinte did not reach even
the earing stage. Several varieties of corn planted
at the same time matured seed by September Ist and
some even earlier; and Early Amber sorghum
planted at the same date fully matured its seed.

It is not easy to draw the line between the non-
saccharine sorghums and some varieties of millet.
The chief differences would seem to lie in the size of
the stalk, the abundance or otherwise of the leaves,
the size and shape of the head, and the size of the
seed. The stems of millets are smaller and more
leafy, though Pearl millet has stems nearly as large
as some of the sorghums. The heads of the sorghums
are larger and broader and less slender in character.

Distribution—The non-saccharine sorghums
are of course specially adapted to conditions warmer
and drier than are suitable for growing Indian corn
at its best. They have been found preferable to the
saccharine sorghums in many localities, for the rea-
son that they give better yields of stalk and grain,
and some of them are more leafy. It would not be
easy or possible at the present time to state exactly
where the dividing line should run between those
portions of the United States which will grow corn
or the non-saccharine sorghums to the best advan-
tage. Bearing in mind that the latter require more
heat and can endure more drouth, they must be
grown south rather than north. The non-saccharine
sorghums will probably grow more food per acre
than corn south of a line as now described: This
line would begin at the Atlantic and would probably
run along or near the southern border of the states of
Virginia and Kentucky until reaching the Mississippi

57

SORGHUMS.

THE NON-SACCHARINE

Fig. 13. Jerusalem Corn Grown for Fodder.
— Minnesota University Experiment Farm.

58 FORAGE CROPS.

river. It would then run irregularly across the
states of Missouri and Kansas to about the latitude
of Denver in Colorado. From Denver it would
probably rise to the latitude of Salt Lake City, oreven
further northward in the lower valleys, and it would
again dip southward, reaching the sea somewhere
about San Francisco. North of this line it is pretty
certain that corn could be grown more profitably at
the present time, for the combined uses of the prod-
uct of the grain, the fodder and the pasture. But
for pasture only, some of them are likely to prove
more valuable than corn, although it is questionable
if any of them will show a higher relative value than
the saccharine sorghums in providing pasture north
of the said line. Saccharine sorghums germinate
more quickly, at least in some of their varieties. and
are better able to endure lower temperature. But as
the non-saccharine sorghums become better acclima-
tized, more may be expected from them. The growth
of these, however, is not likely ever to prove profit-
able in any considerable areas of Canada, since in
that country the mean summer temperatures are low.

And the expectation is natural that the non-
saccharine sorghums will not grow equally well in all
parts of the south. Future experimentation with
them will doubtless show special adaptation to cer-
tain peculiarities of soil and climate. Already are
they being grown more in certain centers than in
others. Kaffr corn has given excellent results in the
dry areas of Kansas and Oklahoma. Milo maize has
grown excellently well in certain of the Atlantic
states, notably Georgia, and teosinte is giving
evidence that it is going to be a child of the far south-
ward portion of this country.

THE NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS. 59

Place in the Rotation.—When the non-saccha-
rine sorghums are grown on soils low in fertility and
leechy in character, the aim should be to grow them
after some form of green crop that has been plowed
under, as, for instance, crimson clover, one or the
other of the vetches, or winter rye. Since crimson
clover and the vetches are able to store nitrogen in
the land, they will be much more suitable than rye
where they will grow equally well. These crops can
be grown in the winter and plowed under in the
spring in ample time to admit of sowing one or the
other of the non-saccharine sorghums on the same
land. Thus treated they will greatly add to the
ability of the soil to produce. In addition to fur-
nishing readily available food for the sorghums, they
will also give the land much power to hold moisture.
Both crops, that is to say, the green crop and the
sorghum crop coming after it, would be cleaning
crops. Where these crops can not be made to follow
a green crop plowed under, they may be placed
anywhere in the rotation. On poor soils it would be
necessary to add commercial fertilizers before plant-
ing the crop. But on the rich soils of the Mississippi
basin this would not be so necessary, and the same is
true of much of the soil in Texas and in the moun-
tain valleys of the southwest.

Soils —The soils most suitable for the non-
saccharine sorghums are much the same as those that
are best suited tocorn. They will grow best on mild
loams, that is to say, loams that are warm and
friable, in which the particles are fine rather
than coarse, and in which the sand and clay
are so blended as to give the soil power to
retain a fair amount of moisture when lying

60 FORAGE CROPS.

ona subsoil of somewhat porous clay. But since
‘these sorghums are all possessed of much power
to gather food under dry conditions, they will grow
better relatively on sandy bottoms than corn. A
chief difficulty to be overcome in many of the soils of
the south is a want of fertility, hence it is oftentimes
necessary in some way to fertilize them in the Gulf
and Atlantic states of that region, in order to get
good crops. But the black soils of many of the river
bottoms, of the prairies west of the Mississippi, and
the gray soils of the southwestern valleys being rich
in food constituents, are admirably adapted to
growing these crops when sufficiently supplied with
water, and without the necessity of adding fertility
in the meantime.

Preparing the Soil—When preparing the soil
for these crops, much will depend on the attendant
conditions. In the Gulf states, where moisture is
much more abundant than in trans-Mississippi areas,
the land may be plowed in the spring. Of course
where a green crop grown through the winter was to
be turned under, of necessity it would have to be
turned under in the spring. In areas more dry, as,
for instance, western Kansas and Oklahoma, it would
be better to plow the land in the autumn where the
same could be done, and to harrow it betimes in the
spring until the season had arrived for planting the
sorghum. Where irrigation is practiced, of course
the farmer may plow the land at that season that will
best suit his convenience and the end that he has
in view.

When a green crop is turned under in the spring
the land should be rolled as soon as possible there-
after to hinder surface evaporation. And where the

THE NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS. 6I

land will not drift, the same treatment should be
given to spring plowed land in any case, in areas
where moisture is not plentiful.

Where commercial fertilizers are applied, it is
common to sow them at the same time as the seed.
The seed and the fertilizer, however, should not be
deposited by the same drill tube, lest the fertilizer
should injure the seed, because of too close proximity
to it and in quantities too large. When it is desired
to sow the sorghums thickly, as for pasture, it would
be easily practicable to apply the fertilizers in the
broadcasted form and just before the drilling in of
the seed. The kind of fertilizer to apply must be
determined chiefly by the needs of the land.
| Sowing.—Since all the non-saccharine sor-
ghums are natives of the south, they cannot endure
low temperatures. It is useless to plant them in a
soil not yet warm, or before the arrival of distinc-
tively settled warm weather. If planted sooner,
either the seed will not sprout at all or it will make
but a feeble and sickly growth after it has sprouted,
if indeed the young plants do not perish outright.
At the Minnesota University experiment station it
has been noticed, first, that seed corn of varieties
grown north until acclimated will sprout under con-
ditions much more adverse than the more tender
southern varieties of corn,and that the growth of the
young plants will be correspondingly more vigorous.
Second, that the early growth of varieties long
acclimated is more vigorous than that of varieties but
recently acclimated. Third, that these varieties of
corn will grow with a fair amount of vigor under
conditions where the seed of Early Amber sorghum
with all its ruggedness would fail to germinate, or

62 FORAGE CROPS.

where though able to germinate it could make only a
feeble and sickly growth. Fourth, Early Amber
sorghum plants made a fair amount of growth under
conditions of temperature too low for the successful
starting of the non-saccharine sorghums. Fifth,
that among the non-saccharine sorghums, the slowest
in starting was teosinte, and, sixth, that when any of
these sorghums made but a feeble growth at the first,
the plants from seed sown later and under more
favorable conditions as to temperature made a much
more satisfactory growth. There would seem to
be no advantage therefore but rather disadvan-
tage in planting the seed of the non-saccharine
sorghums earlier than the season of abiding warm
weather.

It would be impossible to fix the exact date at
which the seed of these plants should be sown. It
will vary with the locality and with the season. The
date for planting would of course be later than the
date best suited to planting corn. Kafhr corn
should follow doubtless close upon the corn planting
season, while teosinte would not suffer though not
planted until a period considerably later.

To provide soiling food and also fodder, non-
saccharine sorghums are usually sown in rows and at
distances which vary with the soil and with the
variety of the plant. Usually they should not be
grown less distant than corn grown for the same
uses, that is to say, the rows should not be closer than
thirty inches nor more distant than forty-eight
inches. But a distance of sixty inches is allowed in
some instances between the rows of teosinte; and
the taller of these plants, as, for instance, Milo
maize, would seem to require a greater distance

THE NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS. 63

between the rows than the shorter varieties, as, for
instance, Jerusalem corn.

When grown for pasture the seed may be sown
broadcast and covered with the harrow, but when
thus sown more seed is required,assome of the plants
will fail to germinate, nor will they come upsoevenly,
since the seed is buried at uneven depths. The sub-
sequent use of the harrow will tear out a goodly

number of plants, since at first they are less robust
than corn plants, and less firmly rooted in the soil.
And if grazed while the plants are still young and
tender, more of them will be pulled up by the roots.
It is preferable, therefore, to plant the seed with the
grain drill, and with all the tubes in use; but under
some conditions, as, for instance, those in which the
probable rainfall is deficient, it may be advantageous
to plant the seed in rows far enough apart to admit of
cultivation other than harrowing.

When the seedof these sorghums is sown broad-
cast to provide pasture, not less than one bushel per
acre of seed is required. But under conditions that
are very dry, much less than that amount may suffice,
since the plants if too numerous will pine for want
of moisture. When planted with the grain drill with
all the tubes in use, three pecks of seeds should be
ample; and when the rows are made distant enough
to admit of horse cultivation, a few quarts of seed
per acre will be found sufficient.

Cultivation.—lf sown broadcast, the only culti-
vation that can be given to these crops would be to
harrow them, and the harrow would have to be used
with extreme caution. It should of course be light,
and when so used the teeth should have much of a
backward slant, otherwise too many of the plants

64 FORAGE CROPS,

would be torn out or buried. In any event, many of
them would be disturbed or uprooted, and to provide
for such a contingency it would be necessary to sow
enough seed to allow for the thinning that would
thus be given to the plants. If sown with the grain
drill, all the tubes running, or only a part of them,
the cultivation would be the same. But when thus
sown there would be less disturbance to the plants, as
the seed would be deposited more deeply in the soil,
and if the harrowing were given just before the
young plants appeared above the surface, the
disturbance would be less than when given later.
Since these plants are more delicate than corn
when young, the harrow cannot be used upon them
so freely.

When planted in rows to provide pasture, or
indeed for any purpose, it would be greatly advan-
tageous to the crop to cultivate it frequently when
the rows are sufficiently distant to admit of horse
cultivation. The kind of cultivation would be about
the same as for corn, and the benefits therefrom
would be similar in kind. (See Page 22.) Aftera
season of depasturing such cultivation would be very
beneficial, since it would take away any tendency
to over-impaction or encrustation of the soil that
might arise because of the treading of the hoofs of
the animals that had been thus grazed.

Pasturing.—No one of the non-saccharine sor-
ghums would seem as yet to have been grown to any
considerable extent for pasture, and yet some of them
at least may be made to render excellent service in
that way. Kaffir corn grown at the Minnesota Uni-
versity experiment station proved quite satisfactory
in providing summer pasture for sheep, but not quite

THE NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS. 605

so much so as the Early Amber variety of sorghum.
When grazed off at the hight of about a foot it at
once shot up again and with a greatly increased num-
ber of shoots. The blades of the Kaffir corn were
coarser and when the pasture had been grazed down
they did not grow up again so erectly nor so numer-
ously ; and yet it is possible that in localities in which
there is betimes a deficiency of moisture, Kaffr
.cormn may furnish more pasture than sorghum.
Milo maize in both of its varieties should furnish
excellent pasture and much of it, since it is a vigorous
plant and prolific in growing leaves. But no one of
these plants should prove equal to teosinte in provid-
ing pasture. When teosinte is not sown too thickly,
it produces leaves in great abundance, nor has it a
tendency to throw up the stems at so early a period
as the other non-saccharine sorghums. But the
author has not been able to glean any information
based on experience with reference to the pasturing
of this plant. In the far south it would prove a-
great boon as a pasture plant.

While these plants may under some conditions
be pastured off by any class of live stock, there would
probably be much waste from pasturing on them
heavy animals, as horses, mules or cattle, and the
more advanced the growth of the crops the greater
would be the relative waste. But it would not be wise
to pasture such animals upon them even at an early
stage of growth, for then the plants would be so
much bruised and crushed by the hoofs of the
animals that many of them would be likely to
perish. But there may be occasions when it would
be in order to pasture these crops with heavy
animals, although much waste should result, as

5

66 FORAGE CROPS.

when, for instance, they are to be plowed under for
green manure.

In providing pasture for sheep and swine, they
should be equally serviceable with sorghum. Sheep
especially should graze them down with but little
waste, if turned in upon them before they got
beyond the hight of, say, twelve inches.

In pasturing off these crops, it would be neces-
sary to observe much caution in turning in animals
to graze after the application of irrigating waters,
or after much rainfall, especially on lands that are
easily injured by treading when thus pastured.
Impaction under these conditions would greatly
injure the future growth of the crop.

The duration of the season of depasturing
should be considerable in the south, owing to the
length of the season. The relative advantage, there-
fore, from growing such crops in the south and
southwest should be considerably greater than in the
north. For how long a period they will provide
pasture from a single sowing, the author is unable
to say. Much that it would be greatly advantageous
to know in regard to the growth of these plants can-
not be given as yet. It can be unfolded only by the
experience of the future.

CHAPTER V.
PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY.

Unfortunately the number of the species of
this very useful family of forage plants that have
hitherto been grown in North America 1s not large.
The list includes the common or medium red, the
mammoth, the alsike, the crimson, the white or
Dutch clover and alfalfa. All of these are grown
for forage to a greater or a lesser extent, and all of
them are also grown singly or in certain combina-
tions to produce fodders to be eaten in the cured
form. But it is only with reference to pasture that
they will be considered here.

COMMON OR MEDIUM RED CLOVER.

Common or medium red clover (Trifolium pra-
tense) is one of the best forage plants that a kind
Providence ever gave to the people of this continent.
Its great value as a forage plant arises, first, from the
length of the season during which it will provide
pasture; second, from the large amount relatively of
this pasture that it will furnish from a given area;
third, from the high nutritive properties it possesses ;
fourth, from the almost uninterrupted continuity of
the growth of the plants from spring until autumn;
and, fifth, from the ease with which it may be grown
in combination with various other forage plants.
Usually, medium red clover will furnish pasture

67

68 FORAGE CROPS.

from the commencement of the season of growth
until the arrival of autumn frosts of some degree of
severity. There is no other kind of clover that will
furnish as much pasture in a single season. The
high nutritive properties which red clover possesses
are made manifest in the chemical analysis which
the pasture gives, and in the quick improvement in
the condition of the animals that are pastured
upon it.

It is also excellent for milk production, because
of its nitrogenous character. Medium red clover
will grow from spring until fall, in a moist climate,
without any interruption. Of course, in dry cli-
mates continuity in growth will be interrupted soon
after the arrival of dry weather, in the absence of
irrigation. And it may be grown for pasture with
much success in combination with such plants as
timothy, alsike, small white clover, and orchard
grass. The weak point in common red clover as a
forage plant lies in its short life as compared with
some other pasture plants. Speaking in a general
way, it would be called biennial, but in some sec-
tions of the republic peculiarly adapted to its growth,
as, for instance, the part of Washington state that
borders on Puget Sound, it assumes a perennial
rather than a biennial character, and the same is
true of it in many of the Rocky Mountain valleys.

Distribution.—Happily, this wonderful plant,
too little valued because of its commonness, has a
wide distribution. Like blue grass, it is in a sense
cosmopolitan in much of the United States and Can-
ada. But there are considerable areas, nevertheless,
that are too cold, too warm or too dry for its suc-
cessful growth. Among the first are the areas west

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 69

of Lake Superior, north of the 5oth parallel, and
east of the Rocky Mountains. Among the second
are the areas that lie south of an irregular line that
would probably be confined within the states lying
between the 35th and 4oth parallels. And among
the third are the areas that lie in the upper Missouri
basin and southward therefrom. But in each
instance there are exceptions to the limits thus put
tipon the growth of medium red clover, for its suc-
cessful production depends even more upon altitude
than upon parallels of latitude and longitude.

Place m the Rotation—Medium red clover
may be given any place in the rotation. But it is
peculiarly fitting that it shall be sown after a crop
that has been cultivated with a view to cleaning the
soil. When grown for pasture, however, it is not
so necessary that it shall be sown on clean land as
when grown for other uses, since timely depastur-
ing will prevent nearly all forms of weed life from
ripening their seeds in the pasture. And it is good
practice to follow it with some kind of crop that
requires much nitrogen to grow it in good form,
since, as 1s now generally known, clover has much
power to take nitrogen from the air and place it in
the soil. The roots of the plants that immediately
follow the clover may readily appropriate it. The
small grains, corn and sorghum, may, with much
advantage, be made to follow clover.
~ Soil—Clay loam soils that lie upon a subsoil of
what may be termed mild clay are usually consid-
ered the best for the production of clover. But to
this there may be some exceptions. Stiff clay, with
a subsoil not too unyielding, will produce good crops
of clover when sufficient moisture is present, particu-

7O FORAGE CROPS.

larly those of a reddish cast, as, for instance, the
clay lands lying southward from Duluth, Minn. The
same is true of some sandy soils, more especially
those of volcanic origin, as, for instance, soils in the
Flathead valley, Mont. The light soils of the
prairie, that sink readily beneath the tread when
being cultivated, do not possess marked adaptation
for the growth of clover; but it can be successfully
grown on these when moisture is present in sufh-
cient quantities, and where the climate is otherwise
suitable. Over large areas where clover could not
be made to grow successfully on these soils when
first brought under cultivation, it now grows with
much certainty as a pasture crop and also as a hay
crop. This is partly owing to the firming of the
land through cropping it, and partly, it is claimed,
to the increase of certain bacteria in the soil favor-
able to the growth of clover. These, it is affirmed,
increase in the soil with the continued growth of the
clover. Although clover will grow on land that is
not rich, it may be necessary to enrich some kinds
of poor soil, as, for instance, poor sands, before
clover can be made to grow on them with any
marked degree of success. The attempt to grow
clover successfully on such lands when the rainfall
is not plentiful, and when they are underlaid with
sand and gravel, is a hopeless undertaking in the
absence of irrigating waters.

Preparing the Soil.—In growing clover. for
pasture, the preparation of the soil is the same as in
growing it for hay. It is more commonly sown
along with a nurse crop, hence the preparation of
soil that is best suited to growing the nurse crop
will also usually be best suited to the growing of the

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 7!

clover. With soils that are naturally of a stiff tex-
ture, the aim should be to secure a deep and fine pul-
verization in the seed bed. Such are the clays of
Ohio and of some states further east; and also
those of Ontario and other provinces east from
Ontario. With soils that are of a spongy character,
and especially with those that lift more or less
with the wind, the aim should be to firm the seed
_bed when preparing it. Such are certain of the
soils covering a considerable proportion of the
upper Mississippi basin and its tributaries. Soils
that are liable to be surcharged with water during
any considerable porticn of the year will prove
much more suitable if drained before being laid
down to clover. In some instances surface drains
will suffice, but in others underdrains will be
more suitable.

Sowing.—-The early spring will, in nearly all
instances, be found the best time in which to sow
clover. But there may be localities abundantly sup-
plied with moisture and favored with mild winters in
which it would be practicable to sow clover during
the late summer and early autumn months. This
should not be attempted, however, in any locality in
which the winter temperatures are low. And while
there may be sections subject to severe frosts after
growth has begun in the spring, in which it may be
wise to defer sowing clover for a time after the
ground is ready to receive it, as a rule clover should
be sown as early as practicable in the spring.

As has been stated, clover is usually sown with
a nurse crop. A nurse crop is one that provides it
with shade when it is young. Winter wheat, winter
rye and barley are very suitable as nurse crops for

72 FORAGE CROPS.

clover, since the shade they furnish is less dense than
that of some other crops; and the shade is sooner
removed, as they are harvested early. The two first
named cereals also admit of early sowing. Spring
wheat and oats shade the seed overmuch, but of the
two spring wheat is more suitable than oats as a
nurse crop. Flax does not provide a dense shade,
hence it would sometimes answer well as a nurse
crop but for the reason that the later season at which
it is sown makes a “catch” of the seed more hazard-
ous to obtain.

Some authorities advocate sowing clover alone;
that is to say, sowing it as the sole crop on the land.
There may be some instances where it may be wise
to adopt this plan, more especially where it is diffi-
cult to get a stand of clover because of the dearth of
moisture. It is at least questionable if this method
of sowing clover will ever be very generally prac-
ticed, and for the following reasons: First, it is
not necessary in moist climates; second, the growth
of weeds is apt to crowd the clover plants more than
a nurse crop of grain would; and, third, on some
soils, especially stiff clays, the shade furnished by
the nurse crop when young is advantageous to the
clover plants while in the early stage of growth. It
would seem to be a better way where there is a fight
for moisture between the nurse crop and the clover,
to sow the clover along with oats, using not more
than half the usual quantity of the seed of the oats
per acre. Oats are mentioned because of the use
that can be made of them for hay when they are har-
vested. They should be harvested as soon as the
heads are fully out, and sometimes even earlier, that
more moisture may be left for the clover, and that

PLANTS OF > THE CLOVER FAMILY. 73

more sunlight may shine upon it to make the plants
strong. But if the season should prove moist, the
cats may be allowed to stand until they have
matured.

At the Central Minnesota experiment station
the author has had much success in getting a catch
of clover seed, and also of timothy seed, by sowing
these along with a mixed crop of peas and oats,

~grown to provide summer forage for sheep. The
soil is a sandy loam, light enough in texture to wash
easily. The clover seed was sown broadcast at the
same time as the peas and oats, and covered with
the harrow. The system of depasturing will be
described in Chapter VIII. And it is probable that
such a method of obtaining a stand of clover will be
found even better adapted to the dark, spongy soils
of the prairie, whether the clover is sown along with
peas and oats, other cereals, or rape, and whether the
pastures thus furnished are grazed down by cattle,
sheep or swine. The reasons for this belief are logi-
cal. The tramping of the ground firms the soil, and
so lessens the escape of moisture by evaporation;
and the removal of the nurse crop by depasturing
leaves more moisture for the clover than would be
left to it if the crop were not grazed down, and also
lets in sunlight to strengthen the crop.

Clover seed may be sown broadcast by hand,
with any form of hand seeder that has been found
suitable, or with an attachment to the grain drill. It
is sometimes mixed with the seed grain and is sown
along with it, but this method of sowing is not to be
commended. The clover, being the smaller seed,
runs out more quickly than the grain, hence the
“seeding ” is irregular. More commonly it is con-

74 FORAGE CROPS.

sidered preferable to have the grain fall before the
tubes of the grain drill, that the seed may thus be
provided with a covering.

Whether the harrow or the roller, or both, shall
be used in covering the seed is a question entirely
dependent on conditions. On prairie soils and in
localities where dry weather is prone to come early
in the season, the seed should be covered deeply, but
on clay soils it should be covered less deeply. When
sown on lands which carry a crop of winter wheat
or winter rye, the harrow should always be used to
cover the seed if the soil has dried enough to admit
of so doing. When the seed drops before the drill
tubes, with clay soils the covering furnished by the
grain tubes which follow will be ample, but on loose
or light soils it may still be necessary to follow the
drill with the harrow. And in a dry seed time
great good would almost certainly result from fol-
lowing the seed drill with the roller, and the roller
with the harrow. The roller would impact the land
and the harrow would lessen the tendency to evapo-
ration in the soil, and also the tendency to be lifted
by the winds. In the states and provinces east of the
upper Mississippi basin, when clover is broadcasted
on land that has been sown with some spring cereal
the roller alone will provide an ample covering for
the clover seed.

Cultivation.—Medium red clover does not, of
course, require any cultivation after it has been
sown. But there may be instances in which the har-
row may be used as an aid to the re-seeding of pas-
ture lands, when it is not considered desirable to
plow them up. If the clover on these has not
been cropped too closely many clover heads will

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 75

mature their seeds. These in due time will fall to
the ground. ‘The following spring the harrow may
be made to render good service by running it over
these lands as early as possible. It helps to bury the
seed, and as the seed remains in the seed sacs, it is
almost certain to grow. The harrowing may also
be done so late in the fall that the seed will not
sprout previously to the coming of the winter. The
“benefit from this form of re-seeding will be depend-
ent upon such conditions as relate to soil and climate.
Much of the soil of the prairie seems to be adapted to
this form of re-seeding. There are localities in
which it is possible to maintain a clover pasture for
years by the adoption of this method.
Pasturing.—Common or medium red clover
should not be pastured off ordinarily the same year
it was sown. Such pasturing removes the covering
that would otherwise protect the roots of the clover
in winter. And if done early in the season it would
also hinder root development. But there may be
instances in which the growth of the clover would
- be so luxuriant that it would be proper to pasture it
off to prevent smothering in the winter, especially in
localities where a heavy snowfall may be expected.
The second season after sowing the clover is
that in which it provides an abundance of pas-
ture. In grazing live stock upon it the aim should
be to keep it so cropped off that it will not become
rank and coarse, otherwise much of it is liable to be
trodden down rather than eaten off. If the clover
should grow so rapidly as to get ahead of the needs
of the stock, the mower should be run over the field
not later than the blossoming stage of the clover.
The clover so cut may remain on the field as a

70 FORAGE CROPS.

mulch, or it may be cured for hay, as desired. Swine
pastures especially will be benefited by this mode of
treatment, and in any event it will hinder the matur-
ing of weed seeds.

There is no better method of obtaining a crop of
medium red clover seed than by pasturing the clover
closely for a time, and then removing the stock.
The pasturing should begin as soon as the growth
in the clover plants will warrant turning in the
stock. The season for removing the stock will vary
with the locality and with the rainfall, but in any
event it should take place from, say, ten to fifteen
days earlier than the period when the clover not so
pastured would be in bloom. Clover plants thus
managed seem capable of bearing more and better
seed than those which come into flower before they
are cut to be made into hay. After the seed has been
removed, another season of pasturing may follow,
but the production of seed lessens the power of the
plants to grow pasture.

After the first cutting of the clover has been
made in order to provide hay, an abundance of pas-
ture will usually be furnished by the clover the same
season, providing a crop of seed or a second crop of
hay is not desired. As the weather’at that season
is usually drier than in the spring, the live stock
should not be turned in on the clover until it has
made considerable growth, as then it furnishes more
or less shade, which tends to lessen evaporation.

Medium red clover furnishes excellent pasture
for horses, cattle, sheep and swine. But sometimes
there is hazard in turning cattle and sheep into a
clover pasture, more especially when the plants are
very succulent, and the hazard is increased when

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. SE

they are wet with dew or rain. If the cattle or
sheep are hungry they will eat so freely of the clover
that hoven or bloating may follow. Unless treat-
ment is promptly given they are pretty certain to
die. The treatment suitable is given on Page 162,
Observation 4.

Observations.—1. The common or medium red

clover is not specially adapted for being grown in
“permanent pastures because of its short-lived habit
of growth. It may be well to sow it in these, but
only in limited quantities and with the expectation
that it will nearly all disappear at the end of two
or three years.

2. When medium clover is to be sown on clay
lands or black loam soils, where it is liable to “ lift ”’
or “heave ”’ with the frost in the spring, such heav-
ing or lifting may be avoided in a very considerable
degree by first draining the lands. The heaving is
caused by the alternate freezing and thawing of the
lands that are surcharged with moisture.

3. Much fall pasture may be furnished in
localities that are favored with an ample supply of
rainfall by sowing medium clover with all the cereal
crops grown, even though the land is to be plowed
again in the late autumn or in the spring following.
Much pasture may thus be obtained, especially in
“dropping”’ or showery seasons, to say nothing of
the plant food put into the land. But what is termed
“heavy seeding’ should not be resorted to, lest a
period of dry weather should follow, when the seed
would be lost. Less than half the usual quantity
sown would be enough to risk thus.

4. In seasons where clover is usually grown in
short rotations and where seed crops are frequently

78 FORAGE CROPS.

harvested from it, much seed becomes stored in the
land. <A portion of what is thus lodged in the soil
is brought near the surface by the ordinary processes
of cultivation, and in due time it grows. The
clover, as it were, “‘ seeds ”’ itself, and it thus fur-
nishes much autumn pasture without any cost to the
grower.
MAMMOTH CLOVER.

Mammoth clover (T7rifoliwm medium), as the
name would indicate, makes a strong and vigorous
growth on soils possessed of the requisite adapta-
tion. Like the common red clover, it is a biennial,
although to this habit of growth there are some
exceptions. On soils with a marked adaptation for
growing mammoth clover it will live longer than in
those opposite in character. The same result will
follow if the climatic conditions are just right. And
if hindered from producing seed, as, for instance,
when it is pastured, its life period will be prolonged.
It resembles the common red in the form of the
leaves, the shape and color of the blossoms, and in
the general habit of its growth as to form in top and
root. And it differs from the same—first, in the
greater size of the stems and heads; second, in the
greater hight to which it grows; third, in the later
season at which it matures; fourth, in the greater
size of the roots and in the greater depth to which
they penetrate; and, fifth, in its inability to produce
two crops of hay in one season, or to provide an
abundance of pasture after the usual season for seed
production. It is evident, therefore, that mam-
moth clover is not so well adapted to provide pasture
as the medium red; but there is a place for it, and

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 79

that place will be found, in many instances at least,
on soils where medium red clover will grow but not
with marked vigor. The mammoth being a stronger
plant, it has more power to gather plant food in
the soil.

Distribution.—The distribution of mammoth
clover is much the same as the distribution of the
medium red variety. (See Page 68.) Where the
“one will grow so will the other, at least measurably
well. So far as the two varieties have been tried
this result has been noticed. The mammoth clover,
however, has not yet been grown over so wide an
area as the medium red, hence it is possible that
there may be localities where one of these varieties
only will flourish, but if so these have not hitherto
been defined.

Place in the Rotation—Mammoth clover
should be given the same place in the rotation as the
medium red clover. (See Page 69.) It should be
sown for pasture, therefore, in short rotations, and
should follow, when practicable, a cultivated crop,
to be succeeded by a grain crop.

Soil.—The soils suited to mammoth clover are
substantially the same as those suited to the medium
red variety. (See Page 69.) Since mammoth
clover, however, would seem to have greater power
to gather plant food in the soil than the medium red,
it is relatively better adapted to lands not well sup-
plied with fertility. And as it sends its roots deeper
into the soil, it is better able to withstand drouth
in dry seasons, and also the influences that cause
heaving or lifting in dry soils supplied with too
much moisture in the season of freezing and thaw-
ing. Mammoth clover, therefore, has, in some

So FORAGE CROPS.

instances, tound more favor in the sandy soils
and even in the loam soils of the prairies that
border on the semi-arid region east of the Rocky
mountains.

Preparing the Soil—Preparing the soil for
mammoth clover is substantially the same as prepar-
ing it for the medium red variety. (See Page 70.)
But it is even more important with mammoth clover
to have the ground deeply plowed previous to the
growing of the cultivated or other crop that pre-
cedes the clover, that its roots may readily push

down into the soil. This is not inconsistent
with firming spongy soils subsequent to the deep
plowing.

Sowing.—The various methods given as suit-
able for sowing red clover are the same as those that
should be adopted in sowing mammoth clover. (See
Page 71.) The amount of seed required to pro-
vide pasture will depend upon the fact as to whether
it is to be sown alone or in combination with other
kinds of pasture plants. When sown alone not
less, probably, than ten pounds of seed per acre
should be used, as the seed 1s somewhat larger than
that of the medium clover. And when the condi-
tions are not all favorable, it would be good practice
to sow a larger quantity of seed. When sown with
the seeds of other pasture plants, the quantity of
seed used should be proportionately reduced. More
pasture will be furnished where mammoth clover is
sown along with medium red clover, as the latter
grows vigorously in the spring and in the autumn,
and the former is at its best in the late spring and
early summer. When thus grown, equal parts of
the seed of each variety may be used.

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. SI

Cultivation.—As with medium red clover, no
cultivation is required. (See Page 74.) What is
said of medium clover under the head of cultivation
will apply equally to the mammoth variety.

Pasturing.—Much of what has been stated in
regard to the pasturing of medium red clover will
apply with equal propriety to the pasturing of mam-
Reet clover. (See Page 75.) © Like .medium
Glover, it will furnish pasture well adapted to the
needs of all kinds of live stock grown upon the farm.
Animals may be turned in on it as soon in the
spring as it will furnish them plentifully with food.
It is even more important not to let the clover get
beyond the power of the animals to crop it back than
when pasturing the medium variety. And it is
equally important that cattle and sheep shall not be
allowed to pasture upon it at will while hungry,
more especially when it is wet from dew or rain. It
will not furnish much pasture in the autumn,
whether it has been grazed during the season pre-
viously or cut for hay.

When the clover is to be cut for seed, it may
sometimes prove an excellent plan to graze it off
closely for a time in the early spring, lest the ener-
gies of the plants become too much concerned in the
production of a superabundant growth of stems
and leaves. On soils pre-eminently adapted to
the growth of clover this precaution should not be
neglected.

While the pasturing should be close, it should
not be long continued, or the development of the
plants may not be sufficient to produce a maximum
crop of seed. This result is certain to follow pro-
longed pasturing if the weather should turn dry. It

6

82 FORAGE CROPS.

is better, therefore, to run some hazard from over
vigor in the growth of the plants than from insuff-
cient development, since the loss is likely to be less.
On some soils it may not be necessary to pasture
thus to any extent.

Observations.—1. Mammoth clover is not well
adapted for permanent pastures, since it is not usu-
ally perennial in its habit of growth. Nevertheless,
it may be sown as a part of the mixture with the
expectation that it will live for two years and pos-
sibly for a longer period.

2. This clover makes an excellent fertilizer to
plow under, because of the great bulk of the green
product that it furnishes, and because of the great
mass of vegetable matter in the root growth. When
grown for this purpose, it may be advantageous
sometimes to let it grow up until near the blossom-
ing stage and then to pasture off the more palatable
portions previous to plowing under the residue.

ALSIKE CLOVER.

Alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum) is distin-
guished from the common red or medium clover,
first, by the finer and more recumbent character of
the growth; second, by the later season at which it
matures; third, by its inability to produce much pas-
ture after the season of maturity; fourth, by the
pinkish rather than the blood red tinge which char-
acterizes its blossoms; fifth, by the much less size of
the roots; and, sixth, by its perennial rather than
biennial habit of growth. The roots do not go
down so deeply into the soil, hence it has less power
to withstand prolonged drouth on the uplands. It

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 83

is much superior to the common red in providing
honey for bees, and it is also better adapted for
being grown along with timothy, first, because it
ripens at the same time; and, second, because
ordinarily it crowds the timothy less than the com-
monred. It can withstand lower temperatures than
the common red, hence the limit of its growth is
further north than that of the other. And when
supplied with moisture it would seem to be adapted
to temperatures equally warm. It can usually be
grown in good form between the goth and 5oth par-
allels of north latitude, from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, when sown on soils with the requisite adap-
tation; and south of the 4oth parallel it can also be
profitably grown under certain conditions.

Place in the Rotation.—Alsike clover, like the
medium red, should be sown on soils that have been
previously cropped with grain, and to such an extent
that they require an increase of nitrogen and of veg-
etable matter. The clover roots will supply both
of these. If the crop immediately preceding the
clover has been a cultivated crop, and if it has been
suitably cared for, the soil will be in a condition to
grow the clover without any injurious admixture of
weeds. Cereal crops, or corn should follow the
clover. Alsike clover is not a good rotation crop,
because of its perennial habit of growth. When-
ever a stand has been secured it is usual to pasture
it, or to cut it for hay for several years.

Soils.—Alsike clover has special adaptation for
clay soils, for clay loam soils, and for the soils of the
bottom lands of the Rocky mountain region that lies
within the clover belt. It thrives well on the stiffest
clays. It thrives better on loam soils well supplied

84 FORAGE CROPS.

with humus and underlaid with clay; and, judging
by the tests that have been made, it would seem
to thrive best on the deposit soils of the Rocky
mountain basins. But moisture must be present in
goodly supply before it can grow well on any soil.
The slough lands of the prairie regions would seem
to have special adaptation for Alsike clover when
water is not present in too plentiful supply. On
such soils it may be submerged for days at a time
without injury in the early springtime, but the
waters that cover it must, of course, be quite shal-
low. It will not grow well on sandy or gravelly
soils, poorly supplied with the elements of fertility.
The clay loam soils of the Puget Sound country,
with the abundance of moisture which they possess,
furnish a perfect paradise for Alsike clover.
Preparation of the Soil—The preparation of
the soil for Alsike clover is essentially the same as for
medium clover. (See Page 70.) And there are
localities where this clover can be sown on newly
cleared lands without any other preparation than
that of removing the timber in whole or in part that
grew upon them. Of course, if the fire has been
made to consume a part of the waste timber, or all
of it, the “catch” of the seed will be more satisfac-
tory. Even harrowing may not be necessary. Such
are the timber lands west of the Cascade mountains.
Some grasses, as blue grass, for instance, should be
sown along with the clover. |The small white
clover will soon come, as it were, spontaneously on
such lands. .
Sowing.—Nearly all that has been said with
reference to the sowing of medium red clover will
also apply to the sowing of Alsike clover. (See Page

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 85

71.) The aim should be, however, to cover the
seed of the Alsike less deeply, since it is a much
smaller seed. The proper depth will, of course,
depend upon conditions. In moist New England,
in some states further west, in eastern Canada and
in the Puget Sound district, the tubes of the grain
drill as they deposit the nurse crop will sufficiently
cover the seed that has been dropped or scattered
before the drill. In the absence of a grain drill the
roller will provide a sufficient covering. But in the
prairie soils of the upper Mississippi basin a light
harrow will not cover the seed too deeply.

To provide pasture, Alsike clover is more com-
monly sown along with some other kind of grass or
clover, as, for instance, timothy, orchard grass, Ken-
tucky blue grass, and medium red clover. But it
may also be sown alone. Wherever orchard grass will
flourish, Alsike clover and blue grass make an excel-
lent combination along with it in providing pasture,
since the two grasses grow both early and late in
the season, and the clover is at its best in the early
summer. On the slough soils of the prairie, Alsike
clover, timothy, and blue grass or red top make a
good pasture.

The amount of seed required will be dependent
chiefly on the grasses along with which the clover is
sown. If sown alone, four pounds of seed per acre
will be found sufficient in nearly all soils. If sown
along with other grasses, the quantity must needs
be proportionately decreased.

Cultivation.—Alsike clover, like the other
kinds, does not require to be cultivated. But on
suitable soils it may be made to re-seed itself, and
thus to retain its hold upon the ground for many

86 FORAGE CROPS.

years. The method by which this end may be
accomplished is substantially the same as that given
for securing the re-seeding of the medium red
clover. (See Page 74.) But with Alsike clover
this end is more easily attained than with the com-
mon red, since heads of matured seed uneaten by
the live stock are apt to be more numerous because
of the more recumbent character of the growth of
the clover. It is also a hardier plant. However,
on some soils, particularly those of a stiff character,
it would not be wise thus to perpetuate clover
pastures.

Pasturing.—When Alsike.clover is sown alone,
it may be pastured continuously after it has made a
good start in the spring. But it will not produce
much growth after the season for maturing the
seed; that is to say, after the period about simulta-
neous with the ripening of the barley crop. Because
of this habit of growth the value of Alsike clover as
a pasture crop is materially decreased. As with
other kinds of clover, more pasture will be obtained
where the cropping is not too close. When the pas-
ture 1s grazed too closely, the hot sun produces a
more rapid evaporation on the unshaded ground,
and it further weakens the chance of the plants to
grow because of cramped breathing capacity. Close
cropping in the autumn increases the hazard to the
plants from cold winds and severe frosts, since it
completely removes the covering that would other-
wise aid in protecting them.

Alsike clover pasture is relished by all kinds
of live stock grown upon the farm; and there would
seem to be less danger of hoven when animals are
feeding upon it than when feeding upon medium red

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 87

or mammoth clover pastures. This point, however,
has not been unequivocally established.

When Alsike clover is wanted for seed, it may
be advantageous to pasture it for a time after it has
begun to grow in the spring. The pasturing should
be close as long as it is continued, to secure uniform-
ity in the subsequent development of the crop.
Such pasturing will prevent overluxuriance in the
growth of the clover on soils and in seasons when
such overgrowth is to be feared. The energies
of the plant are thus diverted from the over-
production of stems and leaves to the production
of seed.

The duration of the pasturing given to these
seed crops cannot be stated, as it will vary with the
character of the season. On some soils, as, for
instance, stiff clays, pasturing is not required, and in
any event the pasturing should not be long contin-
ued, lest it should prevent the plants from making
growth enough to produce seed plentifully.

Observations—1. Alsike clover is well suited
for being sown with mixtures of grass seeds
used in making permanent pastures, because of
its hardihood and because of its perennial habit
of growth. ;

2. A stand of Alsike clover may not infre-
quently be obtained in slough lands of the prairie by
scattering the seed on the native sod in the early
spring. If the native grass can be cut early or pas-
tured off after the young clover plants have made a
good start, the clover will be much benefited. But
in dry summers a stand of the clover is not likely to
be secured.

3. Alsike clover and timothy are well adapted

88 FORAGE CROPS.

for beng grown together, whether for hay or for
pasture, since both grow well on humus soils

CRIMSON CLOVER.

Crimson or scarlet clover (Trifolium imcarna-
tum) is so called from the beautiful rich bloom of
the heads when in flower. It is said to be a native
of Central and Southern Europe. Until quite
recently it has not been tested in many of the states
of the Union, hence its precise value as a forage
crop in localities where it has not been proved cannot
be stated.

Crimson clover is an annual, but has a semi-
biennial habit of growth, since it is sown in the
summer and matures its seeds in the springtime of
the following year. It is more upright in its habit
of growth than some of the other clovers, and it has
probably a less proportion of leaf growth to the
stems. It grows from twelve to thirty inches
high, according to conditions, and reaches maturity
in time to be followed with divers other crops, as
corn, sorghum, and various garden vegetables. The
blossoms are cone-shaped, with much of length in
proportion to the diameter, and the bloom is of the
richest crimson or scarlet. A field in the meridian
of blossoming is a beautiful sight.

Distribution.—As_ stated previously, crimson
clover has not been fully tested in some of the states
of the Union, hence it is impossible in the present
state of our knowledge to speak with sufficient defi-
niteness as to where it can or cannot be profitably
grown as a pasture crop, or indeed for any purpose.
And the difficulty is increased by the contradictory

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 89

character of the reports that have been published in
regard to it from the same localities. Some of these
refer to it as a total failure, and others speak of it as
an encouraging success. These contradictory
reports arise, doubtless, from variations in the sea-
sons and in the mode of growing it.

Speaking in a general way, the growth of
crimson clover is attended with more or less of haz-
ard north of 40 degrees; that is to say, north of the
cities of Philadelphia, Columbus and Denver, and
east of the Rocky mountains. Nevertheless, there
are some exceptions. In Delaware, for instance, it
is a success. In some parts of Pennsylvania and
New York it has proved satisfactory; and in por-
tions of other states north of the line named it has
been grown with success. But within the limits
mentioned there will be more or less of hazard in
growing crimson clover, according as the winter is
propitious or otherwise. In experiments conducted
by direction of the author at the Ontario experiment
station, at Guelph, the clover failed to pass through
the winter alive. Unless, therefore, the habit of
growth can be so changed that the plant will success-
fully fulfill its mission in one season, it is not likely
to prove a treasure to very much of the area that has
been set down as doubtful or prohibitory.

Of course, in the bench lands between the
Rocky mountain ranges, and in the river bottoms,
crimson clover is not likely to prove a success, unless
when grown under irrigation, and reports from
growing it thus do not as yet seem to be forthcom-
ing. On the Pacific slopes of Oregon and Wash-
ington and of British Columbia it will doubtless
grow, though but little tried hitherto. It should be

go FORAGE CROPS.

capable of furnishing early pasture in the spring
time in that region of mild winters.

Crimson clover can be grown with success in
much of the area south of the 40th parallel, and east
of a line running irregularly down through the
states of Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana, and not
far from the western border of these states. In
other words, crimson clover would seem to have the
least adaptation for those states and provinces that
are far enough north to grow the medium red clover
at its best. And it would seem to have the highest
adaptation to localities with weather too warm to
grow that species of clover at its best.

Place in the Rotation.—In the rotation crimson
clover should be grown as a catch crop; that is to
say, it should follow some crop that has been har-
vested one season, and should precede some crop to
be grown immediately after the clover the following
season. The plan of growing it on land that needs
to be enriched is a wise one, hence it will frequently
be sown after a grain crop, and before some culti-
vated crop that does not of necessity require to be
planted early the following season. Crimson clover
is, therefore, commonly grown without missing a
crop. Not infrequently it is sown annually in
orchards that are in bearing, and plowed under to
feed the fruit trees from year to year.

Soil.—Crimson clover grows best on a warm
soil; that is to say, on a soil of open texture and with
good drainage. It has special adaptation, therefore,
to loam soils with a free admixture of sand in them.
But if the clover is to grow vigorously on these soils
it is necessary, first, that moisture shall be present in
the growing season; and, second, that sufficient fer-

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. gli

tility shall be present in the soil or supplied to it to
give the clover a good start. The average prairie
soils do not seem to furnish the proper food con-
stituents, and in stiff clay soils the roots of the clover
cannot gather food with sufficient haste.

Preparing the Soil.—In preparing the soil for
crimson clover much will depend upon the condi-
tions. When sown amid corn or cotton the cultiva-
tion given to these crops is a sufficient preparation
of the soil. After potatoes and early market garden
crops, cultivating and then harrowing the ground
should put it in good condition to receive the seed.
When sown after grain, success has followed simply
harrowing the land, and in other instances first cul-
tivating and then harrowing it; but more commonly
there is hazard in sowing it thus. In orchards in full
bearing the cultivation that is usually given to the
trees is a sufficient preparation. In preparing the soil
the aim should be to secure a fine and moist seed bed,
hence when the land is plowed in making it ready for
crimson clover, a free use should be made of the
roller and harrow, unless peculiar conditions, as ex-
cessive rainfall, should render this work unnecessary.

Sowing.—Crimson clover seed is more gen-
erally sown from July Ist to October Ist, according
to the locality. Ordinarily the more southerly the
latitude the later may the seed be sown without the
hazard of being winterkilled. If sown in the early
spring the growth made is seldom satisfactory, and
the presence of the clover hinders the growing of
another crop the same season. The seed is sown by
the same methods as other kinds of clover seed ; that
is to say, it may be broadcasted by hand or other-
wise and covered with the harrow, or it may be sown

Q2 FORAGE CROPS.

with a grain drill that will properly do such work, or
it may be dropped with the grass seeder attachment
to the grain drill, as, for instance, when it is sown
with a nurse crop.

Ordinarily the seed of crimson clover is not
sown with a nurse crop, but sometimes it is sown
with cowpeas. When thus sown the soil is more
commonly infertile, and the peas are grown to pro-
tect the clover plants in the winter after the frost
has killed the cowpeas. When sown with winter
oats or winter rye the clover is prone to crowd these
crops, as it continues to grow in weather too cool to
admit of growth in the oats or the rye. On some
soils these results will be reversed. But judicious
pasturing should prevent injury from this source.
When rape is sown with the crimson clover it should
be early in the season rather than late, so that both
plants would have time to make a good growth and
thus furnish fall pasture ; and if the rape survived the
winter the two plants could be pastured again
in the spring.

The amount of seed to sow will vary with sev-
eral conditions. When sown as the sole crop, more
than fifteen pounds per acre of the clover seed should
not be required, and usually less than that amount
will suffice. Heavy seeding is to be preferred when
the clover is to be plowed under as a fertilizer. When
sown as part of a mixed crop to provide pasture, a
few pounds of the clover seed per acre will suffice.
The grower can best learn by his own or by his
neighbor’s experience how to adapt the quantities of
the respective seeds used to the soil conditions. —

Cultivation. — No cultivation is ordinarily
required on crimson clover. But there may be

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 93

instances when the harrow can be used upon it with
advantage.

Pasturing —Although crimson clover has been
grown more as a fertilizer than to provide pasture,
its mission in furnishing pasture and also soiling
food is an important one. When the strength of
the clover growing alone or in combination with
other crops will justify so doing, it should of course
be pastured, but not so closely as to endanger its
passing the winter safely. Any kind of domestic
animals upon the farm may be grazed upon i: de
furnishes pasture early in the spring and in bountt-
ful supply. Sheep have been pastured on it early in
the season, and after they were removed a good crop
of seed has been reaped. Such pasturing is favor-
able to seed production when the crop is likely to be
too rank. It may also be pastured with much advan-
tage by sheep or swine when it is grown in orchards.
The fertility produced by the crop will all be returned
to the land when it is thus pastured.

Observations.—t. After a crop of seed has been
harvested, another crop of clover can be obtained in
some instances by simply harrowing or otherwise
stirring the soil.

2. When sheep or swine are used in pasturing
an orchard, the trees may be protected from injury
by inclosing the trunks in wire netting. To hinder
the sheep, however, from eating the fruit on the
lower limbs that droop is practically impossible.

ALFALFA OR LUCERN.

Alfalfa or Lucern (Medicago sativa) is a won-
derful food plant. No other plant grown in the

O4 FORAGE CROPS.

United States or Canada will furnish so much valu-
able food for so long a term of years without re-seed-
ing. There are some alfalfa fields on this continent
that have produced several good crops a year for
more than forty years, and, judging by the indica-
tions, they will continue to do so for many years
longer. But those fields have been irrigated from
year to year. However, there are instances on
record wherein alfalfa has produced good crops for
a long term of years when not irrigated. It is not
so valuable relatively in providing pasture as forage,
although with judicious management it can also be
turned to good account in furnishing pasture, at
least under some conditions.

Alfalfa is of course a perennial. It grows up
rapidly in the early spring, and when the plants
attain a hight of one to two feet or more, they pro-
duce bluish purple flowers. As soon as the plants
reach the blossoming stage the stems rapidly become
woody, hence it is necessary to use much promptness
in cutting the crop for hay, or in pasturing it off in
the early part of the season. When cut or eaten
down, other stems come out from the basil root and
more numerously, until the plants reach full size,
which they do in three or four years. These stems
grow very rapidly, hence the number of crops that
may be reaped in one season is sometimes as high as
six to eight. It sends a taproot down to a con-
siderable depth into the soil. Under very favorable
conditions this taproot is ten to twelve feet long,
but usually it does not go down much beyond half
that distance. This accounts for the great ability
of the plant to withstand dry weather when once it
has firmly intrenched itself in the soil.

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 95

The idea that it will not be worth while to grow
alfalfa where medium red clover is at its best would
seem to be of the fogy order, although it has been
promulgated by some good authorities. As a rota-
tion plant it is not to be compared with clover, but
even where medium clover has proved a great suc-
cess, there may be good reasons for growing alfalfa
to provide soiling food and also pasture.

Distribution.—Alfalfa can be grown with more
or less success in every state of the Union, and ina
number of the provinces of Canada. But it has
especial adaptation for those states where the tem-
peratures are too warm and the conditions are too
dry to grow clover at its best. Speaking in a general
way, the highest adaptation for alfalfa culture is
found in those states that lie south of the Missouri
river, including the lands drained by that river, and
west from the Mississippi where it is joined by the
Missouri. Next to these states in adaptation may
be placed those areas that lie south of the Ohio and
between the Mississippi and the Atlantic. And after
these in adaptation come various localities in the
other states where the measure of success attained
in growing the crop is usually more dependent on
soil conditions than on those which relate to climate.
There is probably no state in the Union in which
alfalfa may not be successfully grown. In Louisi-
ana it has been made to provide green food every
day inthe year. As far north as Toronto, in Onta-
rio, and Montreal, in Quebec,«good crops of alfalfa
have been grown. But in the northern portions of
North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan,
the low winter temperature will probably prove a
barrier to its cultivation. Elsewhere in the United

96 FORAGE CROPS.

States it will endure the winters as far north as the
Canadian boundary. It is not likely to succeed in
the Canadian provinces that lie between Lake Supe-
rior and the Rocky mountains, but on the Pacific
slopes of British Columbia there should be no diffi-
culty in growing it when the soils are suitable.

Place in the Rotation.—As alfalfa is usually
sown with the intention of allowing it to remain
undisturbed by the plow for several years, it will be
readily apparent that it is not a good rotation crop.
In fact, it can only be used in very long rotations
when thus grown. But as it is sometimes sown to
provide hay and pasture along with medium, mam-
moth, or alsike clover, it may be used in rotations of
limited duration, in conjunction with one or more
of these plants. When thus grown the rotation may
be the same as that adopted in growing these clo-
vers; that is to say, it may, with much propriety,
follow a cultivated crop in order to obtain a clean
seed bed on which to sow it. And it ought to be
followed by some crop that wants much nitrogen to
perfect it, as corn or one of the cereals. As alfalfa
is a somewhat delicate plant the first year, it is
important that it shall be sown on clean ground
where the weeds will not be likely to smother it.

Soiw.—The soil best suited to the growth of
alfalfa will be measurably dependent on the moisture
that can be furnished to it in the form of rain,
through surface irrigation or from a subterranean
source. Loose, sandy loam soils rich in certain
elements of plant food, particularly lime, phosphoric
acid and potash, are usually regarded as the most
suitable for alfalfa. These soils should be deep in
character and should lie on sandy or gravelly sub-

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 97

soils, that is to say, subsoils which consist of fine
gravel intermixed with sand. Such soils are emi-
nently adapted for growing alfalfa when water is
plentifully supplied from the clouds, from irrigating
ditches, or from the water table in the subsoil. This
water table must not be too near the surface, or the
root growth will be hindered to the great injury of
the plants; nor must it be too far from the surface,
or it will fail to reach the plants in sufficient quan-
“tity. When water cannot be supplied from ditches
or from a subterranean source, and when the sum-
mer climate is dry in character, it will be found that
alfalfa will grow best in soils that are underlaid with
mild, porous clay subsoils, which the roots can easily
penetrate. If grown under those conditions, if the
subsoil were sand or gravel, the plants would not
obtain sufficient moisture. The best soils probably
in the United States for growing alfalfa when amply
supplied with water are the volcanic ash soils, allu-
vial in character, that are found in the valleys west
and southwest of the Missouri river. The sandy
soils of the states south and southeast of the Ohio
are not usually rich enough to produce maximum
crops without being fertilized. The soils of the
upper Mississippi basin, with exceptions somewhat
numerous, do not seem to have the proper food ele-
ments. In other localities, particularly in states
north and east of the Ohio, are stretches of hardpan
subsoil, which forbid the growth of alfalfa. And
in all soils where the water table comes near the sur-
face at any time in the year, alfalfa cannot be suc-
cessfully grown.

Preparing the soil—When alfalfa is to be laid
down for a term of years, it is important that the

7

98 FORAGE CROPS.

land on which it is sown shall first be well cleaned,
either by summer fallowing it, or, what would be
better, by growing some crop on it that is given
clean cultivation. It is also important that the
ground shall be plowed deeply in preparing it for
the alfalfa, or, what would be better perhaps, in pre-
paring it for the cultivated crop that is to precede
the alfalfa. Subsoiling the land will usually be
found a good investment. But this should never be
done by running the ordinary plow twice in the same
furrow, except in soils that are as rich in available
plant food in the under furrow slice as in the upper
one. Otherwise the plants from the newly sown
alfalfa may not be able to get food enough to pro-
duce a vigorous growth when they are young. But
when alfalfa is sown along with other plants to
provide pasture, it is not so necessary to have
the land in such a perfect condition of prepara-
tion, owing to the limited period during which
it will be grown.

Sowing.—The time for sowing alfalfa varies
much with the locality. It should not be sown in
the winter or in the summer. In the northern half
of the republic it is usually sown in the early spring,
as soon as the ground has become warm, and the
danger from severe frosts is past. In the southern
half thereof it is sown in the autumn and also
in the spring. When sown in the autumn, suff-
cient time should be given to the young plants
to make enough growth to enable them to pass
the winter safely, with its frequent periods of trying
temperatures.

The method of sowing is by no means uniform.
When alfalfa is sown as the sole crop, there is no

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 99

better way of putting it into the soil than by sowing
it with a seed drill of proper construction. But
oftentimes it is broadcasted. When thus broad-
casted, it may be advantageously covered with a light
harrow, with the teeth straight or aslant, with the
roller alone, or with the roller followed by the
harrow, according to the nature of the soil. When
sown with a nurse crop, as, for instance, a thin seed-
.ing of oats to be cut for hay at the earing stage, the
alfalfa seed is likely to be sufficiently covered if it
*has been sown by any process in front of the drill
tubes. And the same is true of other seeds, as clo-
ver and timothy, sown along with the alfalfa. But
sometimes it is further necessary to roll the land,
and, it may be, to harrow it with a light harrow, the
teeth being set at a backward slant. When sown
on some of the weedy lands of the south, it has
been found profitable to deposit the seed in rows
and to keep the plants clean the first year by
cultivation.

To provide pasture, alfalfa is sometimes sown
in short rotations along with one or more varieties
of clover and timothy. The author has thus grown
it with no little success in Ontario. And there may
be other combinations in which it can be successfully
grown under some conditions.

When alfalfa is grown to furnish hay, thick
seeding is recommended, not less than twenty pounds
per acre, and in some instances more than that
amount, that the stand of the hay may be of fine
growth. This will reduce the waste in feeding the
hay. To provide seed or winter pasture, it should
be sown less thickly, about fifteen pounds per acre
is considered sufficient. When sown along with

L. of C.

IO0O FORAGE CROPS.

clovers and timothy, the following combination is
a good one, viz. :—

Per acre
ALES. 60:05 inne 0 ams betce saan se + aennae Uhes wake emails 4 lbs
Medium clover’... oi. eters cola stot academe eens aeeee 2 lbs
Mammoth 66 net cae ce tintin orbit inee eam eee ee 2 lbs
Alsilse 5.22 S42. does 3 cae oceanic coe aaa eee oe 1 lb
SDADIOEHY:s xine 5 nice owe wiace (Ac ewes & saga eameensta tear 3 lbs
Wotal se ess ema cance ats ce oh Me eee cee op ae eee 12 lbs

Cultivation.—When alfalfa is sown in rows and
cultivated the first season, as is sometimes practiced
in the south and elsewhere, the cultivation may be
given with the hand hoe or horse cultivator, or with
both, according to the distance between the rows
and to the necessity for hand labor. When the
plants have reached the hight of three or four inches,
and the ground has become encrusted on the sur-
face, a light harrow judiciously passed over the crop
will help it materially. When sown without a nurse
crop and the land becomes weedy, as it does in nearly
all instances, the mower should be run over the
alfalfa once, or more frequently, during the first sea-
son, aS occasion may require. And the vegetation
thus cut off should be allowed to fall as a mulch for
the crop, unless there should be special reasons for
removing it.

If grown dependent upon irrigation, the water
should be applied the first year as needed, but not
less than two or three times. After the first year
the water should be applied in the spring and after
each cutting, but not when the alfalfa is going into
the winter. Irrigating waters should never be
allowed to stand on alfalfa for a longer period than
forty-eight hours at a time.

Pasturing.—Alfalfa may be made to furnish
excellent pasture for horses, cattle, sheep and swine,

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. Io!

but the pasturing must not be done in an indiscrimi-
nate manner. It ought not to be pastured at any
and every stage of growth, nor at all seasons of the
year. It should seldom, if ever, be pastured off the
season that it is sown. It is somewhat of a delicate
plant when young, hence it is easily injured the first
season. Neither should it be pastured in the late
autumn nor during the winter in cold latitudes.
.Such pasturing would likely prove fatal to the
alfalfa, hence probably the prevalent opinion that it
cannot be pastured at all in the winter season. Pas-
turing sheep on alfalfa is attended with the greatest
hazard to the plant, because of their habit of crop-
ping plants closely. Most satisfactory results are ob-
tained from pasturing horses and swine upon alfalfa.
Horses and swine can be pastured on it at any
season without serious hazard to the animals. The
plan of pasturing off alfalfa with horses, introduced
and practiced by Mr. C. H. Larrabee of Home Park,
Montana, at his Brooknook ranch in that state,
would seem to be a good one. His alfalfa 1s irri-
gated. His first crop is cut for hay. The second
growth is allowed to remain. Weanling colts which
are also fed grain are then turned in upon it in the
autumn. Later, older colts, and still later, horses,
are grazed upon it, and as spring approaches, cattle
are turned in to clean up the residue of the pasture.
The animals are also given alfalfa hay when they
require it. And ranchmen further to the southwest
also adopt a somewhat similar mode of wintering
their cattle. The re-seeding of the ground thus
every year would seem to maintain a stand, despite
the depasturing.
Alfalfa furnishes a grand pasture for swine.

TO2 FORAGE CROPS.

They may feed upon it through all the growing sea-
son if supplied with water. They will grow nicely
on it without other food, but a little grain, as corn,
for instance, can frequently be fed to advantage.
Swine pastures should be mowed occasionally to
secure a plentiful supply of tender and _ succu-
lent alfalfa.

If cattle and sheep are pastured on alfalfa when
it is in a succulent condition, and more especially
when wet with dew or rain, the alfalfa is liable to
produce hoven or bloat, unless the animals have
partaken of other food before being allowed to graze
on the alfalfa. Sometimes they may be pastured for
a whole season without harm; at other times the loss
is serious. But when the alfalfa is growing amid
other grasses, the danger from this source is much
lessened.

Observations.—1. Alfalfa may be sown with
much propriety in permanent pastures when the con-
ditions will admit of it. Its continuity in them will
depend upon such conditions as the nature of the
soil, the encroaching character of the other grasses,
and the closeness of the pasturing.

2. One acre of alfalfa will furnish pasture to
from ten to twenty hogs through the entire season
of growth, dependent, of course, upon the age of the
hogs and the conditions relating to growth in
the pasture.

CHAPTER VL.
LEGUMINOUS PLANTS OTHER THAN CLOVER.

Chief among the leguminous plants other than
tlover that have heretofore been grown on this con-
tinent to provide forage are the field pea, the com-
mon vetch, the cowpea and the soy bean. The field
pea and the common vetch have hitherto been grown
chiefly in Canada, and to a less extent in the United
States that borders on Canada. But during recent
years the vetch crop of the states of Oregon and
Washington is assuming proportions of some mag-
nitude. The sand vetch has been grown in a tenta-
tive way in various parts of the United States, and
the cowpea and the soy bean have been grown in
the southern states and to a less extent in those that
are central. The peas and vetches are all of a more
or less trailing habit of growth. The soy bean has
more of the bush form. All of these have been
found excellent food plants in the localities which
have special adaptation for growing them.

THE FIELD PEA.

The field pea (Pisum sativum) is of many varti-
eties. These are variously distinguished, as by the
length and strength of the straw, the more or less
trailing habit of the growth, the size and number of
the pods, the size of the peas and the relative number

103

104 FORAGE CROPS,

4

N xP.
F

* it :

pt Fn a

(adie BLN

re
oe

Fig. 14. Eight Plants of Green Field Pea.
Minnesota University Experiment Farm.

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. I0O5

in each pod, the color of the blossoms and the color
and shape of the peas.

In the United States, peas are usually ees
of as “Canada field peas,’ whatever the variety may
be. The term is a misnomer, for many varieties of
field peas are grown there which did not originate in
Canada (Fig. 14). Under the supervision of the
author, more than eighty varieties of field peas were
grown at the Ontario experiment station at Guelph
in 1893, only a very few of which were first grown
in Canada. The term originated probably in the
fact that the earlier importations of seed peas into
this country came chiefly from Canada.

The field pea, as is generally known, is of an
upright habit of growth until it reaches a certain
hight from the ground, more or less according to
the presence or absence of wind and rain. ‘Then it
falls over unless sustained by other grain sown along
with it, and it completes its growth in a recumbent
position. It is this trailing habit of growth that
renders it unsuitable for being grown alone to pro-
vide pasture for any kind of live stock except swine.
And it is because of this habit of growth that the pea
is usually sown along with one or the other of the
cereals to provide pasture for sheep.

In Ontario a very large area is sown with peas
every year. These are grown chiefly for the grain
food which they furnish, but also for the winter fod-
der obtained from the straw when cured. And in
Ontario and some parts of the United States they
are being somewhat freely grown in combination
with other grain to provide soiling food for sum-
mer use and fodder in the unthreshed form for win-
ter feeding. Peas are also sown along with oats or

106 FORAGE CROPS.

other grain to furnish pasture for sheep and swine.
The peas improve the quality of the pasture because
of the rich flesh-forming and milk-producing food
which they furnish. But when thus grown it should
be on lands with special adaptation for growing the
peas, otherwise the cereal grown along with the peas
is likely to crowd them. Such pastures are not so
well adapted for being grazed down by horses and
cattle, because of the greater injury which they cause
the peas through treading. -But it is when sown
alone that peas are more commonly grown as a pas-
ture for swine. This chapter will consider only the
growing of peas for pasture, although it may be
mentioned here that the process of growing peas for
swine forage is essentially the same as when grow-
ing them for the grain.

Distribution.—Peas usually succeed best in a
cool and also in a moist climate in which the summer
temperatures are not extreme in their variations and
where the nights are cool. But a moderately cool
and even temperature is more important relatively
than moisture in the air, otherwise certain of the
Montana and other Rocky mountain valleys would
not be able to grow peas with and without irrigation
according to the locality, and in such magnificent
form. Hot and dry climates are ill adapted to the
growing of peas,-and more especially where winds
hot and dry are apt to prevail at that season of the
year when the peas are coming into bloom. At such
a time intense heat of the sun or the warm breath of
continued hot winds would hinder the blossoms from
producing pods and grain in the perfection of devel-
opment, and if sufficiently prolonged the vines would
shrivel and wither without fruiting at all.

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. ; 107

Peas may be grown as a grain crop with marked
success in nearly all the tillable portions of the United
States and Canada above the 45th parallel of
north latitude, that is to say, in all places north of
the latitude of Bangor, in Maine, St. Paul, in Minne-
sota, and Salem, in Oregon. They can also be
grown quite as successfully in some localities two or
three degrees south of this parallel, from the Atlantic
fo the Mississippi and also in Oregon on the Pacific
slope. And in some localities much further south it
is very probable that peas can be grown in good form
where the altitude is sufficient.

The highest adaptation for peas grown without
irrigation is probably found in the states of Wash-
ington and Oregon and in British Columbia, on the
slopes nearest to the sea (Fig. 15). The highest
adaptation when grown under irrigation is probably
found in the inland valleys of Montana, Idaho,
Washington, Wyoming and Colorado. The most
general adaptation in any one state or province is
probably found in Ontario, with Michigan and Wis-
consin close seconds. And the highest adaptation
on the prairies is probably found in North Dakota,
northern Minnesota and Manitoba.

But peas can be grown successfully for forage
and soiling food much further south than the line
drawn as the southern limit of highest production of
grain. This is more especially true when the peas
are grown in combination with other grain. When
grown thus for pasture, the grain, of course, is not
considered, and when grown for soiling food it is
not so important relatively as when the peas are
grown for the fodder.

Place in the Rotation.—lf a crop of peas is

CROPS.

EK

~
1

ORAC

F

1O8

‘UOPSUIYSBAA ‘AIBA YORSOON ‘s¥9qg PJ2I4 ‘SI “Zig

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 109

erown until mature on a piece of land and then har
vested, the land will contain more nitrogen than
before the peas were sown on it. It is evident, there-
fore, that the pea should be grown with an eye to
preparing the land for a crop that requires much
nitrogen, as, for instance, a crop of wheat or other
cereal, or acrop of corn. It is also evident that it can

- be grown successfully on soils lower in plant food

« ‘than would suffice to produce a maximum crop of any
one of the cereals, at least so far as concerns the pres-
ence of nitrogen in the soil. If the ground 1s prop-
erly prepared it may be successfully grown on land
that is foul with certain forms of weed life, as, for
instance, annuals. But peas should not be grown
on land infested with certain perennials, such as the
Canada thistle.

Theoretically, peas should not be sown on over-
turned sod. It is commonly considered better prac-
tice to give these lands up to other grain crops, as
oats, because of the abundance of the vegetable mat-
ter which they contain. Notwithstanding, peas
grow handsomely on such land, the other conditions
being right, owing probably to the moisture which
is held for the peas by the grass roots as they decay,
and they put sod lands in excellent condition for
being followed with a cereal crop. Peas may be
succeeded with much advantage if grown alone by
winter wheat or rye, where the former can with-
stand the rigors of the winter. When followed by
one or the other of these crops, the land requires
only to be disked in preparing it, unless the soil
should be foul with weed life.

Soil.—The best soil for peas is a mild, porous
and moist clay loam, free from superfluous water

110 FORAGE CROPS.

in the soil or subsoil during all stages of the growth
of the plants. Sandy loams are good if moist, but
not so good as clay loams. Peas will grow fairly
well on stiff, unyielding clays, but not so quickly as
on clay loams. Dry, sandy and gravelly lands defi-
cient in moisture are poor pea lands. The black
humus soils of the prairie are prone to grow too
much straw for good yields of the grain. But this
is not objectionable when the peas are grown for —
sheep forage along with other grain, or to provide
soiling food. And muck lands are ill adapted to
growing peas for pasture or for the grain, since the
vines run chiefly to straw. While peas are rather
easily injured by drouth, if the soil on which they
are growing should be saturated with water for any
considerable time during their development, it would
be fatal to the growing of the peas.

Preparing the Soil—In preparing the soil for
peas, the aim should be, first, to plow the land in the
autumn unless where there are good reasons for not
doing so; second, to plow it deeply; and, third, to
make a fine seed bed. In localities where the win-
ters are long, open and rainy, the land should not be
plowed in the fall. Nor is it necessary when the
peas are broadcasted and then plowed under. When
sod is plowed for peas, and more especially if it is
plowed for them in the spring, the furrow slices
should be narrow and laid at an angle of about
forty-five degrees. When peas are broadcasted on
land thus prepared, they fall down in the depres-
sions between the cone or crest of the respective
furrow slices. And when in covering the seed the
harrow is run straight along these furrow slices and
at one or two different angles over them, it drags

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. FEY

down the earth into the depressions and in this way
covers the seed. If the sod were turned over in
broad furrow slices and left in a flat state, it would
be necessary to use the disk cultivator to make a
proper seed bed.

It is not common to manure the land for peas,
but manure will be very helpful on poor land. Farm-
yard manures are nearly always in order. When
commercial fertilizers are to be used, phosphoric
acid and potash are likely to be more helpful than
nitrogen.

Sowing the Seed.—When peas and oats are
sown for sheep pasture, about three bushels of the
combined mixture should be sown, but for some
soils a less quantity will suffice. About equal parts
by measure of each kind of seed should be used, but
there may be reasons for varying these proportions ;
as, for instance, when the oats grow more vigorously
than the peas it would be necessary to increase the
proportion of the pea seed sown. The small varie-
ties of field peas should be preferred, as they produce
more forage. The seed may be mixed and sown
with the drill, taking care to bury it deeply, as deep
as three to four inches. Sometimes the peas are
first sown broadcast and the land is then plowed, as
deeply on light prairie soils as four to six inches,
and then the oats are drilled in less deeply. But on
the whole, the first method is to be preferred when
it is the proper thing to plow the land in the fall for
the reasons, first, that the moisture is better con-
served; second, that the labor is less, and, third, that
the harrowing subsequently given by way of cultiva-
tion may be more thorough than when the oats are
planted less deeply. And here it may be mentioned

tI2 FORAGE CROPS.

a

that on firm soils where there is usually ample rain-
fall it is not necessary to sow peas so deeply.

When peas are sown to furnish food for swine,
the method is no way different from that of growing
them for the grain. Not less than two bushels of
the seed of the small varieties should be sown per
acre, and not more than three and one-half bushels
of the large varieties. All things considered, the
small varieties are to be preferred. The aim should
be to sow the peas with the drill, and as in sowing
them for sheep pasture, to bury them deeply. Of
course they can be broadcasted and plowed under,
but the same objections will apply as when peas are
sown thus to provide sheep pasture. Peas should
never be broadcasted and covered simply with the
harrow, except on sod land, the narrow furrow slices
of which are laid up as described in the preceding
section, or, in other words, as sod furrows are usu-
ally turned over by Ontario plowmen. But it may
be admissible sometimes to disk in peas on properly
prepared land. When covered with the harrow some
of the seed remains unburied, and if dry weather
should follow, the peas will suffer much more than if
they had been buried deeply. This one factor alone
may make the difference between success and failure.

Peas sown for the grain they will produce, for
sheep pasture and for swine forage, had better be
sown as early as the land can be worked nicely in the
spring. But for the two purposes last named, there
may be good reasons for sowing them later, and as
a rule the roller should follow the seed drill.

Cultivating.—The only cultivation required by
peas sown for sheep pasture or for swine forage 1s
a thorough harrowing. This should be given to

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. I1l3

them before the seed appears above ground. It is
not necessary that the harrow teeth shall go deeply
into the ground. It is better that they should not
do so, but the surface of the ground should be afl
stirred, even though the harrow should have to be
driven anglewise across the field after the first har-
rowing to accomplish the end sought. When the
surface of the soil is thus stirred, the weeds that
have sprouted are likely to die, and before they are
up again the peas are likely to be away ahead of
them. The stirring of the soil also enables it the
better to hold the moisture. But there may be rea-
sons where such harrowing cannot be done because
of an excess of moisture. So much the worse will
it be, then, for the pea crop.

Pasturing.—When peas and oats are pastured
by sheep, they may be turned in to graze them down
when they are from six to ten inches high. The
sheep should not be allowed to pasture on them,
for various reasons, when they are wet. If, when
the pasture is grazed down, the sheep are shut away
frem it, the grain will soon spring up again, and vig-
orously in moist weather, and will therefore furnish
pasture a second time, and even a third time under
some conditions. Peas and oats furnish an excel-
lent and a safe pasture for sheep and lambs. It is
excellent because of its marked palatability, because
of the amount which it furnishes, and because of its
timeliness. It comes in at a season when much milk
is wanted for the lambs, and much milk is sure to
be the outcome if the dams are grazed upon this pas-
ture when it is succulent. And it is safe because
no ill effects may be expected from pasturing the
sheep upon it.

8

114 FORAGE CROPS.

If the pasture should grow so fast that the
sheep could not properly utilize it, the residue could
be made into hay. But when so used, the sheep
should be removed from the pasture some time pre-
vious to cutting the crop for fodder. And when
the crop is pastured for a time and the second growth
is made into hay, it will furnish the finest of hay;
since the effect of the first pasturing is to cause the
grain to stool out more than it otherwise would. As
a result the hay will be finer. But there may be
instances in which the yield of the second growth
would be very light, as on heavy and poor soils in
a dry season. And it should not be forgotten that
if the oats are allowed to joint, or the peas to form
minature buds for blossoming before they are
grazed down, their power to grow subsequently will
be greatly lessened.

Peas are usually pastured by swine before they
are matured, or after they are matured. When pas-
tured before the peas are ripe, it is common to begin
when the seeds are about ready to cook, and to con-
tinue the grazing until the peas are ripe or until they
are all consumed. If the swine are turned in to
glean at the stage indicated, they eat also of
the green portions of the vine, hence the waste
of straw is much less if the gleaning can be all
done while the peas are not yet quite ripe. This
can be accomplished when the patch or field is not
too large.

Swine should not be turned into a field of peas
green or ripe and left there for a long period at the
first. There is danger that the green peas will
derange the digestion and that the ripe peas will
swell in the stomach so as to cause death through its

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. II5

undue distension. But after a time the swine may
forage upon them at will.

When foraging upon ripe peas the swine should
not have a larger area to feed upon than they can
consume within a reasonable time, otherwise the
peas may waste much, especially in showery weather.
The straw will, of course, be a total loss so far as
its food value may be concerned, and yet there are
areas where the lands are so cheap as to justify the
practice. The straw can be burned or plowed under.
In several of the Rocky mountain valleys, peas may
be grown as pasture for swine in conjunction with
alfalfa. The swine can be grown chiefly on alfalfa
and then finished on peas, and with great profit to
the grower. The swine gather the food for
themselves.

Autumn pasture may also be furnished for
swine when moisture is present, by deferring the
burning of the straw or plowing the field so pas-
tured. The shelled peas that have been trodden into
the ground by the feet of the swine will quickly grow
up and furnish excellent green pasture. But such
pasture should not be sought for on stiff clays, lest
the pasturing should lead to serious impaction of
the land.

THE COMMON VETCH.

The common vetch (Vicia sativa) has not been
extensively grown on our continent, even where the
adaptation for it is all that could be desired. So
little attention has been given to it that its merits as
a food for live stock are understood and appreciated
by only a very small percentage of those engaged
in agriculture.

116 FORAGE CROPS,

The vetch is of several species. But two of
these, however, would seem to have been grown to
any very great extent by the inhabitants of Anglo-
Saxon speaking countries. ‘These are the common
vetch and the sand vetch, and they are the only
kinds that will be included in the present discussion.
They will be considered separately, because of the
distinctive differences in their habits of growth and
also in general adaptability.

The common vetch includes the sub-varieties
known as winter and spring vetches, respectively.
These would seem to have sprung from one and the
same variety. The differences which now charac-
terize them have probably been brought about by the
different season at which they have been sown. The
former have best adaptation for climates where the
winters are mild. The latter, though best adapted
to climates with cool summer temperatures, will also
grow reasonably well in warm climates if sown early
enough in the season.

The common vetch bears no little resemblance
to the common pea in its habits of growth. But the
vetch is more slender, has more tendrils and leaves,
the leaves are more serrated, it bears its pods rather
in clusters than singly or in pairs, and it grows more
persistently when grazed or eaten off by live stock
at any time previous to maturity. The seed is also
smaller and is of a brown or black color. The flow-
ers are purple.

Vetches or tares, as they are sometimes called,
are much relished by live stock of all classes, and
there are but few kinds of food that are equally suit-
able for the animals of the farm. They are excel-
lent for milk production and their fattening proper-

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 117

ties are of a high order. ‘They have special adapta-
tion for being grown along with other grain to
produce soiling food, and they may be made to ren-
der excellent service in providing pasture for live
stock, especially sheep and swine. But when grown
for hay, for soiling food or for pasture, vetches
should be sown with some cereal grain to sustain
them, because of their trailing habit of growth.

Distribution.—The distribution of the common
vetch of the spring sub-variety is much the same as
that of the field pea. But since the vetch can endure
cold even better than the pea, the limit of its growth
for forage lies further north, and because of its abil-
ity to withstand cold, a crop of spring vetches can
be sown early enough in the Gulf states to be pas-
tured off or cut for soiling food in time to be fol-
lowed by some other crop.

The common spring vetch, notwithstanding its
ability to withstand cold, has but little ability to
endure extreme heat, hence in climates with hot
summer temperatures it would seem to have no
mission as a forage plant unless in the springtime.
It would be ill adapted, therefore, to localities with
severe winters and hot summers, such as are found
in the upper Mississippi basin and the river basins
tributary to the upper Mississippi. And since the
winter vetch would be ready for grazing much ear-
lier in states with mild winters, it would seem to be
wiser, therefore, in these latitudes to grow the winter
rather than the spring sub-variety.

Since the common spring vetch needs moist
weather as well as cool to perfect its growth, the
highest adaptation for this plant will probably be
found on the Pacific slopes of Oregon, Washington

118 FORAGE CROPS.

and British Columbia. Next in point of adaptation
should come the maritime provinces of Canada and
the New England states, and after these states and
provinces, Quebec, Ontario, New York and the
northern parts of Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and
North Dakota, also Manitoba. While spring vetches
can be grown further south, as stated, the hot
weather of summer is against them.

The highest adaptation for the winter vetch
will also be found probably in the Pacific coast states
which have been mentioned as possessed of highest
adaptation for the spring vetch. This is owing to
the mildness of the winters, linked with the mod-
erate and moist summer temperatures. Next to
these should come the Gulf states. How far north
the winter vetch will prosper has not yet been
determined.

Place in the Rotation.—The vetch being a legu-
minous plant should be grown as a land renovator.
The aim should be, therefore, to grow it on land that
had borne cereals. Like the pea, the vetch will grow
splendidly on overturned sod lands, but such lands
cannot usually be spared for it. The winter vetch
may be made to follow a crop that has been
harvested, because of the late season at which it is
sown. And in turn, when pastured off this vetch
may be followed by some catch crop, as rape, for
instance, or sorghum, according as the climate is
favorable to the growth of one or the other of these.
The vetch crop should, as a rule, be followed by
some cereal.

Soil—The common vetch, like the field pea,
flourishes best in a moist, clay loam soil of free work-
ing texture. While it will grow most satisfactorily

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 11g

in a rich soil, it will grow better relatively in a poor
soil than field peas. In nearly all respects it is a
more rugged plant than the pea. But very hot suns
and warm winds will blight the vetch quite as read-
ily as the pea.

Preparing the Soil—When preparing the soil
for vetches, the pulverization should be fine. For
spring sown vetches, deep fall plowing is to be pre-
ferred. For autumn sown vetches the nature of the
preparatory cultivation will depend somewhat on the
crop which they follow. The aim should be to have
the land clean, firm and moist. If the vetch follows
a hoed crop, as, for instance, early harvested pota-
toes, it will suffice to disk the ground deeply and to
smooth it with the harrow. If the crop follows a
cereal, the land should be plowed some time before
sowing the seed, especially in dry weather, and then
it ought to be rolled and harrowed with a view to
enabling it to gather and hold moisture.

Sowing the Seed.—The spring vetch should be
sown for forage as early as the ground is dry enough
to be worked without injury. The winter vetch
ought to be sown long enough before winter to
enable it to become firmly established that it may the
better withstand the rigors of the winter. But it
will not avail to sow it until there is enough of mois-
ture in the soil to sprout the seed. The seed may
be broadcasted, but is better sown with the grain
drill, either when sown alone or along with other
seed. It should be buried about as deeply as cereals.
When sown alone for pasture, four to six pecks of
seed per acre ought to be enough, but some authori-
ties recommend an amount considerably larger, on
the ground that when sown thus thickly the vetches

120 FORAGE CROPS.

will more effectively smother weeds. When sown
with a mixed crop, as winter rye or crimson clover,
the proportion of the vetch seed to be sown must
measurably be determined by the ability of the land
to grow one or the other of the crops named. The
more aggressive the crop on that particular soil the
less of it should be sown. Ordinarily, from one to
two pecks of the vetch seed should suffice to sow in
a mixed crop, whether of the spring or winter
variety. The spring vetch is frequently sown with
some cereal, as oats or barley, to provide pasture.
Cultivation.—The harrow is probably the only
implement that can benefit the vetch after it has
begun to grow. As with peas, many of the weeds
that would otherwise grow in the crop may be
destroyed by a judicious use of the harrow before
the vetches get above the surface of the ground.
But when such seeds as rape or crimson clover are
sown with the vetches, the harrowing if done at all
should be done with much discrimination, and with
crimson clover it would probably be better not to
harrow at all. But the sowing of plants that would
easily be injured by the harrowing could be deferred
until the vetches were ready to be harrowed.
Pasturing. — Vetches are more commonly
grazed off by sheep than by other classes of live
stock. They are ready to be pastured when several
inches high. If grown along with cereals, as oats,
the vetches, like the oats, will come again and
with equal vigor where the conditions are favorable
to the growth of the vetches. Care should be taken
not to pasture off autumn vetches too early nor too
closely, lest the winter weather should harm them.
The extent of such pasturing during the late autumn

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. IZ1

or early winter months that would be proper in each
locality cannot be stated here.

Observations.—1. But few plants grown have
been found more suitable than the common vetch in
providing soiling food. It would seem to be equally
adapted to horses, cows, sheep and swine.

2. The hay of the common vetch is at least as
nutritious as clover and it is relished even more, but
it is easily injured by rain while being cured.

3. The seed is not commonly fed to live stock,
but it furnishes an excellent food for them. The
seed crop is more precarious to grow than that of
many other farm crops.

4. It is very probable that the common vetch
can be utilized with much advantage in growing pas-
ture for swine in conjunction with clover, but this
does not seem to have been proved by actual test in
the United States. The seed of both should be
sown early, and it will probably be found necessary
to pasture the vetches so closely that they will not
at any time get beyond the hight of six inches.

THE SAND VETCH.

The sand vetch (Vicia villosa) has but recently
come into prominence in the United States. As yet
it has been tested in only a few localities, and in a
majority of instances only in an imperfect way.
Much caution, therefore, should be observed in dis-
cussing its merits, and also the various methods of
growing it, until these become better understood. In
both respects the author has but little to fall back
upon save his own limited experience.

The plants are naturally creeping in their habit

122 FORAGE CROPS.

of growth. When young, especially, the tendrils
hug the ground closely. They are tiny and spindling
at first, but after a time they grow with much vigor
(Fig. 16). On the cultivated plat grown at the
Minnesota University experiment station in 1897,
many of the plants produced each from eight to ten
runners, not a few of which reached the length of
eighteen to twenty feet. Each of the runners pro-
duced numerous tendrils, from, say, three to five feet
in length. These so intertwined that it was almost
impossible to pull away a single plant entire from
the surrounding mass. When well advanced in
growth the runners are tough and consequently hard
to pull asunder by the animals in eating them.
Distribution.—The sand vetch is very hardy
and is therefore adapted to a wide range of distri-
bution. It is pretty certain that it may be grown
in any part of the United States, although only in
some localities will it be found more profitable than
the common vetch. Where it cannot endure the
cold of winter it will not be so profitable as when
grown under conditions the opposite. It cannot be
so profitably grown, therefore, in the northern states
as in those further south. It has never yet survived
the winter at the Minnesota University experiment
station, although the uneaten forage produced by it
has been injured less by severe frosts prior to the
falling of the snow than the forage produced by any
other plant grown at the station. It will doubtless
equal the common winter vetch in hardihood, and
therefore can be grown in latitudes adapted to the
growth of the former. It should survive the win-
ters, speaking in a general way, in localities south of
the 4oth parallel of north latitude, and also in some

123

S PLANTS.

JMINOU

LEGL

“

= Rs a

Fig. 16. The Sand Vetch in Bloom.
— Minnesota

University

Experiment

Farm.

I24 .- FORAGE CROPS.

localities several degrees north of that line. In
Canada its cultivation is not likely to prove
profitable.

Place in the Rotation.—Since the sand vetch is
a legume, and since it would seem to be more suitable
in providing pasture than for any other use, it
should usually be grown between two crops of grain,
as when thus grown it has a cleaning and also a reno;
vating influence upon the land. ,

Soil—As the name would indicate, the sand
vetch has special adaptation for sandy soils. It
would seem to have a decided capacity to grow on
light sands too poor to produce good crops of the
common vetch, the cowpea or crimson clover. But
it will, of course, grow more vigorously on a better
class of soils. }

Preparing the Soil.—In preparing the soil for
the sand vetch the aim should be to secure a fine seed
bed. It is not usually difficult to-do so on light soils,
but such soils should also be firmed by running the
roller over them before sowing the seed. In some
of the southern states the seed of the sand vetch
may be sown on stubble land from which grain
crops have been removed and then covered with
the harrow.

Sowing the Seed.— Where the plants are
unable to endure the cold of winter, the seed can
only be sown in the spring. At the Minnesota Uni-
versity experiment station, results somewhat encour-
aging were obtained from sowing the seed along
with oats. One bushel of the vetch seed was used
per acre along with half that amount of oats. The
oats were cut for hay when nicely out in head. A
considerable proportion of the mixture consisted of

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. I25

vetches. While the oats were thus growing into a
crop, the vetch plants had become firmly established.
Although they did not make a vigorous growth until
after the oats were harvested, they then grew up
and covered the ground with a dense carpet of fine
foliage, which was pastured off by sheep just as the
winter was closing in. The late season at which
this plant can be pastured furnishes one reason why,
in some instances, it should be sown rather than rape.

The attempts made by the author to grow the
vetches for autumn pasture by sowing them along
with oats grown as a grain crop, and in the ordinary
way, were not altogether successful. The shade of
the oats appeared to be too dense for the vetches.
But the circumstances under which the trials were
made were so unfavorable that quite a different
result may possibly be obtained where the conditions
are more favorable.

Where the plants will survive the winter they
can be most profitably sown in the autumn and as
early as the arrival of the fall rains. It is then usual
to sow the seed along with winter oats or winter
rye. The latter is perhaps preferable, first, on
account of its greater hardihood, and, second,
because of its greater ability to grow on poor land.
The grain is sown with the vetch to furnish variety
in the pasture and to provide stems on which the
latter may climb, but when the crop is pastured, the
necessity of thus providing support for the vetches
would not seem to exist.

However, the grain may greatly assist the vetch
in checking weed growth. The vetch starts so
slowly that alone it would seem to have but little
chance of ascendancy in the contest with weeds. One

126 FORAGE CROPS.

bushel of the vetch seed and one-half bushel of the
nurse crop are usually sown per acre. But the pro-
portions in which to blend the seed that will be found
the most suitable for each locality can only be ascer-
tained by actual test.

Cultivation—When the sand vetch is sown
alone or with some other crop, it would not seem to
be necessary, usually, to give it any cultivation. But
in some instances a light harrow may be run over
the land with decided advantage just before the
plants appear, and later the weeder may sometimes
be thus used also. It may, however, be sown in
rows and cultivated. In the plot thus grown at the
Minnesota University experiment station, the rows
were thirty inches apart. A beautiful and dense
mass of foliage was secured which lay along upon
the ground to the depth of one to two feet. The
yield was at the rate of 15.11 tons of green food per
acre. But it will not pay to grow the sand vetch
thus, because of the labor involved in keeping the
land clear while the plants are young. The creep-
ing habit of the tendrils adds much to the labor of
cultivation.

Pasturing.—Unquestionably the sand vetch has
better adaptability for providing pasture than for
providing soiling food, fodder, or green manure.
Nevertheless, some experiments in the southern
states speak favorably of its adaptation to the pro-
duction of soiling food and also hay. When well
advanced in growth it is not easily harvested, because
of the length and intertwining character of the ten-
drils. And, for the same reason, it is not easily
buried with the plow. If pastured off by sheep
when not too far advanced it should readily grow

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 127

up again and again. Figure 17 represents sheep pas-
turing on sand vetches, October 30, 1897. The
mass of vine held aloft by the young man who
appears in the picture represents a single plant.
When the growth has become well advanced, sheep
do not care to eat the stronger and more woody por-
tion of the tendrils.

Observations.—1. Where the common winter
vetch can be grown successfully, it will probably be
found superior to the sand vetch in providing soiling
food and fodder, since it is more upright in its habit
of growth, is much more easily harvested and is less
tough in the stems.

2. When sowing sand vetches along with win-
ter rye or other winter crops, the plan of sowing the
combined crops at the same time would seem to be
a good one.

3. The sand vetch could possibly be utilized in
crowding out ferns that overshadow more useful
forms of growth in Washington and Oregon, by
simply scattering the seed and not grazing too
closely. And in the southern states it may yet be
made to serve a similar purpose with other forms
of weed life. ;

4. The seed of the sand vetch cannot be grown
successfully in any of the northern states of ‘the

Jnion east of the Rocky mountains. At the Min-
nesota experiment station only a few of the pods
matured seed.

THE COWPEA.

The cowpea (Dolichos Chinensis) is proving an
unmingled blessing to the agriculturists of the
United States, and more especially to those of them

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LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 129

who dwell in the southern half of the republic. It
is now being grown for table use, for forage, for
soiling food, and for winter fodder. But its great-
est value, probably, lies in its power, first, to grow
in worn and poor soils, and, second, in its power to
renovate them. This renovating power arises, first,
from the ability of this plant to gather nitrogen from
the air and to store it in the soil; second, from the
large amount of vegetable matter which it brings
to the soil in its roots and also in the vines when
plowed under ; and, third, from the beneficial effects
which it exerts upon the soil mechanically.

Formerly the cowpea was grown more as a fer-
tilizer than as a food plant; hence it was generally
considered good practice to plow under the entire
crop. But since it has been demonstrated that the
vines are even more valuable than the grain in fur-
nishing food for stock, and that much fertility is
stored up in the roots, the practice of using the vines
and the grain as food is becoming quite common.

The cowpea resembles the bean more closely
than the pea. In its habit of growth it is trailing,
recumbent, semi-recumbent or erect, according to
the variety and the favorable nature or otherwise of
the surroundings. It has great power to gather
food, even on poor soils, hence it can be grown on
soils too poor even for growing clover. This fact,
linked with its ability to withstand drouth, renders
it simply indispensable to the farmers of the southern
and southwestern states, and also to those of the
central states.

The cowpea will not grow satisfactorily in a
cold climate, hence, where the common field pea
flourishes the cowpea languishes, and where the com-

Q

T30 FORAGE CROPS.

mon field pea begins to show signs of trouble or dis-
tress, from the excessive heat, the cowpea begins to
flourish ; accordingly it would not be incorrect to say
that the southern isothermal for the common field
pea is the northern isothermal for the cowpea. Either
one of these plants, therefore, may be said to be the
complement of the other in the economy of our
agriculture.

The cowpea is of very many varieties. These
are nearly all the product of the present century,
and the number is continually increasing. They
differ very much in their habits of growth. These
differences are such as relate, first, to the strength
of the vine and the amount of foliage and fruit
which it bears; second, to the character of the
growth, as erect, trailing or intermediate; third, to
the size, shape and color of the leaves, blossoms,
pods and peas, respectively ; and, fourth, to the time
of maturing. These differences cannot be dwelt
upon here. Among the favorite varieties in the
south are the Unknown, sometimes called Wonder-
ful, the Clay and the Whippoorwill or Speckled.
Among the favorite varieties in northerly latitudes
are the Whippoorwill and the Black.

Distribution.—It has already been intimated
that the cowpea is a child of the sun, and that in con-
sequence it is not adapted to cool latitudes. In its
most perfect form it cannot at present be grown with
marked success east of the Mississippi and north of
forty degrees, that is to say, north of the cities of
Philadelphia, Columbus, Indianapolis and Spring-
field, in the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana
and Illinois, respectively. West of the Mississippi
the line would run across the states of Iowa,

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. I31

Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon, till it
reaches the Cascade mountains. It would then turn
south to the northern boundary of California, which
it would follow to the ocean. In some favored val-
leys this plant can be grown north of the line thus
drawn, and on many elevations south of that line it
cannot be successfully grown. But it will probably
be found that north of that line the common field pea
can better be made to serve any ends sought by
growing the cowpea, and vice versa. But beyond
all question the limit of the successful production
of the cowpea will be extended further to the north
in the near future. Providence is good, nature is
accommodating and man is wise. By a careful
choice of varieties, coupled with rigid selection of
the early maturing seeds from vigorous plants, it
will be found that the line of successful growth of
cowpeas will be pushed much further to the north,
as has been done in growing Indian corn. Within
the past three months and since the above was for-
warded for publication, cowpeas of the Early Black
variety have been grown for pasture and grazed
off by sheep with much success at the Minnesota
University experiment farm, as seen in Figure 18.
Place in the Rotation.—The cowpea being a
legume should be made to follow a crop that had
drawn heavily on the nitrogen in the soil, as, for
instance, a crop of grain or corn. And since it 1s
a soil renovator it ought to be followed by some such
crop as cotton, or corn, or sugar cane. And since
in the south, where there is a long season for growth,
the cowpea can be grown as a catch crop, it may be
made to follow such winter crops as rye, rape,
vetches or oats, and it may also be made to come

FORAGE CROPS.

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LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 133

after any garden or field crop that has been har-
vested early, as potatoes, for instance. When soils
are much worn a crop of cowpeas turned under after
rye will bring speedy renovation to the land. And
if the peas should be pastured off upon the land, the
soil would still be left almost as rich as though the
entire crop had been buried. Hence it is that the
growing of cowpeas for soil renovation and pas-
turing them off may go hand in hand. And since,
owing to the long season of open weather in the
south, two crops can oftentimes be grown in suc-
cession in one season for renovating the land, two
can also be grown in one season for pasture.

Soil—Cowpeas will grow better on a rich soil
than on a soil that is poor. But in soils that are
overrich, they will produce an excess of vine in pro-
portion to the fruit which they bear. Notwithstand-
ing, one of the grand properties of the cowpea arises
from its ability to grow in poor soils. It is a deep
and also a gross feeder; hence, when once started,
the plants will go down into the subsoil and gather
food to sustain growth in soils where various other
useful farm products would pine and die.

Though this plant will give a good account of
itself on poor soils even, it is much better able to do
so when some fertilizer, as superphosphate, for
instance, has first been applied to the land. The
cowpea, however, like the common pea, will give the
best returns from soils in which the clay element is
present in considerable quantities. And even on
stiff, red clays, the plants are able to make a strong
growth. But they are easily injured by a super-
abundance of moisture, even though confined to
the subsoil.

134 FORAGE CROPS.

Preparing the Soil.—Since cowpeas in the south
may be placed almost anywhere in the rotation, since
they may be sown as an intervening crop and as a
catch crop, and since they may be sown at almost
any time during the growing season when the ground
is moist enough to sprout them, the methods to be
adopted in preparing the land will of necessity vary.
It would unduly encroach on space to give in detail
the mode of preparing the land that would suit every
instance. But when so preparing it, the aim should
be to secure fine tilth, a firm seed bed and enough
moisture to start the crop. After a cultivated crop
which has been kept clean, such as a crop of potatoes,
it may be well in some instances simply to disk the
land without plowing it when preparing it for cow-
peas, especially when there is a scarcity of moisture.
And this method of preparing the land for peas to
be grown for pasture or to provide fertility after
a harvested crop on clean land, may also be the best,
but there may be exceptions.

On soils low in fertility it will usually pay to
apply some fertilizer. While farmyard manure is
admirably adapted to promoting the growth of the
vines, 1t can seldom be spared for this crop in the
south. Nor is it considered strictly economical to
use it thus, since the nitrogen content in the manure
is not absolutely needed by the pea crop. If nitro-
gen is used, it can be applied with advantage in the
form of nitrate of soda. The nitrate should be
sown broadcast a short time after the crop has
appeared above ground. Potash when used should,
as a rule, be sparingly applied, and on some soils,
especially such as are covered with oak or hickory
timber, it does not seem to be needed,

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 7 135

On the average southern soil, superphosphates
seem to be the great need of the cowpea crop. The
fertilizer would seem to increase the crop in propor-
tion as it is used, up to the extent of 400 pounds per
acre. Buta light application, as light as fifty pounds
per acre, will render much benefit to the same if
incorporated with the soil in proximity to the seed.
When the peas are planted in rows and cultivated,
the superphosphates should be thus applied, but when
they are broadcasted or sown with the grain drill,
all the tubes running, the fertilizer may also be
broadcasted and incorporated with the soil near the
surface while the peas are being sown.

Sowing.—The time for sowing cowpeas will
depend upon the climate and the purpose for which
the peas are sown. Evidently the period during
which they may be sown will, in some localities,
cover several months. But in no case should they
be sown before both soil and weather have become
warm, otherwise the seed will be almost certain to
rot in the soil. This peculiarity of the cowpea
stands much in the way of growing it successfully
in the north. The seed of this plant should seldom
be sown earlier than the late corn planting season.

Whether the seeds should be sown broadcast,
with the grain drill, using all the tubes, or only some
of them, will depend upon conditions. The aim
should be to avoid broadcasting them, since when
thus sown it is not easy to cover them with the har-
row so that the rain will not wash them out. But
the disk harrow, followed by the ordinary harrow,
could be made to provide a sufficient covering when
the seed is thus broadcasted. If sown for sheep
pasture, ordinarily the seed drill ought to be used,

136 FORAGE CROPS.

all the tubes working. Forage fine rather than
coarse will thus be secured. When sown to provide
pasture for cattle, in many instances only every other
drill tube is used. ‘The pasture is then stronger, but
it is also coarser than when sown with all the tubes
in use. If sown only for the grain or to provide
swine pasture, the rows are planted still wider, that
horse cultivation may be given them. It is mani-
fest, therefore, that the amount of seed required will
vary with the object sought when growing the peas.
While the amount of seed required should sel-
dom exceed one and one-half bushels per acre,
sometimes only a fractional part of that amount is
required.

The combinations with which cowpeas may be
grown as forage do not appear to be well ascertained
as yet, but there would seem to be no good reason
why they could not be grown along with corn, sor-
ghum, rape, vetches, and other forage plants. They
should have special adaptation for being grown
along with sorghum for sheep pasture.

Cultivation—Cowpeas may usually be har-
rowed with some advantage to the crop and to the
soil a short time before they appear above the sur-
face of the ground. But when sown by hand it may
be better to use some form of weeder, lest the peas
be too much disturbed by the process. Ordinarily
no other cultivation is given when the crop is grown
for pasture or for being plowed under, but in some
instances a weeder and even a light harrow may be
used with advantage after the crop has appeared.
When grown for the grain the horse cultivation
should be very similar to that given to a bean crop.
It should be sufficiently frequent to keep the ground

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 137

clean and moist until the peas have grown so far
that further cultivation would injure them.

Pasturing.—When cowpeas are pastured with
sheep, the pasturing may begin before the peas have
reached the blossoming stage, and when pastured
with cattle, about the time that they come into bloom.
But these statements are only intended to be gen-
eral. There may be reasons why, with both these
classes of live stock, pasturing may be commenced
earlier or later. But when swine are to pasture
upon the peas, the latter should be allowed to attain
full size before turning the swine upon them. The
least waste arises when the crop is pastured off
with sheep, and it may be mentioned here that cow-
peas usually spring up vigorously again when grazed
off. Especially is this true of them during the
earlier stages of growth.

Observations.—1. While cowpeas make excel-
lent forage when cured properly, they are difficult
to cure. They are, therefore, better adapted rela-
tively to providing forage than hay, and this fact
should not be overlooked by those who may engage
in growing them.

2. Cowpeas would doubtless be much more
extensively grown for hay or fodder and also for
the grain, but for the difficulty in harvesting them.
The “pea harvester,” such as is used in Canada in
harvesting field peas, should do this work admirably,
but it does not appear to have been introduced into
sections where cowpeas are grown. It is simply an
attachment to the field mower. This attachment is
inexpensive and yet very efficient. With a driver
and one man walking behind to remove the
bunches, cowpeas may be harvested nearly as

138 FORAGE CROPS.

quickly as hay, however much the vines may trail
along the ground.

THE SOY BEAN,

The soy bean (Glycine hispida) was probably
introduced into the United States from Japan more
than twenty years ago. Like cowpeas, it may be
grown for the grain, for soiling food, for ensilage,
for pasture and for green manuring. Its greatest
value, however, will probably be found in furnish-
ing soiling food for dairy cows, as it is in the proper
condition for being thus fed at that season of
the year when but few plants are available for
such a use;that is to say, during the latter part
of summer.

The soy bean, like the cowpea, is a hot weather
plant, but it would seem to be able to stand more
drouth than the former. It has much adaptation,
therefore, for localities that are both warm and dry.
When once well rooted, hot winds that would wilt
and wither many other forms of vegetation will not
seriously injure the soy bean.

Some authorities claim that the soy bean will
not succeed so well on poor soils as the cowpea.
Nevertheless, it can be successfully grown on soils
low in fertility, and may therefore, like the cowpea,
be turned to good account as a renovator of the soil.

Experience in pasturing the soy bean in the
United States has not been extensive. It is impos-
sible, therefore, at present to give its precise value
as a pasture plant under American conditions. But
since it is stiffer in the stem and more erect in its
habit of growth than the cowpea, and in conse-
quence is more easily broken off than the latter, it

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 139

should prove less valuable relatively in providing
pasture, especially for cattle and sheep.

This plant, like the cowpea, develops somewhat
slowly at first, especially in northerly latitudes, but
later it grows more rapidly. In appearance it
resembles a common bean, but the foliage is larger
and much more luxuriant, and the habit of growth
is more upright, as previously intimated. With all
the conditions favorable this plant in some of its
varieties will grow to the hight of at least four feet,
and it produces a large yield of green food. And
where the seasons are long enough, the plants lade
heavily with pods which mature a food for stock
that is exceedingly rich in protein.

Distribution.—The distribution of the soy bean
is not very different from that of the cowpea, at least
so far as concerns climatic conditions (see Page
130). But some of the early varieties, as the medium
or green, can be grown successfully further north
than the cowpea. The claim, however, that they
will flourish as far north as corn is not quite correct,
although good results have been obtained from
growing them at the Massachusetts experiment sta-
tion. Since the soy bean requires better land than
the cowpea, its distribution will be somewhat more
circumscribed, that is to say, it will be more sec-
tional within the general area where it may be grown
at its best. And since it will stand drouth better
than the cowpea, it has special adaptation for some
of the states west of the Mississippi and south of
Minnesota, as, for instance, the states of Kansas,
Nebraska, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

While the soy bean can be grown at its best in
all the states south of the Ohio and east of the Mis-

140 FORAGE CROPS.

sissippi, and while it is likely to prove worthy of an
important place in the agriculture of these states, it
is not likely that it will ever wholly supplant the
cowpea. But it may prove a great aid to the latter
in furnishing food and in renovating the soil. North
of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi the soy bean
can be grown with more or less success, even up to
the Canadian border. But within much of this area
it cannot be depended on to mature its seeds. For
this reason, and for the further reason that clover
grows well within the same area, it is likely that the
soy bean will not be looked upon as an jndispensable
crop within the limits of the area that is being con-
sidered. When clover fails, however, it may some-
times prove advantageous to sow soy beans to sup-
ply the lack.

In the states north of the Missouri and west of
the Mississippi, there is probably no place for the
soy bean in the economy of the farm, unless in the
triangle between those rivers at the juncture, which
includes a part of Minnesota, Iowa and South
Dakota. In the Rocky mountain valleys south
from Montana and Washington it may grow
well under irrigation, but the excellent crops of
alfalfa which grow in these valleys are likely to ren-
der its growth less necessary. In Canada the soy
bean is not likely ever to gain a permanent foothold,
unless its properties should become considerably
modified. |

Place in the Rotation.—The place in the rota-
tion for the soy bean is not far different from that
of the cowpea (see Page 131). It is generally
grown as a cleaning crop, and when so grown it
ought to be placed between two grain crops, if it is

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. _ I4I

practicable to grow it thus. Its province as a catch
crop is more circumscribed than that of the cowpea,
since in many of its varieties it takes longer to
mature. Nevertheless, there are many crops which
it may be made to follow the same season, as, for
instance, winter rye, winter wheat, grain forage
eaten down, or an early crop of potatoes.

Soil—A warm, rich vegetable soil with a
porous subsoil is best adapted to the growth of the
soy bean. The soils of the fertile prairie, therefore,
are a natural home for it. It will also grow admir-
ably in the russet volcanic ash soils of the country
west of the Rocky mountains. On poor, sandy soils
it will not make a large growth unless these are first
fertilized. A moderate amount of clay in the soil
is grateful to the soy bean, but an excess of clay in
the soil or subsoil hinders growth. Of course a soil
saturated with water during much of the period of
growth would be fatal to success.

Preparing the Soil—rThe preparation of the
soil for the soy bean is much the same as for the
cowpea (see Page 134). A reep, fine, firm and
moist seed bed should be sought. But this does not
necessarily imply that the plowing shall be deep
when done in the early summer and on the dry soils
of the prairie. When the soy bean is planted after
a grain crop which has just matured, a free use of
the harrow and roller should be made in a normal
- season to conserve moisture. When the soil needs
fertilizing, those fertilizers which are most needed
by the cowpea are also most needed by the soy bean,
and the mode of applying them is also similar (see
Page 134).

Sowing.—Soy beans are commonly sown on

142 FORAGE CROPS.

level land, but there may be some few instances when
raised drills would be superior. When sown for the
grain, for ensilage, for soiling food or for hay they
are put in with the grain drill. But they may also
be planted with a corn planter or a bean planter. It
is customary to make the rows about thirty inches
apart. If the crop were grown for pasture the
rows could be made considerably closer, under some
conditions, but not so close as to preclude cultiva-
tion, except such as may be given with the har-
row. There may be instances when it would be
advisable to broadcast a crop of soy beans. When
the rows are thirty inches apart, from two to four
pecks of seed will suffice per acre. If the rows were
placed closer, as for growing forage, more seed
ought to be used.

The soy bean and the cowpea should grow
fairly well together. The beans would furnish
some support to the peas. But further experiments
are required before it can be claimed that this method
of growing them has any decided advantage over
growing the beans separately. At no time should
the seed be sown earlier than the corn planting sea-
son, and north of the 4oth parallel of latitude it
ought to be planted later. But south of that line,
good crops have been grown, the seed of which was
not planted until July. In the north, early varieties
only should be sown, and even in the south very late
varieties ought not to be used.

Cultivation.—The cultivation suitable for the
soy bean is about the same as that which ought to be
given to the cowpea (see Page 136). A harrow
with the teeth aslant can be used with advantage
before the beans are up, and also in some instances

143

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS

Fig. 19. Sheep Pasturing on Soy Beans,
— Minnesota University Experiment Farm,

144 FORAGE CROPS.

at a later period. The cultivation should be prompt
and generous, more especially when the plants
are young.

Pasturing.—But little can be said as to the best
modes of pasturing off this crop in the present state
of our knowledge. It has not been much grown for
pasture, although some instances are on record
where it has been so grown. There would seem to
be no good reasons why it should not be pastured off
by sheep and swine and even by cattle, although
cattle would doubtless waste more or less through
treading upon the plants. At the Minnesota Univer-
sity experiment station, lambs fed off the pods and
leaves, but not the coarse stems. Cattle and sheep
unused to soy bean pasture might not take kindly to
it at first, but doubtless they would soon become
fond of it. A view of sheep pasturing on soy beans
is presented in Figure 19.

Observations.—1. For making hay, the soy
bean should be cut when the beans in the pod are
fully half grown, or before the lower leaves begin
to fall freely, and the aim should be to handle it but
little during the curing process, lest many of the
leaves should be lost.

2. The soy bean is an excellent soiling: plant,
since it produces a large yield of green food per
acre and very rich in quality.

3. When mixed with corn in the silo the qual-
ity of the ensilage is thereby considerably improved.

CHAPTER VIL
RAPE AND CABBAGE.

Several plants of the Brassica genus have been
grown as forage for many years in Great Britain
and other European countries, and so they will be,
doubtless, in the near future in the United States.
Only two of these, viz., rape and cabbage, will be
considered here, as these are the only two species of
this genus that have hitherto been grown for forage
on this continent. Some of the other plants of the
Brassica genus that may yet be introduced will be
considered in Chapter XI. Of these two plants,
rape is unquestionably the more important for for-
age, but the day is probably near when cabbage also
will be extensively grown, more especially to pro-
vide late pasture for sheep.

RAPE.

The rape plant(Brassica napus) is beyond all
question one of the most useful fodder plants that
has yet been introduced into the United States, and
so it is likely to continue through all time. In writ-
ing to the agricultural press in 1890, the author ven-
tured the opinion that the day would come when
10,000,000 sheep and lambs would be fattened every
year in the United States on rape. Why should
such a statement be looked upon as extravagant?
It would require only 1,000,000 acres of rape to
accomplish such an end.

fe) 145

146 FORAGE CROPS.

The rape plant has been grown for forage in
Great Britain and some other countries of Europe for
about 200 years. It is also probable that for many
years it has been grown for a similar use in limited
areas of the United States, but not to any great
extent until quite recently. Its superlative value asa
fodder plant for sheep is even now not known to one
among a thousand of our farmers. The isolated
few who grew it did so mainly as an aid in
preparing their sheep for competing at the live
stock fairs. Many of them did so in a sort of
secretive way. So long as their competitors did
not know its value, the growers of rape felt
that in the show rings they would have an advan-
tage over their rivals who were ignorant of the
virtues of the plant.

In Wellington and two or three of the other
counties of Ontario, rape has been grown in con-
siderable quantities for nearly a quarter of a cen-
tury, if not indeed for a longer period, but except
in these counties rape does not seem to have been
grown elsewhere in Canada prior to the experiments
conducted with it by the author at the Ontario gov-
ernment farm at Guelph. These experiments began
in 1889. The first bulletin based upon them
appeared in 1890. At that time it was affirmed by
leading seedsmen who were in a position to know
that there were not 500 pounds of rape seed sold per
annum to provide sheep pasture in all the United
States. The same authorities have expressed the
opinion that in 1897 not less than 500,000 pounds of
rape seed were sold by the seedsmen of the
same, that is to say, enough to sow 125,000 to
150,000 acres. It would now be hazardous to

RAPE AND CABBAGE. 147

try to fix any limits to extension in the growth
of this plant.

Rape will grow in one form or another in nearly
all parts of this continent. The season for sowing
it usually covers a period of about three months. In
some climates it covers a period considerably longer.
The farmer, therefore, can generally find some spot
on which to grow it without diminishing the area of
the other crops grown. It can be sown in a score
of different ways and under a score of different con-
ditions. When once started it will stand much
drouth and cold. If desired it may be so grown
that the cultivation given to it will be found pecul-
iarly helpful in cleaning the land (Fig. 20). It
furnishes one of the finest pastures for sheep and
swine that can be grown for them, and it makes
excellent soiling food for any class of live stock kept
upon the farm. It may be grown as a catch crop
and also asa green manure. It is indeed a veritable
jewel among the forage crops of this country, as in
addition to the good qualities just enumerated, its
food value, pound for pound, is about twice that of
green clover, and it will usually grow about twice as
much per acre.

The rape plant bears a close resemblance to the
rutabaga in the early stages of its growth. So close
is this resemblance that an expert cannot distinguish
between them. The former, however, becomes more
upright as it develops and produces much more of
top than the latter, but its root is fusiform and there-
fore of no value for food purposes. Its many prongs
and long rootlets penetrate the soil in all directions,
hence it is a gross feeder and draws heavily on the
soil, But since it is commonly pastured off by live

CROPS.

FORAGE

148

‘WIeA JUsUTTIEdXH AjISIOAIUQ, BJOSAUUTTY—
‘21njseq Ajsey 410} UMOS odey U0 dsoqS ‘OZ ‘314

RAPE AND CABBAGE. I49

stock where it has grown, the soil will not be
depleted of its fertility where rape has been thus
grown and pastured.

Rape is an annual. It is of several varieties.
Some of these mature their seeds the same year that
they are sown. Such are the varieties that are sown
to provide food for certain birds and also to furnish
oil. But sometimes the winter varieties are used
to furnish oil. The summer varieties are not of
much value for forage, since the proportion of leaf
growth upon them is small, the season for pasturing
them is brief, as the stems which shoot upward to
sustain the seed pods when formed soon become so
woody that live stock do not relish them. The
varieties that are really valuable for forage do not
mature seed the same year that they are sown, and
of these the Dwarf Essex is probably the best.
Indeed, it is about the only kind that has heretofore
been thought worthy of cultivation in this country.

Distribution.—The Dwarf Essex rape can be -
grown with more or less success in nearly all the
arable portions of the United States and Canada,
providing due attention is given to the requisite
variations as to the time and also as to the method of
sowing it in the various states and provinces. It is
what may be termed a cool weather plant, hence in
growing it the best results relatively may be looked
for in the states which extend northward to the
Canadian boundary. And in the tier of states that
lie immediately to the south of these border states,
fairly good crops may be grown. But the adapt-
ability of the republic to rape production would seem
to lessen with the increase in distance from the
northern boundary line, and yet there is perhaps no

I50 FORAGE CROPS.

state in the Union in which the rape plant cannot
be turned to good account in furnishing forage, pro-
viding it is grown at that season of the year when
the temperature is best adapted to its growth. Moist
and moderately cool climates are the most favorable
‘to the growth of rape, hence it does particularly
well in those portions of New England where the
soil is sufficiently rich to grow it, and also on the
final slope of the Pacific coast, in Oregon, Washing-
ton and British Columbia. All the arable portions
of Canada will grow rape in good form, but in none
of the provinces does it succeed better than in
Ontario.

The seed is all imported at present from Great
Britain and other European countries. It cannot
be grown with much success in the northern and
middle states, and in the provinces of Canada, east
of the Rocky mountains, owing to the coldness of
the winters. In some of the states that lie pretty
well to the southward and that are also favored with
a goodly supply of moisture, it may be demonstrated
that rape seed may be grown with success. And
on the Pacific slopes, more especially those which
border on Puget Sound, the indications all point
to singular adaptability for the production of the
seed of this plant (Fig. 21).

Place in the Rotation—When rape is sown in
drills and properly cultivated it becomes a cleaning
crop which may be made as effective as the best
managed bare fallow in cleaning the soil. If thus
grown it may be given any place in the rotation, but
on account of the beneficent influence on the crops
that follow, it may be well to sow it on land that
needs to be freed from superabundant weeds, When

RAPE

AND CABBAGE, I

Rape Grown for Seed.

——Whatcom County, Washington.

CaN

152 FORAGE CROPS.

sown broadcast it ought to be on rich and clean land,
otherwise the growth will not be sufficiently vigor-
ous, and the weeds may choke the rape. If sown as
a catch crop or as a green manure it may be made
to follow any kind of crop, as occasion may
require, even though weed seeds may be abundantly
present in the land, for the pasturing or the plowing
in of the crop, as the case may be, can be done suff-
ciently early to prevent the maturing of weed seeds
in the rape.

This plant may usually be broadcasted with
advantage on overturned sod. The abundance of
the vegetable matter furnished by the grass roots
promotes growth, and such lands are not so liable to
be filled with weed seeds or other germs of plant life,
as lands that have been cropped successively with
grain fora term of years. If rape is sown after win-
ter rye, or mixed grains or corn that has been eaten
off, two crops may thus be obtained in a single year
from the same piece of sod. Such cropping is favor-
able to the clearing of the land, howsoever the rape
may be grown. And the same is true when it fol-
lows cereal crops or clover that has been harvested
at maturity. It may also be grown with much
advantage on land that is being summer fallowed,
whether the rape crop is turned under or pastured
off. The aim should be to follow rape that has been
cultivated with some cereal crop, because of the
favorable condition in which it leaves the land for
growing these crops.

Soil—Rape is best adapted to what may be
termed deep, rich, moist and free working soils, well
stored with humus. It grows magnificently in muck
soils not unduly saturated with water during the

~ =

RAPE AND CABBAGE. 153

season of growth. On stiff clays, the seed is slow
of germination, and subsequent development on this
class of soils is also slow. On poor, sandy lands it
may start quickly, but the growth will not be vigor-
ous unless fertilizer in some suitable form has been
freely applied to them. When moisture is present,
good farmyard manure is particularly favorable to
the growth of rape. Nor would it be easy to sup-
ply the manure in excessive quantities. Commer-
cial fertilizers rich in phosphates have been found
valuable in stimulating the growth of this plant.
Preparing the Soil—In preparing the soil for
rape, much will depend upon its nature, upon the
character of the season, and upon the time of year
when the rape is sown. But, in any event, the aim
should be to have the seed bed fine, moist, and as
clean as it can be made under the conditions. When
the crop is sown early, moisture is usually present in
ample supply. If it is sown in the late spring or
during the summer the roller should follow close
upon the plowing to prevent the escape of moisture.
When the seed is sown early, or when the rape crop
follows just after the removal of another crop, but
little can be done by way of sprouting weed seeds
with a view to destroying them before sowing the
rape seed; but if it is not sown until the season is
advanced and on land not previously cropped the
same year, there is ample time to clean the land on
and near the surface before the rape is sown.
Sowing. — The time for sowing rape will
depend, first, on the object sought in growing it;
second, on the nature of the season; and, third, on
the character of the climate. Rape sown for pas-
ture will usually reach a maximum growth in from

154 FORAGE CROPS.

eight to twelve weeks from the time of sowing the
seed. To provide sheep pasture, rape is not com-
monly sown until after the season for planting corn,
as it is in the autumn that such pasture is most
wanted. But to provide swine pasture it ought to
be sown early, and also later at successive intervals.
In countries with moist autumns and mild winters,
it may be advantageous to sow the seed in the
autumn.

The method of sowing will depend upon such
conditions as the nature of the climate, the strength
of the soil, its cleanness or the opposite, whether the
seed is sown alone or along with another crop, and
on the nature of the machinery at hand for sowing
it. The more moist the climate, the stronger the
soil and the cleaner the land, the less the
hazard in broadcasting the seed. The drier the
climate, the poorer the soil, and the more foul the
land, the greater the necessity for sowing in drills
that cultivation may be given. When cleaning the
land is one of the objects sought in sowing rape, it
should always be sown in drills. If sown with
another crop it must usually be broadcasted. The
broadcasting is commonly done by hand, or by using
some form of hand seeder, but when the seed is put
in rows and sown on large areas, it is put into the
soil with the grain drill, or with a two-row
turnip drill.

The amount of seed required will also vary with
the conditions. When rape is broadcasted and
where it is the sole crop grown upon the land, from
three to five pounds of seed are required per acre.
If drilled in rows, from one to two pounds are used.
The stronger the soil and the more favorable the

RAPE AND CABBAGE. T55

conditions for growth, the less the quantity of the
seed required. When the seed is broadcasted, it is
commonly covered with one stroke of the harrow,
and may or may not be rolled subsequently with
advantage, according to conditions. If drilled in,
much benefit will result from following the seeder
with the roller, unless where the soils are so light
as to carry with the wind. In moist climates it will
be advantageous to sow in raised drills, otherwise
the rows should be on the level.

Rape may be sown with corn to provide pas-
ture, as described in Chapter II. It may also be
sown in the same just before the last cultivation
given to the corn, when the corn is “‘laid by”’ for the
season. When thus sown, an average of three
pounds of seed may be used per acre. It can be
most easily sown from the saddle. The seed is car-
ried in a sowing box in front of the rider and is held
in place by shoulder straps. The cultivation that
follows should be light. After the corn crop has
been removed, the rape is pastured. The value of
the pasture thus furnished will depend upon the
character of the soil and season, and on the lack of
denseness in the shade furnished by the corn. When
the late summer and autumn weather are both dry,
and when at the same time the shade of the corn is
dense, but little pasture will be provided. Under the
opposite conditions, however, and where the winter
closes in tardily, much pasture may be thus grown.

Rape may also be grown along with sorghum,
as described in Chapter III. And in many instances
it may be sown with much advantage along with
all the common cereals, as wheat, oats, barley and
rye, whether these are grown singly or in conjunc-

156 FORAGE CROPS.

tion, for the grain or to produce soiling food. When
thus sown, from one to two pounds of seed per acre
will suffice. There is not so much hazard in sowing
the lesser quantity named, since in a very dry season
no return may be realized. The largest return in
pasture is likely to be obtained from sowing the rape
seed along with barley, and the smallest from sow-
ing it with oats, because of the less dense shade fur-
nished by the former, and the more dense shade
furnished by the latter. With winter wheat or win-
ter rye, the seed may be sown in spring, as soon as
the ground is dry enough to sustain a span of horses
without taking injury from their treading upon it.
It should then be covered with the harrow. With
the other crops named it may be mixed with the
grain at short intervals while it is being sown. This
method of sowing the rape seed is best suited to the
loam soils of the prairie. On the average soils of
the northeastern states and of the eastern half of
the Dominion of Canada, it would bury the rape
seed too deeply.

A second and probably a better method of sow-
ing the rape seed with these crops would be to put
it into the seed box of the grass-seed-sowing attach-
ment of a grain drill, and to have it fall in front of
the tubes which sow the grain. On many soils this
would furnish a sufficient covering for the seed, but
not on all. The same amount of covering would
also be secured by sowing the seed by hand, or with
a hand sower before the drilling in of the grain.
Where more covering is desired the harrow will
furnish it.

When the rape seed is sown thus early, there is
some danger in moist seasons, and especially with a

RAPZ AND CABBAGE, 157

barley crop, that the rape will grow so vigorously in
the barley as to interfere with the harvesting of the
same. This seldom happens with any of the other
kinds of grain, and it does not happen very often
with the barley crop. But it may be prevented by
sowing the rape seed one or two weeks after the bar-
ley is sown. The objection to sowing it thus arises
from the fact that it is likely to go unharrowed. If,
however, the rape seed is sown just when the first
blades of barley begin to appear, a light harrow with
the teeth slanting backward may be used (but not
always), with decided advantage to the rape and also
to the barley.

In an average season and on good soils, no
easier method of sowing rape for pasture can be
adopted. But there is not the same certainty that
pasture will be obtained as when the rape is the sole
crop grown on the land. Sometimes an excellent
crop of fall pasture will result and at other times
there will be little or none. It would not be wise
to sow rape thus on hard or infertile land.

Cultivation.mWhen rape is sown broadcast, no
cultivation other than harrowing can be given to it.
It is a hardy plant, and if sown thickly enough to
allow for a small proportion of the plants being torn
out, it may be harrowed under some conditions with
positive advantage. But it is not usual to harrow
rape that has been broadcasted.

If rape is sown in drills, the cultivation should
begin as soon as the plants are easily traced in the
line of the row. The cultivator should run near the
plants, especially at first, but not so as to bury
any considerable number of them. Shallow but
thorough cultivation should follow at intervals, until

158 - FORAGE CROPS.

the leaves are not far distant as they reach out
toward the center of the space between the rows.

It is not common to thin the rape, because of
the amount of labor involved, although larger crops
would result if it were thinned. Unless the land is
quite foul with weeds that grow rapidly, the rape
will generally choke the weeds in the line of
the row. But large weeds should be struck out
with the hoe or topped back rather than have them
go to seed.

Pasturing.—Rape may be pastured off at vari-
ous stages of development, according to the object
sought. When eaten down before it has made a
maximum growth it will grow up again with more
or less vigor. The strength of the second growth
will be proportionate to the character of the soil as
to texture and richness, to the character of the sea-
son as to moisture or the opposite, and to the nature
of the pasturing. The richer and moister the soil,
the more moist the weather, and the earlier and less
close the depasturing, the stronger will be the second
growth of the rape. But depasturing should not
commence in any event until the rape has become
well established in the soil, that is to say, until it has
made a growth of several inches. And in pasturing
off rape with a view to getting a second or a third
growth, the animals which feed upon it are very
prone to crop it off so closely that the capacity of the
plant to grow again is weakened. This is particu-
larly true of sheep. Experiment has not told us
whether more food will be obtained from allowing
the rape to approach the maximum of development
before it is eaten down or from pasturing it off at
two or three successive intervals. But in the judg-

RAPE AND CABBAGE. 159

ment of the author the first system will furnish con-
siderably more food than the second.

Rape may be pastured off with horses, cattle,
sheep, swine and fowls. Horses and cattle waste
more through treading than the other classes of live
stock named. Cows in milk should not usually be
allowed to pasture on rape lest a taint be given to the
milk, but it may be cut and fed to them after each
period of milking. Neither cattle nor sheep should
be turned in upon rape when hungry, lest they eat
too much of it and so induce bloating, which, in a
very short time, may prove fatal. And when the
rape is wet from rain or dew, the tendency in the
rape to produce bloating is increased. And in cli-
mates where moisture abounds, the danger from
bloat is greater than when moisture is not plentiful.
The author has observed that in the country drained
by the Mississippi and its tributaries, the danger
from bloating in animals pasturing on rape is less
than from pasturing them on the same in New Eng-
land, eastern Canada and the further Pacific slope
north of California.

Cattle and sheep may be accustomed to rape by
turning them into a field of the same after they have
eaten freely of some other food and then leaving
them in the rape pasture. But the danger will be
still further decreased by allowing them to remain
en the rape only for a short time the first day, and
Ly gradually increasing the time during each suc-
ceeding day. In less time than a week they may be
allowed to remain on the rape, having access at will
at the same time to an adjoining grass pasture, for
reasons given further on. In thus accustoming a
large flock of sheep to a rape pasture, the aid of a

160 FORAGE CROPS.

saddle horse will be found serviceable, owing to the
difficulty of walking through a heavy crop of rape
on foot.

When animals that have never been pastured
upon rape are first turned in upon it, they may not-
take kindly to it, not having acquired a taste for the
rape, but if confined to it they will soon eat it raven-
ously. So fond do they become of it that ere long
when feeding upon a mixed pasture in which rape is
one of the factors, they will first search out the rape
and consume it in preference to almost all other kinds
of plants. And when once they have acquired a
taste for rape they never tire of it.

If live stock are pasturing on rape it is generally
considered beneficial to the animals to give them
access also to a grass pasture. And if the grass in
the latter has lost some of its succulence through age,
the benefit will be increased. The grass lessens the
tendency to “‘scours” in the animals, that is to say,
it lessens the tendency to a too lax condition of the
digestion. Grain, as oats, for instance, fed once
a day at the rate of, say, half a pound per head for
each animal, will have a similar effect upon the diges-
tion. But it is not usually considered necessary to
feed grain to live stock that are being pastured on
rape, for the sole object of hastening the fattening
process, as it is doubtful if any kind of grain can
be added to rape pasture in a mature stage of growth
that will cause the sheep to lay on fat much more
quickly than if they are pastured on rape alone.
Cattle and sheep should always have free access to
salt when pasturing upon rape, and when _ nec-
essary they should also be supplied daily with
water. But when sheep are pasturing upon suc-

RAPE AND CABBAGE. 161

culent rape in the autumn, they will drink little or
no water.

If sheep are turned in upon a rape pasture that
is neither very tall nor very dense, they will first con-
sume the leaves because of their greater succulence.
They will finally consume all the stems, eating them
off close to the ground. But if the rape should be
tall and thick they will feed it off clean, or virtually
so, as they pasture. The stems are considered even
better for laying on fat than the leaves. When the
leaves, but not the stems, of a rape pasture have been
eaten by sheep, if cattle are then turned into the same
to complete the depasturing, there will be much less
loss of rape by trampling than if the cattle had been
turned in at an earlier stage of the depasturing.

On soils that do not poach, that is to say, on
soils in which the hoofs of the sheep do not sink
beneath the surface, sheep may be pastured upon
rape with profit until the closing in of winter. And
it may yet turn out that in warm latitudes they can
be pastured on rape through the whole of the winter.
Oftentimes they may be pastured on it with profit
after the first snows have fallen. But in climates
with cold winters, rape should be eaten off before
the arrival of severe frosts. After the rape has
been frozen until the stems become so crisp that they
are easily broken asunder, the value of the rape pas-
ture is much impaired. And when the early frosts
cover the rape with rime, the sheep should not be
allowed upon the rape until after they have partaken
of a feed of oats or other suitable grain. In the
absence of such food they should not be given access
to the rape until the frost has lifted. or serious diges-
tive troubles may arise.

II

162 FORAGE CROPS.

Observations.—1. The rape crop is sometimes
said to be severe on land, that is to say, that it will
soon deplete the soil of its fertility. That will
depend on the use to which the rape is put. If pas-
tured off by live stock, as sheep, for instance, that
remain upon the field while they are depasturing the
crop, it is difficult to see how it can deplete the soil
of its fertility, since what has been produced is put
back upon the soil.

2. It should be remembered that clay lands are
unsuitable for being pastured in moist weather, even
by sheep, when they are carrying a crop of rape. If
they are thus pastured off when in the condition
stated, the land will be so impacted as to render sub-
sequent cultivation both difficult and costly.

3. The number of sheep that one acre will sus-
tain, and the period through which it will sustain
them, will, of course, depend upon the character of
the growth in the rape. But an average crop will
sustain from ten to fifteen animals per acre for sixty
days. At the end of the sixty days they should all
be in condition to “take the market,’ even though
lean in form when put upon the rape.

4. When sheep eat so excessively of rape or
of any other fodder plant as to induce bloating,
relief must be at once given or the animals will
almost certainly die. And they will die with great
suddenness. | When they are being pastured on
rape in large numbers, therefore, a trocar should
always be on hand. The moment that a case of
bloat is detected, the paunch should be tapped to
allow the gas to escape. This is done by striking
the trocar into the stomach on the left side and some-
what low down in the triangular fleshly space

RAPE AND CABBAGE. 163

between the last rib and the hip. Sheep die so
quickly from bloat that medicine given is seldom of
much value. But if animals dying or just dead from
bloat are at once bled, the meat is not injured as food.

CABBAGE.

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) has been grown to
some extent as a soiling food for sheep, both in
Europe and America, but so far as known to the
author it has not been grown to provide pasture
for sheep elsewhere than at the Minnesota Univer-
sity experiment farm. The experiments there con-
ducted were carried on under the direction of the
author, and they have been quite successful, in fact,
encouragingly so. No plant grown at the said farm
has furnished more valuable food for sheep to the
acre. The field thus opened for growing this plant
will prove surely a very wide one.

Although very similar to rape in its food con-
stituents, a crop of cabbage, when well matured, will
sustain less injury from frost, and consequently will
provide pasture later in the season. A second advan-
tage that cabbage has over rape as a pasture plant,
arises from the fact that there is even less hazard in
growing the former. It cannot be said that the cab-
bage has more of inherent vigor than rape, but the
mode of cultivation which it requires is almost cer-
tain to insure a crop even in the driest seasons.
There is certainly a wide future before this plant in
providing pasture for sheep.

Distribution.—Cabbage, like rape, can be suc-
cessfully grown in nearly all sections of the United
States and Canada. But, like rape and rutabagas,

164 FORAGE CROPS.

it can be grown more successfully in cool and
moist latitudes than in those that are warm and dry.
But cabbages can be successfully grown in warmer
latitudes than either of these crops. Wherever they
can be successfully grown for table use without too
great an expenditure of labor, they can also be suc-
cessfully grown to provide sheep pasture.

Place in the Rotation.—Cabbages may be suc-
cessfully grown for forage anywhere in the rotation,
but since they should receive cultivation while they
are growing, they should preferably be put on
ground that requires to be cleaned, and should ordi-
narily be followed by a crop of grain sown with
grass seeds.

Soil—The best soils for growing rape are also
the best for growing cabbage, and these have been
described previously when treating of rape. But it is
even more important that the land shall be rich when
growing a crop of cabbage on it than when growing
a crop of rape. Cabbage can also be successfully
grown on land that has too much clay in it to grow
rape well. It would not be wise, nevertheless, to
grow cabbage for forage on such land, as pasturing
off the crop late in autumn would tend very much
to impact the soil.

Preparing the Soil.—In preparing the soil for
cabbage, the ground should, as a rule, be plowed
deeply the autumn previous. But there may be
localities, as those with winters open and rainy,
where it would be better not to plow in the autumn.
If not rich naturally, it should be made so by turn-
ing under a free application of farmyard manure,
in a somewhat advanced stage of decay. Where the
soils are leechy, the manure should be spread over

RAPE AND CABBAGE. 165

the surface after the land has been plowed. Usually
it is not necessary to plow the land again in the
spring, but it ought to be deeply stirred with the cul-
tivator as early as the work can be done, and a suc-
cession of harrowings may also be in order. The
number of these will be somewhat dependent on the
time at which the seed is sown. The earlier the seed
is sown the less the opportunity that will be given
_for thus sprouting the weeds on and near the surface.

Sowing.—The time for sowing the seed will
depend, first, on the character of the climate; second,
on the variety of the cabbage; and, third, upon the
- season when the crop is to be depastured. Sowing
should be deferred until danger from frost is past.
If early pasture is wanted, then the seed of some
early or semi-early variety should be sown, and as
early as the sowing may be safely done, otherwise
some late variety should be chosen and the sowing
deferred until the soil has been well cleaned and
mellowed. About the corn planting season will be
found a very suitable time for planting cabbage seed
of the late varieties, and those varieties should be
chosen that have been found well adapted to the
locality.

When a limited area is to be sown, after the
ground has been thoroughly pulverized it should
then be rolled and the rows marked off with some
form of hand marker. They should vary in dis-
tance from thirty to thirty-six inches, according to
the variety of the cabbage and strength of the soil.
The seed may then be sown with a hand machine.
The roller should again be passed over the soil where
the wind is not liable to blow it away. When a
large area is to be sown the drills may be slightly

166 FORAGE CROPS.

raised by using a double mold-board plow and
marker, and the seed sown with a machine drawn
by a horse, and which sows, covers and rolls two
rows at a time. Or it may be sown on the level,
after the ground has been rolled, with a grain drill
capable of sowing properly so small a seed. There
are grain drills that will do such work nicely. When
they are driven with sufficient care the rows will be
straight enough to admit of easy cultivation. Of
course, the openings for seed in the drill must all be
closed, except those which are to be used in sowing
the cabbage seed.

The amount of seed required will vary with
the variety of the cabbage, with the strength of the
soil, and with its condition as to moisture. But, as
a rule, less than one pound per acre should not be
sown and more than two pounds will seldom
be needed.

It will generally be found cheaper to sow the
plants thus than to grow them elsewhere and then
transplant them into the rows. When they grow
too thickly they are quite as easily thinned as tur-
nips or rutabagas. The work of thinning can be
done even more quickly in the case of cabbage, as
they are to be thinned to a greater distance. In
some sections it would scarcely be ‘possible to grow
cabbage plants after this fashion, because of the
ravages of insects and because of the slow growth
that they would make when young on certain soils.
Where they cannot be grown thus, it is at least
questionable whether the attempt should be made
to grow cabbage as forage.

Cultivation.—As soon as the cabbage can be
distinctly traced in the line of the row, the cultiva-

RAPE AND CABBAGE,

Fig. 22. Sheep Pasturing on Cabbage.
—Minnesota University

Experiment Farm.

168 FORAGE CROPS.

tion should begin. It should come as near to the
young plants as possible without covering them.
And it should be frequently given and continued
until it cannot longer be done lest the leaves of the
cabbage be broken. The thinning of the plants
should begin when they are from three to four inches
high. The work is nearly all done with the hoe.
The individual doing it stands squarely in front of
the row, that is to say, he faces it, not standing too
near, and strikes out the plants which intervene
between those which are to be left. f course, the
strong plants are to be left, and to secure such an
end it may be necessary sometimes to vary a little
in the distance to which the plants are to be thinned.
The proper distance between the plants in the line
of the row will vary with the conditions, but the aim
should be to secure large heads in the cabbage, hence
they should be thinned accordingly. From twenty
to thirty inches between the plants in the line of the
row may be named as the two extremes of close and
wide thinning, respectively.

Pasturing.—Cabbage are best adapted to pro-
vide pastures for sheep. Although they are especially
adapted to furnishing autumn pasture, the season of
pasturing should not be too long deferred in localities
with cold winter climates, as, if the crop is not all
eaten before winter closes in, the part uneaten will
be lost. In sections with mild winter climates, the
pasturing may go on far into the winter season.
Figure 22 represents sheep pasturing on cabbage.

As the sheep are turned into a cabbage pasture,
the same care should be exercised as with rape, that
the change.of diet shall not be too suddenly made.
When used to the new diet, the sheep may be left

RAPE AND CABBAGE. - 169

on the cabbage all the time, or they may also be given
access to a grass pasture, as may be convenient. If
given time enough, the sheep will eat the entire crop
save the stalks.

Observations —1. Cabbage for sheep pasture
may be grown with special reason where the soil will
grow an abundance of rutabaga tops, but will not
produce good roots, and where severe early frosts
would injure rape.

2. This crop will produce a very large amount
of pasture high in nutrition.

CHAPTER VIII.
THE COMMON CEREALS.

Wheat, oats, rye and barley are included in the
term, common cereals. In the popular idea, peas
also are included, though not a cereal in the strictest
sense of the term. With the exception of rye, these
erains are seldom used singly in providing pasture.
But they are frequently grown in combination for
such a use. When thus grown, it is believed that
more pasture will be produced than could be obtained
by growing any one variety alone. This arises
mainly from a difference in the habit of the growth
of the plants of each variety, first, as to quickness
of growth, and, second, as to stooling properties.
For instance, if oats and barley are sown in com-
bination, the barley, because of its more rapid
erowth, will furnish the bulk of the pasture during
the earlier grazing period, while the oats will furnish
the bulk of the same during the later grazing
period. And the oats will stool more than the
barley. Good grazing may be furnished, there-
fore, for a longer period by growing the two
in combination than by growing either singly.
The variety thus afforded is also advantageous, on
the principle that variety in grass pastures is
advantageous.

Pastures from these grains will not be equally
serviceable in all parts of the United States. They
will be serviceable, first, in proportion as grasses

170

THE COMMON CEREALS. a

and clovers grow shyly or not at all in any locality;
second, in proportion to the success which attends
the growing of cereals for pasture; and, third, in
proportion to the lack of success which attends the
growing of plants of the sorghum family for pas-
ture. While pastures of more or less value may be
obtained from cereals in all parts of the United States
in which cereals can be grown with success, it will
follow, therefore, that they will render the best serv-
ice in states that lie in the upper half of the Missis-
sippi basin, and in the arable portions of Canada
which drain into Hudson Bay. Cereal pastures
will be less valuable relatively in the eastern, more
especially the New England, states, and in the prov-
inces of Canada which extend from Lake Huron to
the Atlantic. In these areas the rainfall is usually
abundant and well distributed. The soils are also
of heavier texture than in the west, and the protect-
ing snows are more abundant in winter, hence the
conditions are relatively more favorable to the
erowth of grass pastures than in the prairie states
and provinces. In the former, the cereals not only
grow more slowly, but more difficulty is experienced
in grazing them off, from liability to impaction of
the soil through the treading of the stock. Over all
the southern half of the United States the conditions
are more favorable, relatively, to growing pasture
from the saccharine and non-saccharine members of
the sorghum genus.

Pastures from cereals are usually obtained, first,
by sowing winter rye; and, second, by sowing the
“small” grains, as rye, wheat, oats and barley, in
various combinations. Under some _ conditions,
cereals may also be pastured, in some instances,

172 FORAGE CROPS.

for a time and with profit, by sheep, even when
they are to be harvested for the grain which
they produce.

WINTER RYE.

Of the cereals, rye (Secale cereale) is beyond
all question the most suitable for forage uses. It is
an annual, and, therefore, it is usually necessary to
sow it every year. But instances are on record in
which it has been pastured for a period considerably
longer than a year, by keeping it eaten off closely.
The various kinds of rye may be divided into two
classes, one of which is known as winter rye and the
other as spring or summer rye. The winter varie-
ties are much more valuable than the spring varieties
in providing pasture, since the former are frequently
grazed both autumn and spring, whereas the latter
furnish pasture for a short season only in the early
part of summer. ‘The great value of winter rye as
a forage plant is not as generally understood as it
ought to be, or much more of it would be sown to
grow forage.

Distribution.—Rye can be grown for pasture in
all, or nearly all, the tillable portions of the United
States. Where lands are irrigated, it may not
always be profitable to grow rye for pasture, but, of
course, on these it may be thus grown, and in great
perfection. As a forage crop it will probably be
more valuable relatively in those areas where grasses
and sorghums do not grow at their best, Hence, it
may be made to render peculiar service in providing
forage in all parts of the upper Mississippi basin,
and in the regions of Canada which drain into Hud-
son Bay. In some portions, however, of the

THE COMMON CEREALS. 173

Hudson Bay basin, the low temperatures of winter
will preclude the possibility of growing winter rye.
Although extremely hardy, even more so than any
of the clovers, there are low temperatures which it
cannot survive. Winter rye also renders yeoman
service in furnishing forage in latitudes with mild
temperatures, and more especially when the air in
these is moist and the rainfall sufficient. In such
areas the season for pasturing the rye is more con-
tinuous and prolonged than it can possibly be where
the winters are long and cold.

Place in the Rotation.—Rye for pasture may be
placed anywhere in the rotation. This is more par-
ticularly true of winter rye. But since it becomes
in a sense a “cleaning”? crop when another crop
immediately follows the depasturing, it will be
found good practice to sow it on land that requires
cleaning. As the period for pasturing in the spring
is of but short duration, there is ample time to
follow rye pasture with corn, potatoes, sorghum
in any of its varieties, field roots, millet, or rape.
Such a succession cannot but prove destructive
to weeds, and the only sections where it cannot
be adopted successfully are those in which the rain-
fall is so meager as to prohibit the growing of
these crops the same season, after the rye has
been eaten off.

Soil.—Winter rye may be successfully grown
for pasture on any soil possessed of the requisite
fertility and moisture. It has much power to gather
food in the soil, hence, even on poor soils, it will
make a fair growth when supplied with the needed
moisture. On the other hand, the vigor of the
growth will be proportionate to the richness of the

174 FORAGE CROPS.

land, and to the ease with which the rootlets of the
rye can gather food from it. Rye has peculiar
adaptation for sandy land, hence on such land it
may be grown for forage with a fair measure of
success, although too poor to grow other cereals in
good form. On stiff clay soils, the growth is slow.
A further objection to growing rye on such soils for
pasture arises from the fact that grazing it off in
wet weather so tends to impact the land as to render
subsequent cultivation difficult and more or less
unprofitable.

Preparing the Soil—When the moisture is
ample, the preparation of the soil for winter rye is a
simple process. ‘The land only needs to be plowed
and pulverized so as to produce a fine tilth, that is to
say, a fine condition of pulverization on the surface
and for some distance below it. Under these condi-
tions, the plowing of the land may be deferred until
the time approaches for sowing the rye, if it is more
convenient to have it thus, but where moisture is
deficient it would be necessary to plow the land
some time previously. When thus plowed, it should
be at once rolled with a heavy roller or packed with
a subsoil packer, as conditions might require. The
harrow should follow within a few days, and after
an interval one or more subsequent harrowings may
be necessary. Ground moisture sufficient to sprout
the rye can thus be arrested near the surface,
unless under conditions extremely adverse. In the
absence of enough moisture to sprout the rye, it
would be useless to sow it. Where a crop of peas
has just been removed from clean land, it is usually
not necessary to plow before sowing the rye.
Disking it once or twice will be found a sufh-

THE COMMON CEREALS. 175

cient preparation when followed by more or less
harrowing. The second disking should be made so
as to cross the first.

Sowing.—The best time to sow rye for pasture
will depend upon the amount of moisture in the soil,
the severity of the winters, and the extent of the
pasturing that is sought. No good can come from
sowing the rye on a soil with insufficient moisture
to produce germination. If there should be only
moisture enough to start germination and not
enough to sustain it, the young plants must perish.
In some instances, therefore, it may be necessary to
defer sowing for several weeks after the ground has
been made ready.

Where the winter climate is severe. the aim
should be to sow the rye sufficiently long before the
advent of winter to enable it to make a good growth
in the autumn. When the roots have a strong grip
on the soil, and when the “top growth” made is
sufficient to act as a mulch, the rye is enabled, espe-
cially in the absence of snow, to endure the rigors of
an open winter with much less injury than if the
plants entered the winter with but little of develop-
ment. Later sown winter rye ordinarily makes but
a feeble growth in the early spring, even though it
should not be seriously harmed by the cold of winter,
and it is in the early spring that rye pasture is espe-
cially valuable.

If pasturing the rye in the autumn is an impor-
tant consideration, then, of course, the rye must be
sown early, as early as August in the northern
states, somewhat later in the central, and still later
in the southern. In the northern states and in
Canada, the aim should be to sow rye for pasture not

176 FORAGE CROPS.

later than the middle of September, whether it is to
be eaten down or not inthe autumn. It may survive
though not sown until near the advent of winter, but
late sowing is not likely to produce an abundance of
pasture in the spring, although in some instances it
may produce a good crop of grain.

Rye should be sown thickly when it is to be
pastured. Not less than two and one-half bushels
of seed per acre should be used, and on some soils
three bushels will prove more satisfactory. The less
favorable the conditions, the greater should be the
amount of seed sown. It is more satisfactory to put
the seed in with the grain drill than by any other
method. The grain drill buries the seed toma
uniform depth, hence all of it is more likely
to grow. The roots are nearer the sources of
moisture, and since they are deeper than would
result from broadcast sowing, the plants suffer
less injury from adverse winter weather. The
depth to plant the seed will vary with the con-
ditions, but ordinarily from two to three inches
will suffice.

Cultivation.—Usually no further cultivation is
necessary after the rye has been sown, but in some
instances it may be harrowed with advantage in the
early spring. ‘The stirring thus given to the surface
of the ground tends to promote the growth of the
rye and to discourage the growth of weeds. In dry
regions it will also render good service in the extent
to which it will prevent the escape of ground mois-
ture. If grass seeds have been sown upon it, the
harrowing renders the “‘catch’’ of the seeds more
certain. But sowing grass seeds on rye that is to
be pastured is of doubtful advantage, owing to the

THE COMMON CEREALS. 177

early period at which the depasturing ought to begin.
There are some soils on which sowing grass seeds
may prove quite successful.

Pasturing.—Rye pasture is excellent for all
kinds of live stock. It is particularly helpful in pro-
ducing an abundant milk flow, before it reaches the
jointing stage. Live stock may be turned in upon
it in the autumn as soon as it has made a sufficient
growth to furnish a “good bite,”’ and likewise, also,
in the spring. Sheep may be put upon it earlier
than cattle, because of their greater ability to gather
food from short pastures. It should be kept so
closely grazed that it will not joint. As soon as it
joints to form the head, its power to produce much
pasture, and also good pasture, is gone. And when
not eaten until the jointing stage has been reached,
live stock will not then relish it because of the woody
character which it assumes. It should also be
remembered that when rye has been pastured for a
considerable period in the autumn, it is not likely to
produce so much pasture in the spring as it would
had it not been so pastured. Plants, like people,
exhaust their powers when they have done a certain
amount of work.

More food would be obtained by dividing the
rye into two or more sections and alternating the
grazing. But this may seldom be practicable because
of the labor and expense involved. When sheep are
being pastured on rye, if they are given some con-
centrated food at the same time, as, for instance, oil
cake or corn, both sheep and land will be much
improved. When cows in milk are being pastured
on rye, they should not be allowed to graze upon it
more than two or three hours per day, and only just

12

178 FORAGE CROPS.

after they have been milked, otherwise both milk and
butter will be affected adversely.

Observations.—1. Winter rye is not altogether
satisfactory as a pasture plant when sown in the
spring. It will make a good and rapid growth for
a time, but when the hot weather of summer comes,
it usually turns a sickly, rusty color, and in very dry
weather dies outright. This, at least, has been the
author’s experience in growing spring sown winter
rye, both in Ontario and Minnesota. Several other
cereal plants will furnish more and better pasture
when sown in the spring.

2. Winter rye is sometimes pastured with
swine from early spring until the crop has been har-
vested by the swine. When thus pastured the rye
is in excess of the immediate wants of the swine,
and consequently it forms ears that mature. In many
instances it may be well to remove the swine for a
time to prevent breaking it down unduly until the
grain is nearly matured. The grain is then consumed
by the swine. Much of it will, of course, shell out
and become more or less imbedded in the ground by
the trampling of the swine. In moist weather, it soon
springs up and in turn furnishes late summer pas-
ture. If clover has been sown on the rye in the
early spring, the pasture will be much improved in
consequence, when a good “‘catch” of the clover is
obtained. This method of furnishing food for
swine has met with some favor in Ohio and else-
where, but it does not seem to find much favor as
yet with the average farmer.

3. When rye is sown in the late summer with
a view to pasturing it in the autumn and also in the
spring, Dwarf Essex rape seed may be sown along

THE COMMON CEREALS. 179

with the rye, and generally with no little advantage.
From one to two pounds of rape seed should be sown
per acre, and, in some instances, a larger quantity.
The seed may be sown, first, by adding it to the rye
in the drill grain box at short intervals and mixing
it with the rye while the latter is being sown; second,
by the grass-seed-sowing attachment to the grain
drill, when it has one—the rape seed should fall
before rather than after the grain tubes, that a cov-
ering may thus be provided for the seed; third, by
some other form of seeder, or by hand, after the rye
has been sown. One stroke of the harrow should
then be given to cover the rape seed. Rape sown
with rye does not grow so vigorously as when it is
the sole occupant of the ground, but if sown five or
six weeks before the pasturing begins it will usually
add much to the value of a rye pasture, and more
especially when it is to be eaten down by sheep.
But the rape will not live through the winter, as the
rye does, except in mild latitudes.

4. The few trials that have been made in grow-
ing rye and crimson clover together have not proved
altogether satisfactory. Although these plants are
frequently sown at the same season, one is liable to
be weakened by the growth of the other. In locali-
ties quite favorable to the growth of crimson clover,
as, for instance, the state of Delaware, the clover
unduly shades the rye, and in places where the oppo-
site conditions prevail, the rye may unduly crowd
the clover. But when both are kept grazed off, the
author fails to see why these should not be grown
with much advantage together in providing pasture,
at least under some conditions.

5. Rye may be pastured for a time in the spring

180 FORAGE CROPS.

and still produce a good crop of matured grain the
same season. The pasturing tends to make the rye
stool more than it would without being pastured,
but if the grazing is continued too long, the plants
will be so weakened that the heads will be small,
and, consequently, the yield of the grain will be light.
The best time to remove the live stock cannot be
stated, conditions vary so much, but the drier the
weather, the “slower” the soil, and the poorer the
land, the earlier should the live stock be removed.

6. If the rye should joint and so get beyond the
power of the stock to feed it down, it should be
plowed under, and not later than the earing stage.
When thus buried, in a normal season, it will give
the land much increased power to hold moisture.

MIXED GRAINS.

Pastures from cereal grains grown in combina-
tion are not only more productive, relatively, in some
sections than grass pastures, but they can be grown
any season, hence they may be made to supplement
the latter in whole or in part when they may have
failed from any cause, or combination of causes.
They are especially serviceable in providing pasture
for sheep and swine, since they are injured less by
treading than if pastured with cattle and horses, but
on many of the western prairies they may be turned
to excellent account in providing pasture for either
cattle or horses. While these pastures are variously
formed, the following are the more common of the
mixtures sown, viz.: I, peas and oats; 2, barley and
oats; 3, wheat, barley and oats; and, 4, wheat, bar-
ley, oats and rye. The place given to these pastures

THE COMMON CEREALS. ISI

in the rotation, the soils suitable to their growth, the
mode of preparing the soils, of sowing the seed, and
of feeding them off, are essentially the same.

Distribution.—Although grain pastures may be
grown successfully in any part of the country in
which grain will grow successfully, they are espe-
cially adapted to prairie soils, for reasons already
given. The first of these mixtures is considered the
most suitable in providing pasture for sheep and
swine. Oats for seed may commonly be obtained
cheaply, and pea vines furnish palatable and nutri-
tious food. Peas would be much injured by the
treading of horses and cattle. The second mixture,
viz., barley and oats, is a favorite in providing pas-
ture for swine, more especially in those portions of
the northwestern states in which clover has not yet
been successfully grown. But it will answer equally
well in providing pasture for sheep, and in many
parts of the country it can be more cheaply produced,
since barley is cheaper, relatively, than peas. The
third and fourth of the mixtures are more commonly
sown to provide pasture for horses and cattle. Peas
are not included in them, because of the injury the
peas would receive from being trodden upon by the
broad hoofs, and because of the greater relative
dearness of the seed. In the upper Mississippi and
Hudson Bay basins, therefore, they will render the
best of service.

Place in the Rotation.—These pastures may be
given any place in the rotation that may be con-
venient. When grass seeds are not to be sown upon
them they may be grown upon land that is foul with
weeds, for the reason, first, that the grazing of the
pastures prevents the weeds from maturing their

182 FORAGE CROPS.

seeds, and, second, that the pasturing season is over
sufficiently early to admit of following with a
catch crop the same season, or of fallowing the land.
Soils thus managed would be much cleaner at the
close of the season than at its commencement. If,
however, grass seeds are to be sown on these pas-
tures, they should be grown only on clean land.

Soils—The most suitable soils for these pas-
tures are those ordinarily found on the northwestern
prairie, that is to say, loam soils rich in humus, with
enough sand in them to keep them free-working,
and, withal, resting on a subsoil of clay. Any soil
that has been found peculiarly adapted to the produc-
tion of heavy crops of grain will also grow good
cereal pastures. And these may also be grown with
much advantage on soils that produce straw too
abundant and too weak for first-class yields of grain,
since these pastures may be eaten down before the
grain is far enough advanced to lodge upon them.
In the northeastern states of the Union, and in the
eastern provinces of Canada, soils of free texture
should be given the preference in growing these
pastures. Infertile sands will not produce sufficient
growth. And stiff clays would be greatly injured
by eating down the pastures in a wet season. These
pastures require soils that admit of early sowing,
that will produce a quick growth, and that will
not take serious harm by grazing the pastures
when moist.

Preparing the Soil—As a rule, the ground
should be plowed in the fall, but to this there may
be some exceptions. It should be plowed in the fall
that the seed may be sown upon it early and for
other reasons. Whether autumn or spring plowing

THE COMMON CEREALS. 183

is preferable will depend upon conditions of soil and
climate. The best time for plowing land to produce
a good grain crop will also be the best time to plow
for cereal pastures, and this knowledge will be pos-
sessed by farmers in their respective localities. It
may be said, further, that the best preparation of the
soil for grain production will also be the best prepa-
ration for producing grain pasture.

Sowing.—The seed of each of these mixtures
should be sown as soon in the spring as the ground
is in a good condition to be worked. When thus
sown, more food will be produced in an average
season than if sown later.

{It is preferable to sow the seed with the grain
drill, as it is then buried more uniformly than if cov-
ered with the broadcast seeder or the harrow. The
drill is also more economical of seed, and it puts the
seed so far down that the young plants are not so
liable to be torn out by the harrow when the latter
is run over the ground subsequent to the sprouting
of the seed. When labor is not pressing, it may be
well to divide the seed into two equal lots and to
sow it with two casts of the drill. The second cast
should be made to run at a right angle across the
first. The seed should be buried at the depth that
has been found the most suitable for cereals as
ordinarily sown.

What is termed heavy seeding is preferred.
The amount of seed best suited to the different kinds
of soil will vary, hence it cannot be stated here, but,
as a rule, it will prove satisfactory to sow not less
than three bushels per acre of the combined grain
mixture, of whatever varieties it may be composed.

In determining the proportions of each variety

184 FORAGE CROPS.

of grain included in a mixture, no better general
rule can be adopted than to use by measure equal
parts of each. But in some instances it will be
advantageous to depart from this rule. In some
soils, for example, peas may grow much more vigor-
ously than in others, and a less proportion of the
peas would be required in these, and so of each of
the other grains. The pasture produced by some
cereals is better relished by certain kinds of live
stock than that produced by others, hence more,
relatively, of these should be sown.

Barley is more relished by swine than oats,
thus when these two are sown to provide swine
pasture, more of the barley should be used than of
the oats. Indeed, barley alone makes an excellent
swine pasture, but oats sown along with it prolongs
the term of pasturing. Again, the seed of some one
kind of grain may be so dear that it may be well to
omit it from the mixture. Wheat, for instance,
may be so much dearer than the other kinds of grain
that it would not be advisable to sow it with them.

Cultivation—Oftentimes further cultivation is
not needed after these mixtures have been sown, but
in instances not a few the harrow may be used with
some benefit to the pastures, and more especially
when a mixture of peas and oats has been sown.
A light harrow only should be used, and with the
teeth aslant, unless the surface soil has become
encrusted. Usually the best time to use the harrow
is just before the grain comes up. Harrowing helps
to keep the soil moist and free from weeds.

Pasturing.—The most suitable stage of growth
at which to begin the pasturing cannot be stated, as
it will vary with the character of the season, the

THE COMMON CEREALS. 185

extent of the pasture and other conditions. The
more vigorous the growth of the plants, and the
larger the area of the pasture in proportion to the
live stock that are to feed upon it, the earlier should
the pasturing begin. Ordinarily, it should be sev-
eral inches high before turning in the live stock upon
it. When it can be grazed so as to prevent the
plants from reaching the jointing stage, much more
pasture will be obtained than under conditions the
opposite, since it will then grow again.

Such pasture is excellent for all kinds of live
stock. There is no danger that the animals will be
injured by bloating when feeding upon it. But care
should always be taken to avoid making a sudden
change from all-grass pasture to all-grain pasture,
lest disturbance should arise in the digestion. Such
pasture is excellent in stimulating milk production,
hence lambs that are still nursing grow rapidly upon
it, and cows in milk produce abundantly.

Sheep and swine may be allowed to remain
upon grain pastures all the time, when the weather
is dry, and the same is also true of cattle and horses,
but it is not a good plan to keep the latter upon them
all the time, more especially when the growth is
somewhat advanced, as they injure it more by tread-
ing and lying down upon it than they would if
removed from the pasture when they had eaten a
sufficiency of it.

Observations.—1. It would be impossible to
state just when one or another of these mixtures
should be preferred under all conditions. However,
peas and oats or oats and barley have been found
very suitable in providing sheep pasture. Barley
alone or with a moderate addition of oats makes an

186 FORAGE CROPS.

excellent swine pasture. And the combination with
all the cereals in it is more frequently used in pro-
viding pasture for cattle and horses.

2. The aim should be to keep the stock away
from these pastures when wet with rain, or even
with heavy dew, and more especially when they are
rank and advanced in growth. At such times tread-
ing will soil and bruise them much more than when
they are dry.

3. If the pasture gets ahead of the live stock,
that is, if it becomes so abundant that much of it
cannot be consumed, it will serve an excellent pur-
pose if plowed under. But it ought to be thus
buried while yet succulent, else in sections deficient
in moisture it may not decay with sufficient rapidity.

4. If these pastures could be eaten down, as it
were, at successive stages, that is to say, by cropping
them down and then removing the live stock entirely
until considerable growth had again been made, more
pasture would be secured than can be obtained by
constant grazing. But to manage them thus is not
always practicable.

5. Winter rye may be sown with much pro-
priety immediately after the grazing of these pas-
tures has been completed, as it may then have a long
period of growth before the closing in of winter.

6. At the Minnesota University experiment
farm, the author has met with encouraging success
in sowing grass seeds at the same time that the
grains were sown. A good stand of grass has thus
been obtained during successive years from timothy
and clover sown with peas and oats and eaten down
by sheep. The treading of the sheep on average
prairie soils thus sown would seem to be helpful

THE COMMON CEREALS. 187

rather than harmful to the grass. And the same
would seem to be true of the treading of cattle,
though in a less degree.

PASTURING CEREALS WHEN YOUNG.

On the rich soils of the upper Mississippi basin,
cereals may oftentimes be pastured for a time by
sheep with positive advantage to the crop. This
has been demonstrated by individual farmers, but
not with that exactness that could be desired. The
sheep are allowed to feed upon the grain for a longer
or shorter period, and then they are removed and
the crop is left to mature.

Benefits Resulting.—The following are chief
among the benefits resulting from such depasturing :
I, the treading of the land by the hoofs of the
sheep tends to make it firmer, and because of this
increased firmness, the loss of moisture from sur-
face evaporation is materially lessened; 2, cropping
off the grain when it is young tends to make it stool
more, and consequently increases the number of the
heads of the grain; and, 3, the pasturing hinders that
excess of growth in the crop which it would other-
wise have on very rich lands in moist seasons, hence
the liability to lodge is lessened and the energies of
the plant are centered on producing grain rather
than exhausted in producing an excess of straw.

Mode of Pasturing.—The sheep may be put
upon the grain as soon as it is far enough advanced
to furnish them with food, or they may be allowed
to roam over it from an adjacent grass pasture from
the date of sowing. The duration of the pasturing
will depend chiefly on the character of the season.

188 FORAGE CROPS.

In a season of much growth, the sheep may feed
upon the pastures for a period considerably longer
than in a season opposite in character.

Good Judgment Requred.—Good judgment
must be used in thus pasturing off cereals. If the
pasturing is too long continued the grain will not
make sufficient growth. As the character of the
weather subsequent to the removal of the sheep can-
not be known beforehand, prudence would dictate
their removal at an early period. The pasturing of
cereals should probably not be attempted on land
where the danger of an excess of growth is not immi-
nent. Nor should sheep be used in thus pasturing
off cereals on clay lands when these are wet, however
strong the growth of the young cereals may be, as
the impaction of the land that would follow would
be more or less disastrous to the grain.

CHAPTER IX.
MILLET.

Millet in all its species and varieties may
be made to furnish food for live stock in the
form of grain or seed, fodder, soiling food or
- pasture. More commonly, however, it is grown
to provide fodder. For this purpose it is most
excellent, especially in the smaller and finer
growing varieties. But to furnish fodder at its
best, it should be cut as soon as fully headed
out, or very soon after reaching that stage, and it
must be cured with care. Under favorable condi-
tions, in some of its varieties, it produces enormous
yields. Of the small varieties, however, the average
yield may be placed at one to two tons per acre. If
the seeds are allowed to mature or to approach
maturity, the fodder rapidly becomes woody, hence
its value for food is much impaired. When fed ina
ripe condition, there is some hazard in feeding it
indiscriminately to certain kinds .of live stock, but
this would not seem to hold true of millet hay cut
at the stage indicated. It furnishes excellent soil-
ing food and at a season when it is much needed.

Heretofore, millet has not been much grown
to provide pasture, but in this respect also it has a
mission. Qn the bare fallow of the prairies it may
be grown as a pasture with much success. In addi-
tion to the food furnished, the land will be benefited
by the treading of animals while pasturing upon it.

189

190 FORAGE CROPS.

Nor would it always be necessary to replow the land
after the millet when preparing it for the crop
which would next be sown. And on any farm
where live stock are kept, it may sometimes be pas-
tured with advantage. But because of its value for
hay, and because of the ease with which it may be
cured and handled as hay, it is usually considered of
too much value to grow it as pasture. The pasture
is much relished by all kinds of farm animals, since
the leaf growth is abundant. But it is not equally
so in the different varieties.

There are many kinds of millet, and the dis-
tinctions which characterize them have not hereto-
fore been very clearly drawn. The following
classification, however, submitted by the department
of agrostology at Washington, D. C., would seem
to be incomparably the best that has yet been made.
It divides the cultivated millets into four groups,
viz: The Foxtail, the Barnyard, the Broomcorn and
the Pearl millets.

The first group includes the varieties derived
from the various species of the genus Chaetochloa
(Setaria). To this group belong the common mil-
let, the German, the Hungarian and the Golden
Wonder. Common millet, of which there would
seem to be several varieties, does not produce so
abundantly as the other members of this group.
The heads are small and likewise the seeds. Ger-
man millet, sometimes called “Golden,” from the
rich color of the heads, is characterized by a plentiful
production of leaves. The heads are thick and
heavy and are covered with short, fine hairs. They
have a plump and heavy appearance when fully
developed. Hungarian millet is sometimes called

MILLET. IQI

Hungarian “grass.” It has a long and slender head,
and the heads are of a darker shade than those of the
German variety. Golden Wonder millet produces
large and long heads. The panicle is somewhat
branched, that is to say, it is made up of many min-
iature heads attached to the central stem of the same.
This sort is well adapted to the production of
grain. Of the Foxtail group the German variety is
probably the best for pasture under average condi-
tions, because of the abundance of the leaves which
characterizes it.

The Barnyard millets include the varieties
derived from the common barnyard grass (Panicum
crus-galli) and such related species as P. colonum
and P. frumentaceum. The Japanese kinds belong
to this group. These are of much larger and coarser
growth than the Foxtail millets. The leaves are
very long, and as they approach maturity they
become pendent. The heads are very large and
produce an abundance of seed. The Japanese mil-
lets are adapted to the production of soiling food
rather than to the production of pasture, but under
some conditions they may be grown for the latter
purpose also.

The Broomcorn millets are derived from Pami-
cum miliaceum. They are so named, doubtless,
from the resemblance of the head or panicle to the
brush on broomcorn. The varieties are exceedingly
variable and are as yet not well understood in
America, hence it is not possible to classify them at
present with unerring accuracy. They are rela-
tively better adapted to produce seed than to provide
pasture. One variety of Broomcorn millet, now
grown somewhat extensively in the northwestern

192 FORAGE CROPS.

states, is frequently called “hog millet,” from the
extent to which the seed has been grown to provide
food for swine.

The Pearl millets include varieties belonging to
the various species of Pennisetum. One kind of
Pearl millet (Penicillaria spicata) is sometimes
called ‘‘cat-tail millet,” from the marked resemblance
of the panicle to the common cat-tail (Typha lati-
folia) of the swamps. — It is like corn in the tall and
upright habit of its growth. It is like teosinte in
its tendency to produce an abundance of leaves and
suckers, and it is like sorghum in its habit of bearing
seed on a head which grows on the upper extremity
of the stem. When planted on rich soil and culti-
vated, it will grow to the hight of eight to ten feet.
As many as ninty-five tons have been grown per
acre on very rich land from three cuttings in one
season. When cut off or eaten down it springs up
again quickly and with much vigor. It should,
therefore, be valuable as a pasture, as soiling food or
as fodder, providing it is found sufficiently pala-
table. If cut when approaching maturity, or
even after the head has appeared, it may be easily
cured, and in the same manner as corn. But it is
difficult to cure if cut before the heading-out stage.
Some authorities speak discouragingly of its value
as a food for live stock. The experience of the
author in growing it at the Minnesota University
experiment station will not permit the unqualified
acceptance of such a view.

Distribution.—Millet in one or the other of its
varieties may be grown so as to mature its seed in
nearly all parts of the United States and Canada
where the land is tilled. This wide distribution

MILLET. 193

arises from the short period required to enable the
crop to perfect its growth. Some of the smaller
varieties will mature in sixty to seventy-five days
from the date of sowing, under favorable conditions.

These conditions include a good soil, warm
weather and a sufficiency of moisture. In some
portions of Canada, as Manitoba and Assiniboia, for
instance, these varieties do not require a much
longer period to mature their growth than in states
far to the south. This is owing to the heat and to
the long hours of sunlight which characterize the
summer days in‘these northerly climes. But, since
some of the large varieties, as Pearl millet, for
instance, require about 150 days to mature seed,
these are not well adapted to being grown in the
northern states to provide winter fodder. Some of
the Japanese varieties, however, will perfect their
growth in the inland portions of the continent as
far north, at least, as the latitude of St. Paul. Since
millet cannot flourish where the mean summer tem-
peratures are low, it is somewhat lacking in adapta-
tion to the maritime provinces of Canada, as New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Nor has it special adaptation for the New England
states, although good crops of millet may be grown
in these. The mean summer temperatures of
Oregon, Washington and British Columbia between
the mountains and the sea are also rather low for
millet, and the same is true of the elevated Rocky
mountain valleys. In the lower of these, however,
it will flourish if given moisture. In what is
termed the dry belt west of the Mississippi river, in
some seasons millet may fail because of the lack of
moisture at the proper season for sowing the seed.

13

194 FORAGE CROPS.

The prairies of the Mississippi basin and its tribu-
taries have marked adaptation for the growth of
millet, and this adaptation would seem to be the
most complete in loose soils not very well adapted
to the growth of hay and some other grasses.

Place in the Rotation—Owing to the lateness
of the season at which millet is sown, it is frequently
erown as a “catch” crop, that is to say, as a crop
where that which previously occupied the land has
failed, or between two crops. It may thus be made
to come after winter wheat which has suffered so
much from the severity of the winter weather that
it is not worth while leaving it. It may come after
spring grain that has succumbed to such adverse
influences as frost, too much or too little moisture
or to the ravages of insect pests. And with much
appropriateness it may come after clover that has
been winterkilled, for then nitrogen, its favorite
food, is plentiful in the soil. But there is no place,
probably, where millet can be grown with more
appropriateness for pasture than when it is sown on
the bare fallow.

It is possessed of peculiar adaptation for being
thus grown on the loose soils of western prairies,
since these are usually improved rather than injured
by being trodden upon by live stock. When thus
grown it interferes with the growth of no other
crop. It may be eaten off at any stage of growth
desired, and without injury to the fallow in any
instance where a due regard is had to the conditions
while it is being grazed down.

Millet may be followed by any crop that it is
desirable to grow, but since it greedily preys upon
the fertility of the soil and absorbs much moisture

MILLET. 195

from the same, there may be seasons in which it
would be unwise to follow millet with winter wheat
or winter rye. But when the millet is pastured
rather than made into hay, the drain upon the fer-
tility and also upon the moisture in the soil is much
less than when the millet is grown for hay or
for seed.

Soils —The soils best adapted to millet are
those rich in humus. Such are the soils of swamps
and slough lands, basins or pockets surrounded by
higher land, the lesser and also the greater valleys
in°clay sections, and river bottoms in which sand is
not present in any considerable proportion. Many
of the soils of the prairie also abound in humus,
especially when they are first broken, hence their
high adaptation to the growth of millet. Muck
soils are excellent when not too wet or too dry. The
crop may oftentimes be grown successfully on these
while yet undrained, after the saturating waters of
the springtime have subsided. But on such lands
the danger is imminent, in climates of ample rainfall,
that the saturating waters may come again before
the crop has been utilized. Medium to good crops
of millet may be grown on clay soils amply supplied
with moisture, but usually the growth on these is
slow. Sandy soils are ill-adapted to its growth
when low in plant food, and the want of adaptation
in these soils increases with the increasing dryness
of the climate. But the gray soils of the Rocky
mountain valleys have much adaptation for millet.
It is not so much needed in these areas, however, ©
because of the wonderful adaptation of the soils for
growing alfalfa.

Preparing the Soil_—In preparing the soil on

196 FORAGE CROPS.

which millet is to be sown, the aim should be to have
it in fine tilth, clean and moist. With stiff clay soils
a fine seed bed is absolutely essential to the success-
ful growth of the crop. When millet is the only
crop grown on the land during the season, there is
ample time so to till the same that all the conditions
named above shall be secured before the period
arrives in which to sow the millet. They are secured
by stirring the surface betimes in the spring before
the seed is sown. This should not be neglected,
whether the land is plowed in the fall or in the early
spring, for when the land is thus harrowed at inter-
vals, weed seeds that lie near the surface will be
much reduced, to the great advantage of the crop.
But when millet is grown as a catch crop, the season
for preparing the soil is short, hence it may be nec-
essary to make a free use of the harrow and roller to
mellow sufficiently the upturned surface of the land.
When it is sown as a catch crop on a bare fallow,
there will be ample time to prepare the land in good
form. If the land cannot be plowed until dry
weather sets in, it ought to be rolled the same day
that it is plowed, to assist in retaining the moisture.
But when millet is sown as a catch crop, there are
instances when plowing would not be necessary.
Some form of cultivation would be sufficient.

It is not customary to manure land when pre-
paring it for millet, since it is seldom looked upon
as a leading crop. There are few crops, neverthe-
less, that will give a more liberal response to the
application of suitable manures. These are manures
rich in nitrogen and in an easily available form.
None are more suitable than farmyard manures
in a somewhat advanced stage of decay, and incor-

MILLET. 197

porated with the surface soil. But to get much
benefit from manures applied just previous to
the sowing of the crop, an ample supply: of mois-
ture is needed.

Sowing.—Since millet will not grow vigorously
while the weather is cool, nothing can be gained by
sowing it before the arrival of settled warm weather.
It should not be sown sooner than the usual season
for planting corn. But it may be sown considerably
later than that season when the conditions as to
moisture are favorable. Since some varieties of
millet will mature in two months or a little more
than that from the date of putting in the seed, the
sowing of millets may be continued until within
sixty to seventy-five days of the usual season for
early frosts. Millet in all its varieties is easily
injured by frost. When grown for pasture, even a
shorter period would suffice in which to grow it,
since it would of necessity be eaten down before the
plants had reached so advanced a stage of growth.
If sown sooner than the season mentioned, the plants
will start feebly, insomuch that no after conditions,
however favorable they may be, can enable them to
regain what they have lost in stamina. This has
been demonstrated again and again by the author
while growing millets. ,

The mode of sowing will vary with circum-
stances. More commonly the seed is now sown
broadcast, but in some instances it is sown with a
grain drill, all the tubes being in use. The latter
method buries the seed more uniformly, and there-
fore insures a more uniform germination when
moisture is deficient in the surface soil. Some kinds
of grain drills cannot be made to sow millet suff-

198 FORAGE CROPS.

ciently thin unless the seed has first been mixed with
some such substance as salt.

Some kinds of millet, as, for instance, the Jap-
anese, ought rather to be sown in drills or rows with
space enough between them to admit of horse culti-
vation. But when thus sown, the object sought is
to obtain fodder rather than pasture.

When Pearl millet 1s grown to provide soiling
food in the cured form, it should probably be sown
in drills (Fig. 23). At the Minnesota University
experiment station good results were obtained from
growing Pearl millet in rows thirty inches apart,
but more experimentation is needed with reference
to this question. In the south it may be necessary
to have a greater distance between the rows. When
sown for pasture it is also probable that Pearl millet
will prove more satisfactory if sown in rows and
cultivated. It may yet be found that good results
will arise from sowing it broadcast and somewhat
thinly to give the plants room to tiller. But it could
never be thus grown successfully unless on
clean land.

When sown broadcast to provide soiling food
or fodder, from two to four pecks of the seed per
acre of the small varieties should prove ample.
When sown to provide pasture, the amount of seed
used should not be less than four pecks. More seed
is required on worn land than on a new or rich soil,
since in the former it does not tiller so much.

When sown in rows for cultivation, a few
pounds of seed per acre will suffice. The amount
will vary with the distance between the rows and
the plants in the line of the row, but in no case is
the quantity large. At the Minnesota University

MILLET. 199

Fig. 23. Pearl [Millet Grown for Fodder.

——Minnesota University Experiment Farm.

200 FORAGE CROPS.

experiment station six pounds of seed were found
ample to sow one acre with Pearl millet when the
rows were thirty inches apart. The seed may be
sown with the ordinary press grain drill.

The covering given to millet seed ought to be
light. If the roller is run over the ground before
the seed is sown, it will be buried to a more uniform
depth, especially when it is sown broadcast. And
with soils that do not lift with the wind it will be
advantageous to use the roller again soon after the
seed is sown, when moisture is not present in suff-
cient quantity. Since millet is sown somewhat late
in the season, every care should be taken to conserve
ample moisture to give the crop a good start.

Cultivation—When millet has been sown
broadcast, it would not be possible to run even a
light harrow over the ground after the seed has
germinated without injuring some of the young
plants. And yet there may be conditions when the
ground is so filled with weed seeds near the surface
that harrowing the crop thus would result in an
increased yield of millet. The aim should be to
clean the soil as far as possible on the surface before
sowing the millet. But when the seed has been
buried with the drill it would be advantageous to
run a light harrow over the surface with the teeth
much aslant, just before the young plants have
appeared. The after cultivation suitable for millet
that has been thus planted is about the same as that
which would be suitable for corn (see Page 22).
But in the case of Pearl millet cut for soiling food
or even grazed down, the cultivation could be pro-
longed till toward the end of the season. Cultiva-
tion given just after the plants had been eaten down

MILLET. 201

and for some time subsequently, would enable them
to grow up again more quickly and more vigorously
than if such cultivation were not given.

Pasturing.—Any class of live stock may be
grazed upon millet. Sheep will injure it less
through treading than other animals. The stock
may be turned in upon it as soon as the plants are
sufficiently well rooted to retain their hold upon the
soil while it is being grazed. This period will vary

ewith variations in soils, but usually it will arrive
- some days before indications of jointing manifest
themselves in the plants. When sown on summer
fallows where green manure is an important consid-
eration, the millet may be allowed to reach a more
advanced stage of growth before live stock are
turned in upon it. The uneaten residue may be
plowed under to benefit the soil.

At the Minnesota University experiment sta-
tion, Pearl millet has been grazed down, at least to
some extent, by sheep. The results were not dis-
couraging. The sheep fed upon it without hesita-
tion, and when removed from the plot it sprang up
quickly again. But it should not be allowed to
become coarse and rank before turning in the sheep.
Where sorghum can be grown in good form, how-
ever, it is questionable whether, under any condi-
tions, it would be more advantageous to grow Pearl
millet for pasture.

CHAT TER.
ROOT CROPS.

Root crops can be said to be grown for forage
only when the animals which consume them are
allowed to feed upon them in the field where they
grew. They harvest them without the aid of man,
unless in so far as he regulates the freedom of access
which they are given to these crops. The variety
of root crops that may thus be harvested with profit
is limited. On this continent the chief of these
would be rutabagas, turnips and artichokes. Tur-
nips are grown to a much greater extent than ruta-
bagas and artichokes.

RUTABAGAS.

The term rutabaga (Brassica campestris)
would seem to be American, in its application, at
least, whatever may be said of its origin. In Britain
and Canada this field root is known as the Swedish
turnip. In Britain it has long been grown as for-
age for sheep, but it is also grown there even to a
greater extent for winter feeding. When grown
for forage it is allowed to mature before being
grazed off. The grazing takes place in the late
autumn and early winter months. In Canada it
cannot be thus grazed off, unless in British Colum-
bia, owing to the severity of the winter weather.
And the same is true of nearly all parts of the United

202

ROOT CROPS. 203

States that are well adapted to its growth. The
exceptions are along the coast line of Washington
and Oregon. In the United States and Canada,
therefore, the rutabaga when grown is chiefly stored
in cellars and pits and fed to the live stock in winter.
It makes a grand winter food for all kinds of
live stock.

While the rutabaga can only be grazed off after
the English method on the Pacific slope, or in cer-
tain of the mountain valleys of the south and south-
west, it can also be grown as pasture for sheep in
many sections of the country by broadcasting it on
certain soils and grazing it off before the season of
hard frost. When thus grown it is usually on new
lands, frequently spoken of as “breaking.’’ This
method of growing rutabagas is not likely to become
very prevalent in this country.

Distribution.—The rutabaga as a winter food
for live stock has a wide range of adaptation. Like
rape this plant is found at its best where the weather
is moist and cool. But good crops can be grown in
some of the western mountain valleys in which it
cannot be said of the air that it is really moist.
Western Oregon and Washington, near the sea,
British Columbia and Ontario have special adapta-
’ tion for rutabagas. In all the provinces of Canada
east from Assiniboia they may be successfully
grown, and also in all the states that border upon
Canada, but not equally well in all parts of these.
Rutabagas may also be grown further south, but
not with the same success, unless in places with a
sufficiently high altitude.

Place in the Rotation—The rutabaga crop
should always be made a cleaning crop, save when

204 FORAGE CROPS,

the seed is sown broadcast. It may, therefore, with
much propriety come after a succession of grain
crops when the land has become weedy through
growing these crops upon it thus, as it assuredly
will become in time. Turnips will grow nicely in
overturned sod lands when the sod is not too fresh
and dense, but such lands are usually wanted for
cereals because of their clean condition. <A grain
crop should follow the rutabaga crop, and because
of the clean condition of the land, it would be well
to sow grass seeds or clover seeds, or both, with
the grain.

Soiu.—Rutabagas are partial to a deep, moist
loam soil, with enough of sand in it to keep it friable.
Clay lands, light sands and muck soils are ill-adapted
to growing rutabagas. In the first, they start shyly
and grow slowly, and the soil is also hard to till. In
the second, there is not enough food or moisture to
sustain a good growth, unless much fertilizer with
the proper elements in it should first be applied, and
in the third, the rutabagas make too much growth
of neck and top and too little growth of bulb-like
root. In some instances, but not always. gravelly
soils grow good crops. The gray deposit soils of
the higher Rocky mountain valleys also produce
good crops of rutabagas.

Preparing the Soil.—The same preparation of
soil is wanted for a crop of rutabagas to be grown
for forage as for a crop to be stored for winter feed-
ing. Ordinarily the ground should be plowed
deeply and in the autumn. On retentive soils the
farmyard manure should then be applied and also
plowed under. But in leechy soils the results will
be more satisfactory if the manure can be spread on

s
ROOT CROPS. 205

the land, plowed or unplowed in the autumn, winter
or quite early spring. Decayed manure is preferred,
but when moisture can be relied on, manure in the
fresh form will answer very well.

While various commercial fertilizers have been
applied in growing rutabagas, none has been so
applied that has given more satisfaction than ani-
mal superphosphate. Sometimes it is strewn over the
land just previous to the ridging of the land for the
crop, and sometimes it is drilled in with the seed.
Whether the land should be plowed again in the
spring, or simply disked, or otherwise cultivated, will
depend upon conditions. If fresh manure has been
strewn over the land, the plow will have to be used
to bury it. When moisture can be relied on, there
need be no hesitancy in plowing the land in the
spring, even though plowed previously in the fall.
But with a doubtful supply of moisture spring plow-
ing should be avoided. In any event, the harrow
cannot be used too freely in preparing the land. It
is important that soil on which rutabagas are to be
sown should be of fine tilth, moist and firm.

New land on which a crop of rutabagas is to be
broadcasted should. not be deeply plowed, as the
plants will then be able to feed more readily in the
decayed vegetable matter. It cannot usually be
plowed too early in the spring, nor can it be made
too fine by the use of the harrow and roller.

Sowing.—Rutabagas are more commonly sown
in raised drills, although it may sometimes be pref-
erable to sow them on the level, as, for instance,
when the land is liable to be short of moisture dur-
ing the growing season. The cultivation is more
easily done when the drills are raised, but if raised

206 FORAGE CROPS.

high the plants are more liable to be injured by dry
weather. The raised drills can best be made with
a double mold-board plow and marker attached.
They may also be made with a single mold-
board plow, but they can only be made thus
at a serious loss of time as compared with the
other system of making them. The distance
between the rows varies, say, from twenty-four
inches to thirty-six inches, but the average distance
is about twenty-six inches.

The seed may be sown with a hand drill such
as is used in a garden, when only a small quantity
is to be sown, but when a large area is to be sown
a drill made for the purpose of sowing field seeds is
commonly used. It 1s drawn with one horse, sows
two rows of seed at a time, and a roller attached
firms the earth over the seed. But when the
weather is dry and the soil is not liable to blow, it
will be advantageous to use the heavy field roller
after the seed has been sown.

From two to four pounds of seed are sown per
acre, according to the more or less favorable condi-
tions of soil and weather. The time for sowing
will, of course, vary much with the locality. The
further north, as a rule, the later should the sowing
be, but the last half of May and the first half of June
will pretty well cover the best season for sowing
rutabagas.

When the seed is broadcasted, it is sown about
the season already mentioned, but on new lands the
crop will sometimes be abundant when sown later.
It may be sown by hand or by the aid of a hand
broadcasting machine, and at the rate of, say, three
to four pounds of the seed per acre. A light har-

ROOT CROPS. 207

row sometimes, but not always, followed by a roller,
may be used in covering the seed.

Cultivation—When rutabagas are sown in
drills, the horse cultivation should begin as soon as
the young plants can be distinctly traced in the line
of the row. The cultivation ought to be deeper at
first than later, and close to the rows, but not so
close as to disturb the young plants. If, at the same
time, the undisturbed portion of the soil is disturbed

ewith the hoe, but without cutting out any of the
plants, the weeds can never again become so trouble-
some along the line of the row. The cultivation
given should be frequent, and it ought to be con-
tinued as long as it can be done without breaking
off any considerable proportion of the leaves of
the rutabagas.

When the plants have produced four or five
leaves, or when they are three to four inches high,
the thinning should be done and with much dispatch.
The workman stands facing the row, and with a
forward and backward movement of the hoe strikes
out the plants that are to be removed. The distance
between the plants may be varied from six to twelve
inches, but it is not common to thin the plants to a
greater distance than, say, nine to ten inches.

_ And they shou'd be gone over a second time with
the hand hoe, to perfect the thinning and also the
destruction of the weeds. When rutabagas are
broadcasted they are not given any cultivation.
Pasturing.—Rutabagas are more commonly
grazed off by sheep. When the crop has been grown
in drills the sheep are usually inclosed in hurdles,
and these are moved from time to time, as required.
The object of the hurdling is, first, to secure the

208 FORAGE CROPS.

eating of the crop with measurable cleanness, and,
second, to secure an even fertilization of the land.
Sometimes additional food is given to the sheep
when they are thus being grazed, as, for instance,
oil cake. Such food aids in fattening the sheep
more quickly and also in fertilizing the land.

Sheep may thus be grazed also on the broad-
casted rutabagas when the growth is sufficiently
pronounced to justify such a course. Otherwise it
may prove a better way to allow them to have the
freedom of the whole field when they are graz-
ing it off.

TURNIPS.

The turnip (Brassica rapa) is of many varie-
ties. They are sometimes called fall turnips,
because they are more commonly fed in the
autumn, whereas the Swedish varieties are more
commonly fed at a later period. They are charac-
terized by differences in the size, shape and color of
the bulb, and by the habit of growth in the top.
Compared with rutabagas they are flatter in shape,
they grow more quickly and more above the ground
and are less firm in flesh, hence they cannot be kept
so long when harvested. They are more frequently
grown to provide forage than rutabagas, because of
their quick growing properties, and because it would
not be so remunerative to harvest a crop that keeps
but for a short time. Sometimes they are raised
for forage by sowing the seed in drills and cultivat-
ing the plants, but more frequently they are sown
for this purpose in the grain fields. They furnish
forage for all farm animals, but are best adapted to
sheep and swine.

ROOT CROPS. 209

Distribution.—The distribution of fall turnips
is much the same as that of rutabagas (see Page
203). Bui fall turnips may be grown further south
than the former, especially when grown late in
the season.

Place in the Rotation.—The place of fall tur-
nips in the rotation is essentially the same as that of
rutabagas, when they are grown in drills and culti-
vated (see Page 203). Since they may be sown
later in the season, where the climate is suitable,
they may not infrequently be raised as a “catch
crop,’ and after various crops, as, for instance, har-
vested hay, grain or early potatoes, but never in the
absence of moisture.

Soiw.—The soil for fall turnips is about the
same as that which will be found adapted to ruta-
bagas (see Page 204). The former will grow bet-
ter, relatively, in what may be termed humus soils,
hence they grow better than es in the black
loam soils of the prairie.

Preparing the Soil—The soil is usually pre-
pared for fall turnips in the same way as for ruta-
bagas, when the crop is given cultivation (see Page
204). But when it is thus grown as a catch crop,
much attention should be given to the retention of
moisture in the soil. When sown in a grain crop
the preparation of the soil will be the same, of
course, as that given to it in preparing it for
the grain.

Sowing.—When fall turnips are sown with a
view to feeding them as soiling food in the early
autumn, or to harvesting the crop for autumn feed-
ing, the directions given for sowing rutabagas will
equally apply to the fall varieties (see Page 205).

14

210 FORAGE CROPS.

To provide forage they are commonly sown with a
winter grain crop, as wheat or rye, or with a spring
grain crop, as wheat, oats or barley. But they
should not ordinarily be sown with a grain crop that
has also been sown with grass seeds, for the pastur-
ing in the autumn would very probably prove hurt-
ful to the young grass. With a winter crop they
should be sown early, so that it will not too much
shade the plants while they are young and tender.
With a spring crop they should usually be sown at
the same time as the grain, but may be sown later.

From one to two pounds of seed will usually
prove sufficient to sow per acre. On winter grain
crops the seed will have to be broadcasted. It should
then be covered with a harrow. The harrowing
will also be helpful to the grain when it is judiciously
done. On spring grain it may be sown with the
grass-seeder attachment of the grain drill when it
has one, and except on stiff soils the seed should fall
before the drill tubes. When the seed is thus
dropped before the drill tubes it will be sufficiently
covered. When it is sown just after the grain it
will, in nearly all instances, be necessary to cover it
with the harrow, except on lumpy or cloddy soils.
On these the roller ought to be used rather than
the harrow.

If the seed should be sown just when the blades
of the grain begin to appear, a light harrowing at
that time will not only cover the seed, but it will be
helpful to the grain, that is to say, when the soil is
not too wet to be harrowed.

Of the various kinds of spring grain, barley
makes the best nurse crop for turnips, because of the
less dense growth which it produces, and because

ROOT CROPS. 211

of its early removal. Oats is the most unsuitable as
a nurse crop for reasons just the opposite.

The value of the turnip crop for forage will
depend much on the character of the season and
soil. In any case, the turnips are not likely to grow
so as to hinder growth in the grain crop. But
under favorable conditions they will come on after
the crop is harvested and will produce an excellent
growth of top and root. In very dry seasons they
may not give any return, but in turnip growing sec-
tions it is seldom, indeed, that the crop will not be
found worth more than the seed and the cost of
sowing it.

Pasturing.—The sheep or other live stock that
are to be pastured on the turnips may be allowed
freedom of access to the pastures after the first two
or three days. And if they can have access to other
grass pasture, the outcome will be still further satis-
factory, for the danger of an unduly lax condition
of the bowels is less likely to occur. ‘The pasturing
should be completed before the weather becomes
really cold, for turnips freeze much more easily than
rutabagas, and when hard frozen they should not be
eaten by the stock.

Observations.—1. When rape and fall turnips
are thus grown together, the combination is an
excellent one for sheep. The seed of each may be
sown in equal quantities.

2. When fall turnips are thus sown with grain,
the plowing of the land must usually be deferred
until late in the season, and this is so far an objec-
tion to the system.

3. When the turnips grow to a large size, as
they sometimes do, the largest are harvested and

212 FORAGE CROPS.

stored away for late feeding before the graz-
ing begins.
ARTICHOKES.

But few plants have been grown upon the farm
with reference to which opinions differ so widely.
Many of those who have grown the Jerusalem arti-
choke (Helianthus tuberosus) speak very highly of
it, more especially as a food for swine. Others,
again, look upon it as a nuisance on the farm, owing
to the difficulty they have met with in cleaning the
land of the plants. This difference in opinion may
arise, first, from a difference in soils; second, from
a difference in the methods of growing them; third,
from a difference in the varieties grown; fourth,
from a difference in the method of handling the
crop after it has been grown; and, fifth from a dif-
ference in handling the land when ridding it of the
artichokes. That there is a place for the artichoke,
especially as a forage for swine, should not any
longer be questioned. The testimony sustaining
this view comes from so many reputable men in
various states, and from so many states, that it is
not to be gainsaid.

The artichoke is a tuber which bears consider-
able resemblance to the potato, both in appearance
and habits of growth. The tops, which frequently
grow to a hight of six or eight feet, closely resemble
the wild sunflower. The flowers are yellow, and
seed is produced, though not so plentifully as by
the sunflower. The tubers are more elongated and
irregular in shape than those of the potato. They
cluster more closely around the parent stem and yet
they throw out runners at the same time which bear

ROOT CROPS. Alig,

small tubers. This it is that gives them so much
power to completely occupy the land, since these
small tubers, if allowed to remain in the ground, will
throw up fresh plants. The tuber is less firm than
that of the potato. The plant is extremely hardy,
so much so that it may be allowed to remain in the
ground all winter without being harvested.

This plant is grown for table use and for dif-
ferent kinds of live stock, to which it is variously
fed. Its highest value comes from growing it for
swine, and with a view to having the swine harvest
the crop in the autumn or in the spring, but more
especially in the autumn. The tops are sometimes
fed as fodder to horses and cattle. but where other
fodders grow freely, it would not be ‘wise to set a
high value on such fodder.

The strong points in favor of the artichoke
crop are found, first, in the large amount of health-
ful food which they furnish for swine; as high as
700 bushels per acre are reported by farmers who
have grown them for years, but the average yield
would probably run from 300 to 400 bushels per
acre, and in many instances it would be less than
these amounts; second, in the fact that the swine
may harvest them; third, in their immunity from
injury by frost, especially while not yet harvested;
fourth, in the fact that they can be planted fall and
spring; and, fifth, in the number of successive crops
that they will produce from one planting under cer-
tain conditions of management. As many as seven
successive crops have been grown without any inter-
ruption, and under some conditions the growing of
these successive crops could be further extended.

The chief objections to their growth arise,

214 FORAGE CROPS.

first, from the difficulty sometimes found in ridding
the land of them, and, second, from the impaction
of certain lands which follows harvesting them by
swine when those lands are unduly moist. These
objections will be further considered elsewhere.

There are several varieties of the artichoke.
But two, however, would seem to have been exten-
sively grown on this continent. These are the com-
mon Jerusalem artichoke and the French Improved.
The first is probably the hardier of the two. The
second is more refined, and under favorable condi-
tions may be expected to produce larger crops, and
it is more easy of eradication.

Distribution.—But few good plants are of wider
distribution than the artichoke. There are few
places in the United States or Canada where the soil
can be tilled in which this plant cannot be grown suc-
cessfully. And yet there are certain areas with
much better adaptation to its growth than other
areas. As it is a very hardy plant it can be grown
on high altitudes, and yet if planted sufficiently
early in the season it can be grown in the
warmest valleys.

In considering the highest adaptation in this
plant it is necessary to bear several things in mind.
These are, first, the soils and climates in which it
will grow most readily; second, the soils in which
it can be most easily harvested by swine; third, the
soils that will receive the least injury from harvest-
ing the crop by swine in the fall or spring; and,
fourth, the duration of the season for harvesting.
It is very evident, therefore, that localities with con-
ditions for producing the largest crops in the
abstract are not of necessity the best in all-round

ROOT CROPS. 215

adaptability. For instance, though it were possible
to produce a larger crop of artichokes in the soils
around Winnipeg than in those around Kansas City,
it would not follow that it would be more profitable
to grow artichokes as forage for swine in the former
soils than in the latter. The climate of Winnipeg
would lock the artichokes in the ground for five to
six months in the year, while the climate of Kansas
City would not so lock them for more than a few
weeks. But for a crop to be dug and stored for
winter, the former soils might be more suitable than
the latter. Highest adaptation, therefore, is to be
sought for in soils that will grow maximum crops,
and in a climate where they may be harvested by
swine during a large portion of the season which
follows the maturing of the crop. And it will prob-
ably be found in the alluvial lands of the Mississippi
and its tributaries, but not very near the sources of
these streams.

Place in the Rotation.—Artichokes may come
after any kind of a crop, but since they should be
cultivated much the same as corn, they should natu-
rally be given the place of a cleaning crop. How-
ever, because of the difficulty that is frequently
found in ridding the land of artichokes, they should
always be followed by some kind of cultivated crop,
as corn, for instance. But a crop that could be
planted later, as rape, would be. even better, as a
longer period would then be given for cleaning the
land before sowing the crop which follows the
artichokes.

When artichokes are grown as swine forage,
however, it will frequently be found advantageous
to grow them during successive seasons on the same

216 FORAGE CROPS.

piece of land for at least a limited term of years.
When thus grown, replanting will not be necessary,
and the labor of cleaning out the artichokes for the
next crop in the rotation will be lessened in propor-
tion as the term of growing the successive crops of
artichokes is extended.

Soil—A soil that will grow artichokes in
excellent form should be deep, moist, friable, free
from stagnant water at all seasons of the year, and
well filled with vegetable matter. Black loams,
therefore, and muck soils will be found very suitable.
Good crops may be grown on sandy soils in moist
seasons, providing they have first been properly
enriched, but not when the opposite conditions pre-
vail. The sandy and alluvial soils of the Rocky
mountain region should grow excellent artichokes
when irrigated. Strong and even hard clays may
produce good crops, but artichokes should not be
grown on such lands as forage, since the swine can-
not dig them except at the expenditure of too much
labor, and if they are allowed to search for them in
clay land when it is wet, it would become so
impacted that for a time subsequent to such foraging
it would be impossible to cultivate it without
great labor.

Preparing the Soil.—In preparing the land for
artichokes, much will depend upon the season of
the year when the sets are to be planted. When
planted late in the fall it is not absolutely necessary
to have the soil in tilth as fine as for spring planting.
When planted in the spring the tilth should be fine.
In the moist states of the east the aim should be to
have the soil lie loosely upon itself, but in the more
dry prairie soils the aim should be to have the land

ROOT CROPS. Ore

firm. In either case, the plowing should be deep.
Manure may be plowed in or put upon the surface
before planting the crop or after planting, according
to conditions.

Sowing or Planting. — Artichokes may be
planted in the fall or in the spring. When planted
in the fall, late planting will usually be found pref-
erable, as then the winter frosts will not cut off the
young growth. This would be seriously injurious
to the plants when young. But in the spring the
planting should be early, considerably earlier than
would be safe in planting potatoes. When planted
in the fall, whole tubers ought to be used. When
planted in the spring, cut sets will answer, though
perhaps not quite so well as medium-sized tubers
planted whole. Deep planting is preferable to
shallow planting, since it makes possible more
thorough cultivation before the plants are up, and it
further removes the feeding ground of the roots
from the influences of surface evaporation.

The planting may be done, first, by the ordinary
potato planter, or, second, by making furrows or
trenches with the plow at suitable distances and
dropping the artichokes in these by hand. These
furrows will vary from three to six inches in depth.
according to conditions. The trenches may be cov-
ered with the plow or the harrow, according to
attendant circumstances. In slough lands that are
dry enough for artichokes it may very well serve the
purpose to drop the artichokes in certain of the fur-
rows while the land is being plowed.

The distance between the rows and also between
the plants in the row varies, but the rows should not
be nearer to each other than three feet, and the

218 FORAGE CROPS.

plants in the line of the row should not be nearer
than eighteen inches. A greater distance between
the plants will probably provide the largest yields,
unless in soils deficient in fertility.

Cultivation.—The first year the cultivation of
artichokes should be thorough during all the early
part of the season. The first harrowing should be
given a few days after the artichokes are planted.
The subsequent harrowings should ordinarily be
from two to four in number, and they ought to be
made before the plants reach the hight of, say, six
inches. The horse cultivation should then begin.
It ought to be given frequently, and it is important
that it shall be shallow so as not to break the hori-
zontal rootlets of the plants.

When the crop is to be grown during successive
years on the same land without replanting, the soil
should be carefully harrowed, or otherwise leveled,
every spring before other cultivation is attempted.
As soon as the young plants appear, they should
be all cut out with the cultivator, except such as are
allowed to remain in narrow strips about three feet
apart to form the rows. The cultivator should
then be made to cross the rows likewise, but
in the second instance the rows may be left
somewhat closer. The artichokes will then grow
at the corners of squares, or of rectangles, hence
the cultivator may be used so as to run in vari-
ous directions. The harrow will probably be the
next implement to use, that the weeds around
the plants may be killed. Horse cultivation should
then follow, as previously described.

Pasturing or Foraging.—The management of
the foraging of this crop will vary with variations in

ROOT CROPS. 219

climate. In any climate, ordinarily, it ought to
begin as soon as the crop has matured for the season.
But in cool climates it is especially important that
it shall begin early, for as soon as the ground freezes
the foraging must cease until the following spring.
It may then be resumed if the ground is not too
moist, but generally the season for spring foraging
is very brief, as the value of the tubers for feeding
is much impaired after they begin to grow.

. When swine are foraging on artichokes, they
may be given access to them at will. But when
practicable it will also be better to allow them the
option of feeding on other pasture, on the principle
that a variety of suitable foods is beneficial. Whether
they should be given additional grain food will
depend upon the age of the pigs and the object
sought in feeding them. Young pigs should be
given additional grain food, as shorts, for instance,
but brood sows will not usually require a grain por-
tion. The exercise which the sows get in foraging
for the artichokes is very beneficial to them, and
more especially when they are pregnant. Pigs that
are being made ready for fattening will do well on
artichokes supplemented with grain, especially corn.
But swine that are being fattened should not be
required to labor so hard for their food. However,
when they have been reared chiefly on a corn diet,
such exercise, when not excessive, will tend to keep
them in a healthy condition.

Observations.—1. When artichokes are grown
for successive years on the same land, well rotted
manure may be advantageously applied to them by
incorporating the manure with the soil while the
land is being leveled in the spring.

220 FORAGE CROPS.

2. In preparing the soil for a crop which is to
come after the artichokes, the plowing of the land
should be deferred in the spring until the more
advanced of the volunteer plants have reached the
hight of twelve inches or more. If the plowing is
done with due care, many of the artichokes that
thus sprouted will die. The cultivation given to
the crop that is then planted, along with some hand
hoeing, should destroy the artichokes in a single
season.

3. Owing to the great yield that artichokes
are capable of producing, it is not necessary to plant
a large area unless where the herd of swine kept is
numerically large.

CHAPTER? Xf
MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS.

The plants which have been discussed in the
preceding chapters have all been found more or less
useful in providing pasture or forage for domestic
animals, although experience in growing some of
them for such a purpose has not been at all extensive.
In addition to these there are a number of plants,
the value of which in providing pasture has not been
proved on this continent at all, or if so proved, it has
been in only limited areas, although elsewhere, as in
some parts of Europe, for instance, they have been
found more or less valuable in providing pasture.
Prominent among these are the following: The flat
pea, sweet clover, yellow clover, Japan clover, sain-
foin, spurry, kale, white mustard, lupines, sacaline,
peanuts, the velvet bean, beggar’s ticks and Austra-
lian saltbush. Further experience is required in test-
ing these plants on our continent before it would be
possible to pronounce with even approximate cor-
rectness as to their value in providing pasture or
other food for live stock. But they should be testeci
by the experiment stations rather than by the farm-
ers, since all experimentation is more or less costly.
This is a work which the experiment stations are
always ready and willing to take up, and carry on
until tangible results are obtained. One object sought
in referring to them here is to call attention to the

221

222 FORAGE CROPS.

fact that their value in providing forage has not
yet been determined.

THE FLAT PEA.

The flat pea (Lathyrus sylvestris) is a
legume. It is perennial in its habit of growth. In
appearance it bears no little resemblance to the “grass
pea,” which has been grown for many years in some
sections of the United States and Canada. The
seed is tardy in germinating. The plants grow
slowly for a time. The first year the growth varies
from six to twenty-four inches, according to the
nature of the soil, climate and season. The next
year and subsequently they should furnish from one
to two or three cuttings, according to the conditions.
Complaints have been made that the plant is a shy
bearer of seed.

The flat pea is certainly a hardy plant. When
once established it will endure much drouth. At
the Ontario experiment station at Guelph, it with-
stood the cold of winter without apparent injury.
It has also lived through several winters in the state
of Michigan. At the University experiment station
of Minnesota, however, it has in some instances suc-
cumbed the first winter when planted in exposed
situations. As to its duration, claims have been
made for it that sound extravagant. It has been
affirmed that the plants will live indefinitely, or at
least from fifty to sixty years. At the Michigan
experiment station, 41,185 pounds of green food per
acre were obtained from two cuttings in one year.
But it was found that the stock consumed the food
with reluctance, whether fed in the green or the dry

MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 223

state. Of course if this experience should prove gen-
eral there will be no place for the plant in the agricul-
ture of this country, but conclusions should not be
drawn hastily with reference to the palatability of
fodder plants when but newly introduced. The
taste of domestic animals is quite susceptible of cul-
tivation. The limited quantities grown by the
author in Ontario were apparently relished by the
bovines to which they were fed in the green form.

. It is probable, however, that the flat pea will
not become greatly popular in areas well adapted to
the growth of clover, alfalfa and vetches. Nor is it
likely soon to find a prominent place in regions
where the rainfall is sufficient in a normal season to
meet the needs of ordinary farm crops. If there is
a place for this plant in the agriculture of the United
States, it is likely to be found in the dry areas of the
southwest and on lands in these which cannot be
irrigated. And it is also probable that it will be
found more valuable, relatively, in providing pas-
ture for sheep than in growing soiling food. But
experience with reference to pasturing the flat pea
would seem to be wholly wanting in America.

Because of the slow growth of the seeds of the
flat pea, it has been recommended to start the seed
under favored conditions, as in a bed prepared for
the purpose, and then to transplant into rows where
the plants are to remain. Such a process, however,
would involve so much labor that it is not likely ever
to come into general favor. Nor does it seem nec-
essary, where the preparation of the ground for the
seed has been given sufficient care.

The soil for this plant ought to be porous and
free from stagnant water in both soil and subsoil,

224 FORAGE CROPS.

since it feeds deeply. It should be so prepared that
the weeds will not be superabundant while the plants
are yet young. The seed should be sown in rows
from two and one-half to three feet distant. The
ground must be kept free from weeds the first sea-
son by using the cultivator and also the hoe. And
it is recommended that cultivation should also be
given during subsequent seasons. But more expe-
rience is required before pronouncing definitely on
the necessity for such cultivation, and also on the
benefits accruing therefrom. There are good reasons
for continuing experimentation with this plant, espe-
cially in the southwest and south.

SWEET CLOVER.

Sweet clover (Melilotus alba) is so named,
doubtless, from the fragrance of the odor which
characterizes it. It is also frequently called Bokhara
ciover. The two species, Melilotus alba, and yel-
low sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis) are closely
allied, but the blossom of the former is light colored,
while that of the latter is yellow.

Sweet clover is a strong, vigorous growing
biennial. It is branched and upright in its habit of
growth. It is one of the most hardy plants of the
clover family. When once firmly rooted it has
great power to withstand drouth and heat, and it
can also endure low temperatures. Being a raven-
ous feeder it is able to maintain itself in soils too
poor to sustain other species of the clover family.
The writer has succeeded in growing sweet clover on
a vacant lot in St. Paul, from which several feet of
the surface soil had been removed, insomuch that

MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 225

only sand and gravel remained. Moreover, it is a
legume, and one which has much power to renovate
soils. A plant, therefore, which is possessed of such
powers should not be looked upon as worthless.
That it is so is the popular idea. It has even been
looked upon as a weed, and some countries and
states have included sweet clover in the list of pro-
scribed noxious weeds.

But sweet clover has been grown to some
extent to provide hay for live stock in the cured
form, and also to provide pasture. And it has been
grown to furnish food for bees when it is in bloom.
It has been grown for all these uses in the south,
‘more particularly in the states of the lower Missis-
sippi basin. For providing hay it is not very suit-
able, for the reasons, first, that it is woody and
coarse in character; second, that it is difficult to
cure; and, third, that it is not much relished by live
stock. They do not care to eat it when they can
get a sufficiency of other food, as corn, sorghum,
or other clovers. Asa food for bees it is excellent,
and if a part of the plot or field is cut before coming
into bloom, the season of bloom will be much pro-
longed. It is also sown along the sloping embank-
ments and the sides of railway cuttings. The object
sought is to prevent these from washing, and it has
proved highly serviceable for the purpose.

Sweet clover has not been much grown for
pasture, but for such a use it may yet prove to be of
value. When sheep have access to a variety of
grasses they will probably pass sweet clover by, even
when it is young and tender. But if confined to
such a pasture when it first begins to grow they
would soon begin to crop it down. To force ani-

T5

226 FORAGE CROPS.

mals thus to eat food under constraint is not good
for them, but thus it 1s that in some instances sheep
have to be confined on rape and forced to eat it
through sheer hunger. Ina short time they become
very fond of the rape. So likewise they may be
taught to eat sweet clover. Of course where other
and better kinds of clover will grow, it would not be
wise to trouble with sweet clover. But in the semi-
arid belt east of the Rocky mountains, and in the
poor, sandy soils of the south, it may yet be found
that an important mission awaits this plant, first, in
growing a crop that will renovate the soil when
plowed under and increase its power to hold mois-
ture; second, in furnishing food for bees; and, third,
in providing pasture. Hay should be sought from
it the first year rather than the second.

Sweet clover can only be sown in the spring or
summer in very cold latitudes, but in those that are
mild it can be sown in the autumn or spring, prefer-
ably the former. Usually not less than fifteen
pounds of the seed is sown to the acre. In the south
it is frequently sown on the surface of stubble land
after the crop has been harvested, and when thus
sown it is simply covered by the harrow. If sweet
clover is kept from blossoming, the land will soon
be freed from it when it is so desired. Although
sweet clover seeds profusely, the high price of the
seed at the present time stands much in the way of
extending its growth. 3

YELLOW CLOVER.

Yellow clover (Medicago lupulina) is sometimes
called black medic. At other times it is spoken of

MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 227

as trefoil, but this term is not sufficiently specific.
Nor is it to be confounded with hop clover (Trifo-
lium procumbens), although there is much of resem-
blance between the two plants.

Yellow clover is perennial and recumbent in its
habit of growth. It does not make sufficient growth

’ to render it of much value for hay. But as a pas-
ture plant it is, to some extent at least, deserving of
a place in our agriculture. It bears seed profusely,

«and as the season of bloom is prolonged when it is
pastured, this plant has much power to re-seed itself
and therefore to maintain its hold upon land where
it has been grown.

Yellow clover has special adaptation for soils
well supplied with lime. On such soils it has in
some localities almost assumed the character of a
weed. But this can only happen in rainy climates.
It will also grow in gravelly soils where some of the
other varieties of clover would fail. The author
has met with it growing in great luxuriance in a
semi-wild condition on the coast of Puget Sound.
It also grows freely in several of the northern states
and of the provinces of the Dominion of Canada
that lie eastward from Lake Huron. And it is
probable that it may be grown with more or less
success in all, or nearly all, the tillable portions of
the United States and Canada.

Where other and superior kinds of clover will
grow freely, it is not necessary to give much atten-
tion to yellow clover. But in permanent pastures,
even among superior sorts, it has a place, since it
comes on early in the season and grows vigorously,
and it is fine and leafy when young. But as sum-
mer advances it becomes woody and ceases to grow.

228 FORAGE CROPS.

As a pasture plant it is not the equal of white clover
(Trifolium repens), but it may be able to grow in
some situations where white clover will not succeed.

The seed of yellow clover is relatively cheap,
hence to add one or two pounds of the seed per acre
to a mixture to be sown for permanent pasture will .
not add much to the whole cost of the seed. When
sown alone, from three to five pounds of seed would
probably be ample. But it should only be thus sown
to provide seed. The seed may be sown by hand or
with some form of hand seeder, and covered with a
light harrow or a roller, according to the character
of the soil. When not sown to provide seed it ought
to be made a part of a grass mixture rather than
the sole crop. In such instances one to two pounds
of seed per acre should suffice.

JAPAN CLOVER.

Japan clover (Lespedeza striata) is growing in
favor in the south. It is said to have been first intro-
duced into the United States from China, and has
become prominent since the time of the civil war. It
would seem to be adapted only to southern condi-
tions and will probably never have a place among
the pasture crops of the northern half of the United
States or in Canada. It has been grown with no
little success in all, or nearly all, the Gulf states.

Japan clover is a low growing annual. On
lands low in fertility it can only grow to the hight
of a few inches, but on rich soils otherwise suitable
it sometimes reaches the hight of sixteen inches or
more. The leaves are triplicate. The flowers are
numerous and blue in color. The plants produce

MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 229

seed abundantly. On lands not too foul with weeds,
it is able to maintain itself for years by the process
of self-seeding, if not kept grazed too closely or har-
vested too early in the season. But if harvesting is
deferred until some of the seed scatters, the feeding
value of the hay will be lessened.

As Japan clover is a legume, its growth is of
course beneficial to the land. It is useful as a pas-
ture crop and also in producing hay. The taste
résembles that of white clover, and it is relished by
live stock. Although it responds to cultivation it
grows in a wild state in some parts of Louisiana.
It starts late in the season and has no little power
to withstand the influences of dry weather. It is
what may be termed a summer or an autumn crop.

In preparing the soil for Japan clover it ought
to be given sufficient cultivation to clean it on and
near the surface, otherwise on rich lands the weeds
will greatly injure the growth of the clover. On
poor land that is foul, the clover will better resist
the encroachments of weeds than on rich land thus
infested. It has some adaptation for hard, dry,
clay soils, but will grow better on soils where the
conditions are more favorable. As this plant does
not grow until the weather becomes warm, nothing
can be gained by sowing it earlier. For pasture or
for hay, twelve to fifteen pounds of seed are sown
per acre. Since it is a summer rather than a spring
plant, the pasture which it furnishes is seasonable.

SAINFOIN.

Sainfoin (Onobrychis sativa) is sometimes
called esparcette or asperset. The German spelling

230 FORAGE CROPS.

is esparsette. It is a legume of the clover family,
which has special adaptation for limestone and dry,
chalky soils. It has been grown in the south of
England, in France and in other countries of Europe
for several centuries. It has been made to render
the best of service in providing pasture for sheep
and soiling food and fodder for cattle and horses.
In the south of England it is considered indispen-
sable on many sheep farms, notwithstanding the
excellence of the turnip crops that are grown
on these.

Sainfoin is a vigorous growing plant. It is
branched and spreading. Its flowers are numerous
and of a showy red color. It will frequently pro-
duce two or more cuttings of hay or of seed, and
several cuttings of soiling food, in a single sea-
son. But it is seldom advisable to seek two
crops of seed in one season, since the first crop does
not yield nearly so well as the second. It is better
practice to cut the first crop for hay, to use it as
soiling food, or to pasture it, as in growing the seed
of common red clover. This plant will retain its
hold upon the soil for several years. But other
grasses are much prone to crowd it out as it becomes
older. In some instances it is only grown for one
or two seasons, but usually the seed is too costly to
admit of thus sowing sainfoin.

In Europe it is common to sow the seed while
yet in the seed sac, but it is not always sown thus.
In the rough form from four to five bushels of seed
per acre are used. When harvesting the seed much
care must be exercised in handling the crop or much
of the seed will be lost. It should not be handled in
the heat of the day. And when being made into

MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 231

hay the same care is necessary or many of the leaves
will be lost. Much care must also be given the seed,
or it will heat and spoil. Inattention to this matter
is largely responsible for the many failures to secure
a good stand of plants. But it would also seem to
be true that the seed loses its germinating power
more quickly than the seed of many other legumes.
Sainfoin, like clover, is very beneficial to the soils
upon which it is grown.

a But little attention has been given heretofore to
the growing of sainfoin in this country. It is
scarcely mentioned in the reports of the experiment
stations. And yet it is not improbable that it may
be turned to excellent account in furnishing food for
live stock in some sections of the republic. The
author has traced its successful growth in the vicin-
ity of Deer Lodge, Montana. The grower prized
it on account of the early season at which it fur-
nished food. At the Ontario experiment station, at
Guelph, the attempts to grow it were not encourag-
ing. Unquestionably it ought to have a milder
climate. It is probable that it will grow admirably
in the coast states between the mountains and the
sea. It ought to do well in the mountain valleys
from central Montana southward. And there may
be localities in the balmy Gulf states favorable to the
growth of sainfoin. Beyond all question, this plant
is worthy of more careful experiment than it has
hitherto received.

But why should the attempt be made to grow
sainfoin where we can grow alfalfa. or clover? For
the reason that there is less danger from bloating
with the animals pastured on sainfoin. At least it
has been so claimed. If this be true it invests sain-

232 FORAGE CROPS.

foin with a peculiar interest to those who grow
sheep. A plant that will grow equally well, or
nearly as well, as alfalfa where sheep are kept
numerously, and that could be pastured by them
without danger from bloating, would be a great
boon to the owners of sheep, since they cannot be
safely pastured on alfalfa.

The preparation of the land for sainfoin is sub-
stantially the same as for alfalfa (see Page 97).
The seed in the rough form is commonly sown by
hand, but there would seem to be no good reason
why it should not be deposited with the grain drill.
It may be sown with or without a nurse crop, accord-
ing to the conditions.

SPURRY.

Spurry (Spergula arvensis) is looked upon as a
weed in some of the light soils of Great Britain.
This, at least, was true of it at one time. In Scot-
land it was called yarr, and in Norfolk, pickpurse.
In other countries of Europe, as, for instance, Den-
mark, Holland, Belgium, and some parts of Ger-
many and Russia, spurry is highly esteemed as a
pasture for cattle and sheep, and it is also valued for
its fodder. It has been found specially valuable
as a pasture for sheep and milch cows. Animals
pastured on it are not liable to injury from bloat.
Though they may not take kindly to the pasture at
the first, they soon get exceedingly fond of it, both
in the green and cured form. It is also claimed that
it has good milk producing and fattening properties.

Spurry is a tiny-like plant which grows from
a few inches to fully twenty inches in hight, accord-
ing to the soil. The variety that has come into the

MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 233

market under the name of “giant spurry”’ is simply
the ordinary spurry. It is not capable of making a
stronger growth than ordinary spurry, as the name
would indicate. The stems of spurry are numerous
and exceedingly branched. They are fine in char-
acter, and they so interlace as to make it difficult to
walk through the crop in an advanced stage of
growth without tripping. The flowers are very
many, are not more than one-eighth of an inch in
diameter and are white in color. The seeds are
small. They are contained in small seed heads
resembling those of flax, but not more than half as
large. They vary from dark brown to black in
color. The plants seed profusely. On some soils
the yield of fodder has been estimated as equal to
that of clover, but ordinarily it would not be
so much.

The plant has special adaptation for light,
sandy soils, and for climates that are moist.
Whether it will be given a place of much prominence
in our agriculture has yet to be determined. On
productive soils it is not likely to come into general
favor, since other plants equally nutritious will give
greater yields. But on light, sandy soils low in fer-
tility, it should render valuable service where mois-
ture is sufficiently abundant. But few of the agri-
cultural experiment station reports even mention
spurry, hence testimony regarding its adaptation to
our conditions is almost entirely wanting. It has
been grown, however, on the light and infertile
sands of the experiment sub-station at Grayling,
Michigan, since 1888, and the reports concerning it
are encouraging. When plowed under in the green
form it has been found specially helpful in giving

234 FORAGE CROPS.

“body” to the light, sandy land and in otherwise
fitting it to grow successfully crops of clover and
grain. At the Minnesota University experiment
station, spurry has not proved altogether satisfac-
tory thus far. The growth secured has not been
sufficient to make it a competitor with some
other crops. :

Spurry should be sown more as a catch crop
than as a regular crop in the rotation. It should be
ready to pasture or to plow under in from six to
eight weeks from the date of sowing, providing it is
not sown before the weather has become warm.
Where there is moisture enough to insure germina-
tion, spurry can be sown after a grain crop, and
simply covered with a harrow. On the bare fallow
it would also seem to have a place. When grown
as a green manure or as a pasture for sheep, two
crops a year may be secured, and in some climates
three. This crop, therefore, would seem worthy. of
attention on the part of our agriculturists, more
especially on “‘pine lands” where the soil is sandy
and poor and where the climate is moist in
character.

Since spurry is best adapted to light, sandy
lands, but little labor is necessary in preparing the
soil. The seed should fall on a smooth, impacted
and fine surface, and it may be sown and covered in
the same way as clover seed. As the seed is small,
a light harrow will give a sufficient covering. From
six to eight quarts of seed are sown per acre to pro-
vide pasture, fodder or green manure. But a less
quantity will suffice to produce a seed crop in good
form. It is ready to cut for hay after the seed has
formed and before it is ripe. The seed may be har-

MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 235

vested and threshed like clover seed. When grown
for the seed, a sufficient quantity is likely to shatter
out to produce a crop the next year, by simply run-
ning the harrow over the land in the early spring.

. Spurry has been called “the clover of light,
sandy soils,” because of its value in improving the
same, both in texture and fertility, when grown as a
green manure. It should be turned under with a
light furrow that the plant food may be kept near
the surface. If some of the seed is allowed to ripen
before the crop is thus buried, another crop of spurry
will grow above the decaying plants without the
necessity of sowing any more seed. Under some
conditions it is possible to plow under three crops
of spurry in one season.

KALE.

Kale is a variety of Brassica oleracea, the
species of cruciferous plants to which cabbage,
cauliflower and Brussels sprouts belong. Ordi-
narily, it means any variety of headless cabbage
which produces curled and crinkled leaves, but in
some varieties the leaves are smooth. In some of
its varieties it is grown in kitchen gardens for its
leaves. These are variously cooked, as for greens,
for potherbs, or as a component in making some
kinds of soup. In certain parts of Virginia, much
kale is grown and shipped to the northern markets
in winter. In Great Britain some varieties of kale
are grown to provide green food for sheep and lambs
at certain seasons of the year, but more especially in
the early spring. One variety is very much
branched. It is popularly spoken of as “thousand-

236 FORAGE CROPS.

headed kale.’’ It produces fine and tender herbage,
which is greatly relished by lambs, and is also very
suitable for them. Kale bears no little resemblance
to rape in what may be termed its general habit of
growth. It produces only leaves and stems the first
season, and in these its virtue consists as a pasture
or as a soiling food. The common varieties of kale
do not seem so well adapted as rape to furnish either,
since, on many soils at least, they do not grow so
quickly, nor do they produce so much in bulk.

The trial plots grown at the Minnesota Uni-
versity experiment station proved fairly satisfactory.
When sown late in May, the plants were ready for
being fed off by the middle of July. Those not
used as food at that season lost what may be termed
their bloom, while the hot weather lasted, but when
the autumn rains began to fall, they measurably
revived and retained their greenness until the
approach of winter.

Kale is adapted to the same kinds of soil as
rape (see Page 152). The preparation of the soil
is also the same. But it will probably be found that
kale 1s not so well adapted to broadcast sowing as
rape, since it is not so vigorous a grower. When
sown in rows these should not be closer than twenty-
four inches. The directions given for sowing rape
in rows will apply equally to kale. From one to
two pounds of seed will be sufficient to sow an acre.

The wisdom of sowing such varieties of kale to
provide pasture as are usually grown in our gardens
is at least to be questioned. Dwarf Essex rape will
probably better serve the end sought. But the
variety grown in Great Britain as “thousand-headed
kale’? may yet be given an important place in our list

MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 237

of pasture plants. On the coast of the Atlantic
there should be a place for this plant, and also on the
coast of the Pacific. But when it is to be used as a
spring pasture, it can only be grown in mild lati-
tudes. It should certainly be given careful experi-
mentation in the areas referred to.

MUSTARD.

- The only species of mustard that have been
extensively grown as field crops are known as black
and white mustard, respectively. Black mustard
(Brassica nigra) is known also as brown or red
mustard. Formerly it was extensively grown for
the seed in Great Britain and certain other countries
of the continent of Europe, and in some localities it
is still looked upon as a valuable crop. It has been
objected to as a regular rotation crop, first, because
of its exhaustiveness on the land; second, because
of the liability to damage through discoloration of
the seed, as by rain when it is being harvested, and,
third, from the danger that plants from the seed will
spring up and make trouble in succeeding crops.

White mustard (Brassica alba) is distinguished
from the black by its stems being covered with rough
leaves and by the pods terminating in a broad two-
edged beak. The seeds are of a pale yellow color.

This kind is also frequently grown for the seed.
A good crop in Great Britain yields from thirty
to forty bushels per acre. It is sometimes grown
for being plowed under. It is excellent for such a
use because of its rapid growth and bulky character,
because of the large proportion of the food which it
gathers from the air, and because of the ameliorating

238 FORAGE CROPS.

influence which it exerts upon the soil. But it is
grown even more frequently as a catch crop to pro-
vide pasture for sheep, and more especially in sea-
sons when turnips have failed. In the climate of
England it is ready for being pastured or plowed
under at eight weeks from the date of sowing, when
it is not sown sooner than the last half of July nor
later than the end of August. In the Mississippi
basin, and indeed in the major portion of the United
States, it should grow even more quickly, because of
the higher mean summer temperature. Some day,
therefore, there ought to be an extensive place for
this plant in our system of agriculture. There is
ample time to grow it after many crops have been
harvested. On fallow lands and especially on those
of the prairie there should be a place for white mus-
tard. When grown on these it could be wholly
grazed off by sheep. If too abundant to admit of
its being all eaten, after the depasturing the residue
could be plowed under with great advantage to the
succeeding crop or crops.

White mustard will probably grow in any of
the tillable portions of Canada or the United States
where the land is supplied with a sufficiency of mois-
ture, whether obtained from a natural or an artificial
source. On the valley soils amid the Rocky moun-
tains it should produce large yields of seed, because
of their richness in phosphoric acid. The high price
of the seed may interfere with the extensive growth
of this plant at the present time, but it would be
easy indeed for the farmer to grow his own seed.
The author grew it to some extent at the Ontario
government experiment farm, at Guelph, where it
yielded seed profusely. Nor is there any real diffi-

MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 239

culty in ridding the land of the plant where seed has
been grown, as in the case of black mustard.

When grown as pasture or as green manure, the
seed may be broadcasted on nicely pulverized land
and covered with the harrow. From ten to fifteen
pounds of seed would be ample to sow an acre, and
on soils rich and in a good condition of tilth, prob-
ably half that amount would suffice. The seed
should not be sown until danger from frost is past,
as mustard plants are much susceptible to injury
from frosts at any stage in their growth. In warm
weather they grow with great rapidity in light soils.

When mustard is grown for sheep pasture, it
may be sown alone or in conjunction with rape. It
is believed that when sheep are pastured on a mixed
crop of rape and mustard, they are less liable to take
injury from bloat than when pastured on rape alone.
In other words, the mustard would seem to lessen
the hazard. One chief objection to mixing the seeds
of mustard and rape to produce such a crop arises
from the greater quickness with which the mustard
grows. It is ready for being pastured sooner than
the rape, hence by the time the rape is ready, the
mustard has become in a sense woody. The leaves
and pods will be eaten, however, though the stems
may be rejected. This difficulty may be obviated, in
part at least, by sowing the mustard in one or more
portions of the pasture later than the rape.

Mustard alone is not a sufficient pasture for
sheep. When feeding on it they should also have
access to grass or other pasture. Although it fur-
nishes a healthful food for them, it may lead to purg-
ing when they are first turned in upon it if allowed
to pasture upon it at will, and the danger is all the

240 FORAGE CROPS.

greater if they have previously been accustomed to
dry pasture only. It is ready for being grazed off
when the plants are forming flower buds. And it
should be eaten down quickly because of the short-
ness of the period which it requires to mature. _

THE LUPINE.

There are many species of the lupine genus. It
belongs to the Pulse or Leguminosae family. Sev-
eral species were known to the ancients and culti-
vated by them as food for man and beast. In the.
United States the species are numerous, and they
are found chiefly west of the Rocky mountains.
Their agricultural value does not appear as yet to
have been determined. In the eastern states there
are several species, with flowers ranging from blue
to white in color, and some of these are cultivated
in gardens.

Of the sorts now grown in Europe, the
white lupine (Lupinus albus) is by far the most val-
uable. It is still extensively cultivated. in Italy,
Sicily, and other Mediterranean countries for forage,
for plowing in to enrich the land and for its round,
flat seeds, which form an article of food. The cul-
tivation of the lupine in Portugal has proved a great
national blessing, and has regenerated large tracts
of wornout land. In Germany and other countries
of western Europe, great use is made of this plant in
bringing fertility to poor, sandy lands too poor to
grow other food crops profitably, until so renewed.

The white lupine is an annual. It derives its
name from /upus, a wolf, in allusion to its voracious
qualities, that is to say, to the greedy way in which

MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 241 ©

it gathers plant food from the soil. Its long roots
strike deeply into the same, and appropriate to them-
selves whatever they find there capable of nourish-
ing them, and when again plowed under they leave
the food thus gathered near the surface, and in a
readily available form, so that it can be easily taken
up by more shallow rooted plants. The strength of
the plant will of course depend upon such conditions
as climate, soil and soil constituents. The young
"plants are readily eaten by sheep, and some of the
other domestic animals. At least, so it is claimed
by many authorities. The author has only grown
_lupines to a limited extent, and not with results
- highly encouraging. The tests were made in the
provirice of Ontario. In central Michigan, several
varieties, after numerous trials, have uniformly made
a slow, sickly growth. The seeds are not looked upon
as being of great commercial value. The greatest
value of the lupine arises from the enrichment
which it brings to poor soils, as light sands, gravels
and thin clays.

The white lupine has not been much grown
in this country, hence information regarding it is
meager. The localities, therefore, in which it is
likely to flourish cannot now be given with precision.
But there would seem to be no good reasons why it
should not be made to render valuable service in pro-
viding pasture for sheep and in bringing fertility to
poor, sandy and gravelly soils in such portions of the
United States and Canada as are favored with a
moist summer climate. Such are certain of the
soils of New England, northern Michigan and Wis-
consin and the Atlantic provinces of Canada, and
such is the climate in these localities. The same is

16

242 FORAGE CROPS.

also measurably true of portions of the Gulf states,
and lupines may also have a mission in renovating
worn soils in the same areas. The agricultural
experiment stations can soon determine this question.

SACALINE.

Sacaline (Polygonum Sachalinense) has been
given more attention by experimenters in our agti-
cultural colleges than many other plants more
deserving of investigation. In field experiments at
the experiment stations, the claims of some plants
for investigation would seem to come at high tide,
while the claims of some other plants rich in promise
have been but little heeded. The experiments thus
made with sacaline, however, have been valuable in
determining so quickly the comparative worthless-
ness of sacaline as a forage plant or as a fodder
plant in the United States. In this finding the
reports are practically unanimous.

Only two or threeyears ago certain of the seeds-
men were extravagant in their recommendations of
sacaline. They claimed that it was a most vigorous
grower, that it would flourish in almost any kind of
soil, wet or dry, loamy or tenacious, light or heavy,
rich or poor; that it would furnish several cuttings
a year; that it was highly nutritious, and that live
stock were fond of it. No one of these claims has
been verified in any considerable degree by the
reports that have been published regarding it by the
various experiment stations on this continent. At
the Minnesota University experiment station, the
growth made in any one season has been inconsider-
able. The plants soon became woody, and the live
stock could not be induced to eat it.

MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 243

Sacaline is said to have come from the island of
Saghalin or Sakhalin, in the sea of Okhotsk, between
Japan and Siberia. It is shrub-like and leafy in its
habit of growth. It is more commonly propagated
by means of root cuttings. It is of more than one
variety, and this fact may be measurably responsible
for the almost universal condemnation given to it in
America. In some parts of Europe it has found no
little favor. In the meantime the farmers of this
continent will do well to leave sacaline in the hands

“of the agricultural experiment stations.

THE PEANUT.

The peanut (Arachis hypogaea) is variously
known by such names as goober, earth nut, ground
nut, pindar, ground pea, jar nut, manilla nut and
monkey nut. It is an annual and belongs to the
Pulse family. The habit of the growth is trailing
The branches are numerous and likewise the leaves.
The latter bear no little resemblance to clover leaves.
After blossoming, the little pods bend down and
thrust themselves into the ground. The cultivation
adopted still further aids in burying the fruit of this
plant. It matures, therefore, below the surface of
the ground. Within the shell or kernel one, two or
three irregularly ovoid-shaped seeds are produced.

The peanut is a tropical or sub-tropical plant
and is adapted only to warm climates. Botanists
are not agreed as to whether it is a native of Africa
or America. For a long time it has been much
grown in America, Africa, India, China, and the
islands of the Malayan archipelago. It can be
grown in fairly good form in all the states of the

244 FORAGE CROPS.

Union south of the 4oth parallel, that is to say, south
of the latitude of Indianapolis.

This plant has hitherto been grown chiefly as
an article of commerce. It is cultivated much the
same as Indian corn. The fruit is sold somewhat
extensively as food in all cities north and south, and
it is made into an oil that is used as a lubricant and
also for lighting.

In some of the southern states it has been grown
as a food for live stock and more especially as a for-
age for swine. Since it is adapted to sandy land it
may be grown on large areas in the southern states.
The yield in some instances is not much less than
forty bushels per acre, but ordinarily it is consider-
ably less than that amount. Whether it shall come
to be generally grown as a food for swine may
depend somewhat on the market values of the fruit.
Swine are fond of the nuts, and when thus fed the
labor of digging is avoided.

THE VELVET BEAN.

The velvet bean (Dolichos multiforus) is a
plant which has only recently been brought before
the American public. It has been grown for several
years in Florida, but rather as a trellis shade than
as a food plant or a fertilizer. It is said to have
been imported into Florida from Brazil, and into
the test gardens of some seedsmen from Japan. Its
precise value to the United States has yet to be
determined, although there can be but little question
that as a food plant and also as a source of fertility
it may yet be made to bestow much benefit on the
more southern of the Atlantic states and also on

MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 245

those which border on the Gulf of Mexico. But
present indications would seem to point to the con-
clusion that it is not likely to be extensively grown
much further north than the areas named, since it
requires a comparatively long season to mature its
growth.

The velvet bean is of a trailing habit of growth.
The vines run out from the hills in every direction
and to the distance of ten to twenty feet. It com-
gmences to fruit near the hill, and thence along
the whole length of the vine at intervals. The
pods appear in clusters and they contain each
from three to five beans. They are thick and
leathery and of a brown color. The surface of
the pod is velvety in character, hence the name given
to the plant.

The velvet bean has highest adaptation for
sandy soils, and on these its power to grow is so
marked that it will push ahead where rye will grow
but feebly. Since it requires a long season for per-
fecting its growth, it should be planted reasonably
early in the spring. Much has yet to be learned
about the best methods of growing it, but some
experimenters favor planting in hills in squares four
feet distant. Other growers recommend planting at
a greater distance. From three to five seeds are
sufficient for a hill. Careful cultivation should then
be given in due time and this ought to be continued
as long as the work can be done without injury to
the extending vines.

It is claimed that stock eat the velvet bean with
avidity when green or cured and that it makes
a valuable hay. But these claims should be re-
ceived with some reserve until they have been

246 FORAGE CROPS,

further attested. It must surely be somewhat
difficult to harvest a plant for hay which grows
as the velvet bean does. But there can be but
little doubt as to its unusual power to grow even
in poor soils and to bring fertility to them. Its
power to produce root tubercles is marked, and
the mass of foliage with which it covers the
soil is very great, hence when this leguminous
plant is buried with the plow in the green form
it not only adds much to the fertility of the iand,
but it greatly increases the power of the same
to hold moisture, at least for a time.

BEGGAR S./ TICKS.

Beggar’s ticks (Desmodium tortuosum), some-
times called beggar weed, is an annual, and it
is, moreover, a legume. It is a vigorous grower
and it has much power to grow on poor soils.
During recent years it has come into considerable
favor in Florida and some other parts of the south
as a hay producing plant, and since it grows again
when eaten off or cut down and is also relished by
live stock, it should have considerable merit as a pas-
ture plant. At the Minnesota University experiment
farm, plants from seed sown in May were coming
into flower in September. The plants are sturdy
and branching and are somewhat coarse because of
the space given them to branch out.

It is at least questionable if as good results will
be obtained from growing beggar’s ticks for pasture
as from growing cowpeas where the latter do well,
but this question does not appear to have been settled
as yet. Since it is able to fight its own battle in the

MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 247

companionship of many noxious weeds and since it
is an enricher of the soil, its merits are not to be
overlooked.

The very best methods of growing it do not as
yet appear to have been wrought out, but it can be
grown by sowing the seed broadcast or in drills and
cultivating it. The former method will probably be
preferable when it is grown for pasture. Because of
the branching nature of its growth and of the
strength of the stems when not crowded, the seeds
should be sown thickly. And since they germinate
slowly when encircled by the outer covering they
should be sown in the fall rather than in the spring
where the winters are not too severe. This plant
should also be more easily harvested for fodder than
cowpeas. It is not probable.that beggar’s ticks will
render much service north of the Ohio river, but in
many sections of the south it is certainly well worthy
_ of most careful testing.

AUSTRALIAN SALTBUSH.

The Australian saltbush is of many species.
The most useful of these that have yet been
tried under American conditions is that known
as Atriplex semibaccata, introduced into Califor-
nia in 1888. This plant is a child of semi-arid
regions. It is possessed of peculiar power to
grow in soils strongly impregnated with alkali. It
furnishes both pasture and hay which are more or
less relished by domestic animals. It has given
encouraging returns in certain areas of California
where the rainfall was less than five inches per
annum. And, since it is easily established under suit-

248 FORAGE CROPS.

able conditions, it should therefore prove of much
value in providing forage and fodder in very con-
siderable areas of the western and southwestern
states.

The species of saltbush under discussion is
spreading and drooping rather than erect in its habit
of growth. The stems branch out very numerously
from the crown, and branchlets covered with long
narrow shaped leaves multiply on them in a marked
degree. The outer stems, therefore, are fine and
very numerous, but toward the base the larger stems
become more or less woody (Fig. 24). The plants
bear no little resemblance to the Russian thistle at
various stages of their growth. The habit of root
growth is much dependent on the character of the
soil. In suitable soil the tendrils are numerous.
They spread out not very far below the surface and
throw down numerous rootlets into the subsoil
below. On hardpan, however, they send a taproot
far down, with but few rootlets on it.

Australian saltbush has already been tried with
more or less of success in various counties of Cali-
fornia, as described in Bulletin No. 125,issued by the
experiment station of that state. The same is true
of the more limited experiments conducted in Utah,
Washington, Nebraska and various places in Texas
and New Mexico.

Where semi-arid conditions prevail is unques-
tionably the place for this plant, and more especially
on lands so impregnated with alkali as to practically
forbid the successful growth of more valuable food
products in the absence of irrigation. It may,
therefore, have an important mission for many sec-
tions of the United States eastward from the Missis-

249

MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS.

Fig. 24. Australian Salt Bush.
——Grown at the Minnesota University Experiment Farm.

250 FORAGE CROPS.

sippi basin and up to that as yet undetermined north-
ward limit which will hinder its successful growth.
That its growth will be profitable where other and
more palatable food crops can be grown is not at
all probable.

The best modes of growing this plant have not
yet been fully wrought out, but it is pretty certain
that the practice of sowing the seed on well prepared
land as soon as the first autumn rains come is a com-
mendable one. It will be better probably to sow in
rows, that the land may be kept free from intrusive
weed growth for a time and from, say, six to eight
or ten feet should be close enough for the rows, since
in some instances plants reach out and cover a cir-
cumference of sixteen to eighteen feet, but that is
very much more than the average diameter of the
plant. At the Minnesota University experiment
station, seed sown in May produced plants fully
three feet in diameter by September Ist. The method
sometimes practiced of starting the plants in pots
and then transplanting them is too laborious for
common practice over large areas. As they seed
plentifully, the volunteer plants soon fill up the
vacant space when at least a portion of the seed is
allowed to shatter out. On alkali lands the seed will
germinate better when simply pressed into the
ground with a heavy roller than when covered, but
on other soils it should be covered lightly.

Much conflict of opinion has been expressed as
to the feeding value of Australian saltbush, but the
difference relates more to palatability than to nutri-
tion. There can be no question as to its valuable
nutritive properties, since it stands high in protein.
Some growers claim that stock will not eat it, but

MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 25I

a majority of these state that horses, cattle, sheep
and goats are fond of it and thrive well on it. Where
more palatable plants cannot be grown, the classes of
domestic animals named will probably become fond
of it, while those fed on more tasty products will eat
it very shyly, as do sheep at the Minnesota Univer-
sity experiment station.

On the whole, the Australian saltbush is well
worthy of wide and careful experimentation in all
the semi-arid country in the United States. Infor-
mation on the very best modes of sowing, pasturing,
cutting and curing this plant, and of saving the seed,
is not as yet forthcoming, at least under American
conditions. Such knowledge will have to be gleaned
from experiments not yet undertaken.

CHAPTER XII.
SUCCESSION IN FORAGE CROPS.

By succession in forage crops is meant that
order in which they may be grown throughout the
season so as to provide pasture in uninterrupted con-
tinuity, and so that each kind of forage may be
grazed when at its best. The treatment of this
question is difficult because of the great variation in
the forage crops that are adapted to various sections
in the wide area under consideration, and because of
the no less variation in the climates of the same.
No better plan, probably, can be adopted than to
divide the country into sections, and to formulate a
succession in forage crops that would be suitable to
each. This division should, of course, have a due
regard to similarity in conditions such as relate to
climate and soil.

The various forage crops will be enumerated in
the order in which they are usually ready for being
grazed. They are not thus enumerated with the
idea that the farmer shall grow all of them, or even
a majority of them, in a single season. It would
seldom be wise for him to do so. But they are men-
tioned in the order named that he may the more .
readily select such of them for being grown as shall
best suit his purpose. Where grasses are a sure
reliance, it will seldom be necessary for the farmer
to grow more than one, two or three kinds the
same year. Forage from grass should always be

FR)
<5

SUCCESSION IN FORAGE CROPS. 253

looked upon as the great reliance for pasture,
wherever such forage grows freely, whether spon-
taneously or otherwise. Other forage crops should
be made auxiliary to it, unless the growth of grasses
is so meager as to forbid giving these so prominent
a place. Wherever practicable a reserve of grass
forage should be held, as it were, for seasons of wet
weather and for those periods of emergency when
other forage crops may not be on hand or may not
Be ready for being grazed.

Grouping States and Provinces.—For the prac-
tical illustration of this question, the United States
and Canada may be divided into eight sections.
Beginning at the northeast, Section No. 1 will
include all the arable country east of Lakes Superior
and Michigan and north of the Ohio river. Section
No. 2 includes the states west of Michigan and Ohio,
north of the Missouri and Ohio rivers, taking in
Manitoba, and east of the Dakotas and Assiniboia.
Section No. 3 includes the states south of the Ohio
and east of the Mississippi, and also the states of
Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri, west of the Mis-
sissippi. Section No. 4 includes the states west of
Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana, south of
Dakota and east of the Rocky mountains. Section
No. 5 covers the states and provinces of Canada
west of Minnesota and Manitoba, north of Nebraska
and east of the Rocky mountains. Section No. 6
includes the Rocky mountain valleys north from
Salt Lake. Section No. 7 includes the Rocky moun-
tain valleys south of Salt Lake and extends west-
ward to the sea. And Section No. 8 includes the
narrow area north of California and between the
Cascades and the sea.

254 FORAGE CROPS.

And here it ought to be mentioned, that of
necessity these divisions are more or less arbitrary.
The factor of altitude alone may so affect plant
growth as to materially neutralize the value of any
attempts that may thus be made to illustrate succes-
sion in forage crops. Wind currents also have their
influence, and likewise precipitation.

Succession in Section No. 1.—The rainfall in
Section No. 1 is more abundant and timely than in
any of the other sections, unless it be in No. 8. The
soil is also well adapted to the growth of grasses,
hence in this section every reasonable effort should
be made by the farmers to utilize grasses as factors
in forage. The influences that are so favorable to
grass pastures are also favorable to the growth of
variety in forage crops, hence the list of these that
may be grown in succession is a long one. Promi-
nent among these crops are winter rye, blue grass
and other grasses, clover, mixed grains, as peas and
oats, rape, vetches and cereals, corn and rape, sor-
ghum, millet, clover, rape, winter rye and rape, cab-
bage and blue grass. These are mentioned in the
order in which they are naturally in season for being
pastured, but this order may be modified by the time
at which they are sown or planted. For cattle, the
more valuable of these are grasses and clovers, and
next in point of value are mixed grains and sor-
ghum. For sheep they are all possessed of much
value, but after grass, none are more valuable than
rye, sorghum and rape. With the aid of these three,
sheep may be carried through any season in good
form. For swine, clover and rape are the most
valuable, and to these may be added peas and arti-
chokes, not enumerated in the list given.

SUCCESSION IN FORAGE CROPS. 255

Succession in Section No. 2.—The succession
in forage crops that may be grown in Section No. 2
includes winter rye, blue grass or native prairie,
alfalfa, clover, mixed cereals, rape, corn, corn and
rape, sorghum, millet, clover, cowpeas, soy beans,
rape or turnips or the two mixed, cabbage and
blue grass. In this section much of the soil
is richer than that of Section No. 1, but the
rainfall is not distributed so regularly, and the
climate is warmer in summer, hence it is not
quite so well adapted to the production of grasses.
But it is better adapted, relatively, to the growth
of such foods as corn and sorghum, or indeed
to the growth of any of the pasture foods named
which admit of being grown quickly. Less
dependence should be placed upon grass forage than
in Section No. 1, and more dependence, relatively,
on such forage as is furnished by mixed grains, win-
ter rye, rape, corn and sorghum. In the northern
areas of the section, winter rye, clover and alfalfa
cannot be grown with profit for forage, and in the
southern part only can cowpeas and soy beans be
grown with advantage. The forage crops other than
erass that can be grown most successfully for cows
and other cattle in all parts of this section are such as
mixed grains, corn in summer fallows and millets.
The more important of these crops that can be grown
for sheep in all parts of the section are winter rye,
sorghum, rape and turnips. The more valuable of
the same for swine are mixed grains and rape. Of
course in the southern half of the section, clover can
be utilized with great advantage as swine pasture,
and in the northern half the same is true of field peas.

Succession in Section No. 3.—The succession

256 FORAGE CROPS.

in forage crops that may be grown in Section No. 3
includes besides certain grasses, winter rye, rape,
crimson clover, alfalfa, the winter vetch and the
sand vetch, mixed cereals, corn, sorghum of the
saccharine and non-saccharine varieties, millet, cow-
peas, soy beans, artichokes and peanuts. The more
important of these forage crops include winter rye,
rape, vetches, the sorghums and cowpeas. The
three first mentioned will be specially valuable in
cool weather, and the two last mentioned in the
warm season. The mission of cowpeas in provid-
ing forage and soiling food in nearly all parts of
the section may be made especially important.
Mixed grains are considered of too great value to
grow as forage in much of the area named. The
more valuable of these forage crops for cattle are
winter rye, the sorghums and cowpeas. The more
valuable of the same for sheep are winter rye, rape,
vetches, the sorghums and cowpeas. And for swine
the more valuable are winter rye, rape, alfalfa, cow-
peas, artichokes and peanuts. This section is favor-
able to the growth of certain of these crops in con-
junction, as, for instance, winter rye and rape and
cowpeas and sorghum.

Succession in Section No. 4.—In section No. 4
the succession in forage crops, in addition to certain
native grasses, will include winter rye, the sand
vetch and possibly other varieties of vetch, alfalfa,
corn, saccharine and non-saccharine sorghums, cow-
peas, soy beans and rape. The more valuable of
these crops in furnishing forage for cattle will
include winter rye, sorghum, cowpeas and the soy
bean. These also, along with vetches and rape,
would all provide good forage for sheep. For swine

SUCCESSION IN FORAGE CROPS. 257

the more valuable of these forage crops will include
alfalfa and cowpeas. In some parts of the section,
forage crops will be grown under irrigation. The
rape plant will not be so valuable, relatively, as in
some other parts of the country, because of the
drouth and heat. Nevertheless, it should be given
a place. But the sorghums and soy beans will be
quite valuable, relatively, because of their drouth-
resisting properties.

5: Succession in Section No. 5.—In Section No.
5 the succession in forage crops, in addition to the
wild grasses of the prairie, will include winter rye,
rape, mixed grains, peas, vetches,.corn or corn and
rape, sorghum, turnips and cabbage. Winter rye
cannot be grown in all portions of this section, espe-
cially the north and-northwest. Corn and rape can
be grown with much advantage, particularly on the
wide areas of fallow land that are usually found in
the section every year. But in growing corn for-
age, a due regard must be had to choosing seed of
the hardy varieties. Rape and turnips may be
safely sown with nearly all grain crops. And pas-
tures from mixed cereals will grow well when sown,
in nearly all parts of the section. Sorghum may be
utilized with no little advantage, but the climate is
too cold, except in the extreme southern portion,
for the non-saccharine sorghums. In much of the
section peas can be grown in good form, more espe-
cially toward the north. The more valuable of the
forage crops for cows include mixed cereals, corn
and rye. To provide sheep pasture, all those named
except peas may be grown with much advantage.
And for swine, the more valuable will include rape,
mixed cereals and peas. Rape may be turned to

17

258 FORAGE CROPS.

excellent account in providing swine forage, espe-
cially when sown early.

Succession in Section No. 6.—In Section No. 6,
in addition to certain native grasses, the succession ~
in forage crops will include winter rye, alfalfa, clo-
ver, mixed cereals, peas, vetches, sorghum and rape.
Alfalfa and clover may not succeed in the extreme
northern portion of Section No. 6, but in the more
southern valleys of the same they grow wonderfully
well when supplied with water. Mixed cereals
grow admirably under similar conditions, but where
clovers will grow the same necessity does not exist
for growing cereals for forage. The most impor-
tant of these forage crops for cattle in this section
is clover, next in order is winter rye, and after win-
ter rye mixed cereals. These are all important for
sheep and are easily grown for them, and, of course,
rape and sorghum may be added to the list. Alfalfa,
clover and peas are the most important for swine.
With such pastures for swine, pork should be pro-
duced very cheaply and of unsurpassed quality in
Section No. 6.

Succession in Section No. 7.—In many parts of
section No. 7 the native grasses grow very shyly,
because of the dry weather. More reliance, there-
fore, must be placed on the other crops that may be
grown for forage. The succession in these includes
winter rye, alfalfa, the saccharine and non-
saccharine sorghums, the cowpea, soy beans, the
sand vetch and rape. Much of the crop could only
be grown by irrigation. Because of this, however,
the succession in the crops could be more perfectly
controlled than where irrigation is not practiced,
and in the absence of a regular and reliable rainfall.

SUCCESSION IN FORAGE CROPS. 259

In the succession those pasture crops could be given
the preference which grow again and again, as, for
instance, alfalfa and the sorghums. For cattle the
more important of these forage crops would be sor-
ghum and the cowpea in summer, and alfalfa in win-
ter. But the alfalfa thus pastured in winter should
be grown chiefly in the late summer and early
autumn. The more important of these crops for
sheep would be winter rye, the sorghums, the sand
¥etch and rape. And for swine the most suitable
pasture crops would be alfalfa, soy beans, cowpeas
and rape.

Succession in Section No. &.—In Section No.
8 the succession in forage crops is varied and com-
prehensive, more so, probably, than in any other
part of the United States. It includes native grasses
and nearly all the cultivated varieties that are grown
in permanent pastures, clovers in all the important
varieties, vetches in several varieties, as the winter,
the common and the sand vetch, alfalfa, mixed
grains, rape, cabbage and artichokes. The soils of
this section are possessed of unsurpassed adaptation
for growing clover in any of its varieties, and also
for growing all, or nearly all, the grasses that are
grown in western Europe. And the moist charac-
ter of the happy climate would seem to keep these
growing and therefore succulent during much of
the year. It would be possible, therefore, to secure
succession in forage from grasses alone. It is also
probable that rape could be so managed that it would
produce forage during much of the year, and the
same is true of mixed grains. In growing these,
great use could be made of peas or vetches, or of
both, because of the marked adaptability of the

260 FORAGE CROPS.

country for growing them. It would also be an
ideal land for artichokes because of the long season
for pasturing them off. In this section, therefore,
the question is not so much which are the crops that
may be grown in succession, as which are the crops
which shall be chosen for being thus grown. Cattle
could be kept very nicely nearly all the year on grass
and clover pastures, and the same is true of sheep,
and they could be finished on rape in the autumn or
in the early spring. Swine could feed on clover,
alfalfa and artichokes nearly all the year, and they
could be finished on peas.

CHAPTER XIII.

SHEEP PASTURES GROWN AT THE MINNESOTA UNI-
VERSITY EXPERIMENT FARM.

During the past three years experiments have
been conducted in growing various kinds of pasture
for sheep at the Minnesota University experiment
farm. This work was begun and carried out under
the supervision of the author. It is unique in char-
acter and the results obtained have been not a little
remarkable. Only the merest outline of the work
can be given here, though every detail thereof should
be of interest to the flockmaster.

Objects Sought—The following are chief
among the objects sought in the experiment, viz.:
I, to ascertain the extent to which sheep may be
confined with safety to pastures other than those
provided by the ordinary grasses without endanger-
ing their good health; 2, to ascertain the various
plants that are ‘the most suitable to provide such
pastures, and also the relative suitability of these;
3, to ascertain the best modes of growing them and
of pasturing them when grown; 4, to ascertain the
maximum amount of sustenance that could thus be
procured for sheep under the conditions, or, in other
words, to find out how many sheep could be sus-
tained on a limited area and also the mutton product
therefrom for the season; and, 5, to ascertain the
influence of such a system of pasturage upon the
cleaning of the land and also upon the maintenance
of fertility in the same.

261

262 FORAGE CROPS.

It is evident that some of these problems,
because of their complicated character, can never be
carried to what may be termed an absolute demon-
stration. Approximate results only can be obtained
and that is all that is claimed for the findings that
are submitted below.

Outline of the Experiments.—The experiments
were begun in the spring of 1895. During that
year some fifty-three head of sheep and lambs were
pastured for many days on the forage that grew on
two and three-fourths acres of land. The pasture
consisted of winter rye, rape, peas and oats, vetches
and oats and sorghum. During the intervals in
which these plants failed to provide a sufficiency of
grazing, the sheep were given grass pasture.

In 1896, an average of eighty-six head of sheep
and lambs were grazed during the whole season of
pasturage on ten acres of land. Nearly two-thirds
of these were mature sheep. The grazing began
May Ist and it ended November Ist. The pasture
was not supplemented by any grain except for a
short period at the first, when the change was being
made from dry winter food to succulent pasture.
In addition to the pasture, 8.60 tons of cured fodder
and 7.30 tons of soiling food were taken from the
same ten acres. The cured fodder consisted of hay
made from grass, peas and oats, and the first cutting
of sorghum. The sorghum was injured by rain
while it was being cured and was not much relished
by the sheep. The chief of the crops grown were
winter rye, fall and spring sown peas and oats, rape,
corn and rape, sorghum, Kaffir corn, cabbage, rape
and winter rye.

In 1897, an average of ninety-three head of

SHEEP PASTURES. 263

sheep and lambs were pastured on practically the
same ten acres from April 26th to November 5th. No
erain food was given after the change had been
safely made from a winter to a summer diet, except
to eight rams and ram lambs that were being reared
for sale. In addition to the pastures, 10.33 tons of
dry fodder were obtained from the land and also
10.39 tons of soiling food. The fodder was made
up of grass hay, pea and oat hay, corn well

“advanced in growth and mature sorghum. It was
all of excellent quality. The varieties sown were
substantially the same as those sown the previous
year, but there were some variations in the combina-
tions sown and in the order of the succession.

The Sheep While on Pasture.—In 1896 and
also in 1897, two and one-half acres of the ten acres
were in grass pasture. In 1896, clover predomi-
nated in the pasture, and in 1897 timothy was in the
ascendant. The sheep were grazed on this pasture
when the other pastures were too wet because of rain
or dew. ‘The sheep barn, a view of which is repre-
sented in Fig. 25, stood in the portion laid down to
grass. In the heat of the day the sheep were given
the benefit of the cool shade furnished by the barn.
At night they were also inclosed in the yards sur-
rounding the barn to protect them from dogs. Cor-
ralling them thus at night would, of course, not be
necessary under ordinary conditions, nor is it any
advantage to their well-being.

SUCCESSION IN THE CROPS GROWN.

Winter rye was ready for being pastured sev-
eral days in advance of blue grass and fully four to

FORAGE CROPS.

264

WIRY wUoWMTIEdKXW A}ISI9ATUA,

BOSOUULIV

‘useg daays Sz ‘314

~

SHEEP PASTURES. 205

five weeks of any of the spring sown cereals (Fig. 20
shows sheep pasturing on rye), and, with the excep-
tion of cabbage, it was the last crop that furnished
good pasture in the autumn. It was also found that
rye sown early enough in the autumn to become
firmly rooted was ready to pasture much earlier and
provided pasture more abundantly than rye put in
so late that it had not become so rooted before the
closing in of winter. Rye and grass pastures,
‘therefore, carried the sheep from the opening of
spring until some time early in June. The spring
sown winter rye did not prove altogether satisfac-
tory as a pasture. It grew luxuriantly for a time,
but it ceased to grow when settled warm weather
came. Later, it turned russet in color and
finally died.

‘Peas and oats were the next crop ready. They
were sown as soon as the work could be done after
the dawn of spring. The pasture which they fur-
nished was greatly relished by the sheep. In one
instance the pasture was grazed down three times
in succession with an interval of two weeks or more
between the periods of grazing. Rape was then
sown on the same ground. In another instance they
were grazed off three times in succession, as just
stated, after which the clover and timothy sown at
the same time as the grain were given time to gather
strength to fortify the plants against the rigors of
winter, and in other instances the peas and oats were
grazed down once, after which the second growth
was mown for hay. Figure 27 represents a rape and
clover pasture. The “catch” of the grass seeds thus
obtained was all that could be desired. But the
tests thus made have covered only two seasons. In

FORAGE CROPS.

266

‘UNBT JUOWTEdXy AjISIeAIUQ eB OsouUuTW—
‘9AY 4OWUIMA UO BulIN{sEeg deeys ‘97 “314

SHEEP PASTURES. 267

1897, the clover blossomed and produced much seed,
but the crop was left to enter the winter undisturbed.

Rape was the next pasture ready. It, too, was
sown as soon as the ground was suitable, and it was
sufficiently grown for being grazed just after the
first grazing of the peas and oats. In one instance
it was eaten down four times during the season.
Figure 28 represents the grazing of this crop the sec-
ond time it was eaten down. In another instance it
‘Was grazed off twice and then the clover sown along
with the rape was allowed to grow undisturbed. In
yet other instances it was allowed to approach the
maximum of full growth, and after being grazed
down was followed by such crops as sorghum, or
cabbage. More food was obtained from the last
named method, but it also involved more labor.
Rape was also sown at various times as the season
progressed, so that a reserve of rape pasture was
usually on hand when wanted, from the middle of
June until the end of October. In point of pala-
tability rape should probably be given the first place
among the forage plants that were grown.

The first grazing of the rape was no sooner
completed than corn, or corn and rape sown
together, was ready. Corn that had reached a foot
in hight never grew again when eaten down. In
some instances, therefore, this crop when consumed
was at once followed by another crop, as rape, sor-
ghum, or rape and winter rye. But in one instance
the rape was allowed to produce a second growth,
with results that were on the whole encouraging.
More pasture was obtained, however, from the two
crops grown in succession than from the two suc-
cessive grazings of the one crop, but more labor was

FORAGE CROPS.

268

‘UIBY «=JUBWTIedxy

A}ISIVATUS =BLOSOUTTA—
‘OANJSBG JIAOID puw odey “ZZ ‘314

3 ee be

SHEEP PASTURES. 269

also involved. The corn crop was ready for being
grazed in about six to nine weeks from the date
of sowing.

As soon as the corn was grazed down, sorghum
was ready. It was sown alone in nearly all
instances, but on two or three occasions rape seed
was mixed with the sorghum seed. The advantage
of thus growing the two plants together was not
clearly apparent, as either the rape or the sorghum
was pretty certain to crowd the other, but the plan
should not be condemned without further trial. Fig-
ure 29 shows sorghum and rape, the third pasture
crop grown on the land for the season. The first was
rape and the second was corn and rape. In one
instance the sorghum was mown and then pastured.
In some instances it was grazed down three times
in succession and in others but twice. Whenever
it was deemed expedient, the sorghum was followed
by winter rye sown to provide pasture for the fol-
lowing year, as the sorghum ceased to furnish any
more pasture after the first frost. Sorghum is not
relished so highly as some of the other pasture plants
grown, but when the animals are confined to it they
consume it with an evident relish, and they make
much better progress than if confined to dry and
inadequate grass pastures.

The last crop grown in the succession was
cabbage. ‘The seed was sown in rows thirty inches
distant and at various times. On one plot it was sown
as early as May rith and on another as late as July
8th. The late heading varieties sown early proved
the most satisfactory, but this may not hold true of
localities in which the cabbage worm (Pieris rapae)
is not troublesome. This crop proved more satis-

FORAGE CROPS,

‘UNBT JUSUIPedxy Aj[sSIsATUQ wvOSeUuUT;;—
‘edBy YIMOID puodag uo Sulinjseg dooys ‘ez

Os A of 28

ary, Agee tA

‘Big

SHEEP PASTURES. 271

factory, all things considered, than any other in pro-
viding pasture in the autumn after the arrival of
heavy frosts. Severe frosts injure cabbage less
than rape. If given time enough, sheep will eat the
cabbage down close to the stem and with almost
no waste.

When to Begin Pasturing—tThe stage of
advancement in the various crops at which the pas-
turing ought to commence will depend upon various

“conditions, as, for instance, the area to be pastured,
the habit of growth in the crop and the char-
acter of the season. The larger the area to be
eaten down, the greater the tendency in the plants
to sprout up again, and the more moist the sea-
son, the sooner may the stock be turned into
the pasture to graze upon it.

The pasturing of winter rye in the spring
should begin ordinarily as soon as the rye has begun
to grow vigorously, and the aim in pasturing should
be to keep it short. It is then more relished and it
also furnishes more pasture. In no instance should
it be allowed to reach the stage of shooting up to
form the ear before it is grazed down.

Peas and oats should not be allowed to get more
than six to ten inches high before the pasturing is
commenced, and when the area sown 1s large, it may
be advantageous to turn in the stock before the crop
reaches the hight of six inches.

The pasturing of rape may begin when the
plants are, say, twelve inches above the ground, but
it would seem to be true that more pasture will be
obtained if the rape is allowed to attain its full
growth before it is eaten down, and the pasture thus
obtained is probably more valuable. If more than

CROPS.

AGE

fa

FOR

‘UIBY jUsUTIOdxM AjISIVATUQ vIOSOUUTTH —
‘ainjseg odey pue winysi0g *6Z ‘314

SHEEP PASTURES. 273

one growth is to be taken from the plants they
should not be grazed off closely.

Corn, since it does not sprout again, except
when grazed while quite young, should be allowed
to reach the hight of several inches before the sheep
are given access to it. If they should break much
of it down while pasturing upon it, they will con-
sume not a little of what has been so broken in the
cured form.

The pasturing of sorghum should begin at an
earlier stage, relatively, than the pasturing of corn,
in fact, any time after the plants have become so
firmly rooted that they cannot be pulled up by the
sheep while being grazed. But it may be deferred
to a later period if circumstances should call for
such a course.

Cabbage should be allowed to attain a maxi-
mum of growth before the grazing 1s commenced.
If matured before the desired season of pasturing,
a portion of the leaves on each plant will wither and
waste away, which means a loss of food in propor-
tion to the extent of the wasting of the leaves.

When grazing down such of these pasture
crops as grow up again-.and again, more pasture will
be obtained when the grazing is done quickly and
in successive periods, with an interval between these,
than when animals are allowed to remain continu-
ously on the pastures. In other words, alternation
in pasturing such crops is better than continuous
pasturing.

Comparative Yields—The amount of pasture
furnished by the respective crops, as was to be
expected, varied from time to time and from year to
year. The following, however, were the maximum

18

274 FORAGE CROPS.

yields obtained from the various plants named below
in a single season. They represent the pasture
obtained from one-fourth of an acre. Rape alone
furnished pasture sufficient for one matured sheep
for 356 days; corn followed by sorghum for 507
days; rye followed by sorghum for 590 days, and
cabbage alone for 762 days. One acre of cabbage
of similar development would have furnished food
enough to sustain one sheep for eight years and
128 days.

But these yields must not, by any means, be
regarded as the largest that may be obtained from
any of these crops. The soil on which they grew
Was comparatively infertile. Under the most
favorable conditions it would be possible to obtain
from rape, for instance, not less than three times
the amount of pasture mentioned above. And it
should also be borne in mind that the crops which
furnish the largest yields of pasture are not neces-
sarily the most productive 1n mutton and wool. The
food constituents in some are much richer than
in others.

Mode of Hurdling—While pasturing off the
various plats, movable hurdles were used. The fol-
lowing is a description of these hurdles: Each panel
is composed of four boards. The one at the bot-
tom is 6x1 inches and the others are 4x1 inches.
Across these are nailed three slats or crossbars 4x1
inches. Two of these are nailed six inches from the
ends of the panel and on the same side of it, one
being at each end. The third is nailed across the
center and on the other side of the panel. The bottom
space thus formed is six inches, the middle space
six and one-fourth inches and the top space seven

SHEEP PASTURES. 275

and three-fourths inches. The second board from
the top is cut off flush with the outer edges of each
end crossbar.

The headpiece consists of three boards nailed
together so as to form a triangle. The bottom
board, 6x1 inches, is three feet six inches long on
the ground side. The two upright pieces are 4x1
inches and four feet long. One is nailed on each
side of the sole piece and they cross each other at
about six inches from the upper ends. Two notches
are cut, one above and one below. These are two
inches wide and three inches deep. They receive
and hold the top and bottom boards of the panels
when in place. Wrought or wire nails are used.

When these hurdles are in place, the headpiece
stands at right angles to the panel. But strong
winds will sometimes tip over such a fence. To
prevent this, short stakes made of strips of inch
boards may be driven down at intervals alongside
the headpiece and fastened to it with a nail, which
should not be clinched, so that the stake may be
easily loosened when the fence is lifted. Such a
fence is not costly. It can be quickly and easily
moved. It can be stored away with but little labor
when not in use, and if handled with due care it
would last for many years. But there would be
more wear to it if the boards in the headpiece were
made of thicker lumber, as they would not then split
so readily at the notches. It is possible, however,
that other styles of hurdles may yet be introduced
that will better serve the end sought.

Character of the Soil.—The soil is what may
be termed rolling in character. In composition it
is a sandy loam on the surface. In texture it is so

2 76 FORAGE CROPS.

open that much trouble was caused by the washing
of the soil through heavy rains. In depth, the sur-
face soil varies from, say, six inches on the high
ground to eighteen inches on the low ground.
Underneath the subsoil is chiefly gravel and sand
admixed. The crops, therefore, as can easily be
imagined, soon showed signs of languishing on the
higher ground when the weather became dry and hot.

Nor was this quick-growing, though naturally
hungry soil in a high state of fertility. From the
beginning of 1891 to 1895, no manure had been
applied, notwithstanding that a grain crop had been
taken from the land every year. In 1897 a mod-
erate dressing of barnyard manure was applied. No
additional fertilizer was used during all these years,
save on inconsiderable portions to aid in growing
certain special crops.

Character of the Weather——During the three
seasons of the experiment, the weather was, on the
whole, favorable to the growth of these pasture
crops. Showers fell with a fair amount of regu-
larity. In some instances the moisture from the
same was superabundant, while at other times there
were intervals of several weeks between the show-
ers. With less favorable weather the results could
not have proved so satisfactory. But in justice to
the system it ought to be stated here, that in dry
seasons the results from growing sheep pastures as
in this experiment would be relatively even more
favorable when compared with results from grazing
grass pastures only, than they would be in a wet
season.

Necessity for Some Grass Pasture -—When
growing these crops for pasture, it will be necessary

SHEEP PASTURES. 277

to have a reserve grass pasture on which to graze
the sheep as occasion may require. For instance,
if sheep are grazed upon these crops when wet with.
rain or even heavy dews, the treading of the land
at such times will tend to impact it and to break
down and befoul the food. It will also tend to
saturate the fleece with water, more especially when
the food is rank and tall. To avoid these hazards,
a grass pasture should be on hand where the
sheep may graze after rain and where they may
graze and rest at night. Such a pasture is always
opportune, as when an interval may occur during
which the other pastures may not be ready for
being grazed, and the variety thus furnished is also
helpful.
Health of the Animals—The health of th
animals was exceptionally good. Five animals only
were lost during the three seasons of pasturing. Of
these, four died from hoven or bloat while feeding
on the clover in the grass pasture in the spring of
1896. The fifth animal died of what was diagnosed
as pneumonia. There was no instance of bloat
while feeding upon the other foods.

Effects on Weed Growth.—Growing crops as
in the succession given above proved quite destruc-
tive to weed growth. But few weeds were given
time to mature because of the frequent stirring of
the land and also because of the cropping down by
the sheep. It is doubtful if any method could be
devised that would be so potent in quickly subduing
weeds in the soil and at so little cost. Early in the
season, while the weeds were juicy and tender, they
were usually the first food eaten by the sheep. But
later, some varieties, particularly summer grass

278 FORAGE CROPS.

(Setaria glauca) were not consumed so eagerly. But
the seed pods and seed heads of the weeds were con-
sumed wherever these had been produced. The
weeds were turned into mutton.

Influence on Fertility—The influence on the
fertility of the soil was marked. Since but little
of the food was removed from the pastures, the
product of the same went back on the land and in
a readily available form. When sheep are thus
grazed upon land, if in addition to the pasture they
are also fed some grain or oil cake, the soil must
soon become rich in fertility and virtually without
labor, for the return in mutton and wool should in
itself bring a direct net profit.

Sixteen Sheep Pastured on One Acre.—A sec-
ond experiment was carried on, which also formed
a part of the first experiment. It was an experi-
ment within an experiment. It consisted of pastur-
ing sixteen animals on one acre as far as it was
found practicable throughout the growing season.
Of these, six were dams and ten were lambs. The
acre was divided into quarters, and the pasturing
alternated on these. During two successive years
was this experiment continued, beginning with 1895.
It was not found practicable to keep the sheep con-
fined to the acre through all the season. There were
some short intervals each year during which they
had to be kept on other pasture, and in some
instances had other sheep to be brought in to eat
down the excess of pasture. After balancing the
pasture borrowed against the pasture given away,
it was found that the acre thus pastured in 1895 and
also in 1896 had sustained the sixteen animals for
about five months. With soils rich and productive,

SHEEP PASTURES. 279

the results could doubtless be considerably exceeded.
No grain was fed during the experiment, save for a
few days at the first, when the change was being
made from winter to summer food. The ten lambs
made an increase in live weight of 560% pounds
while pasturing on the acre in 1895, and of 532
pounds while pasturing on the same in 1896.

Conclusions—The following are prominent
among the conclusions that may be drawn from
the experiment :

1. That sheep may be carried safely through
the summer when confined chiefly to pastures other
than the common grasses. The uniformly good
health of the sheep during the three years of the
experiment was one of the most encouraging of its
features. When sheep can be confined to such pas-
tures in the early summer, the danger from parasitic
troubles will be materially decreased, and more
especially with the lambs.

2. That in the United States and Canada a
great variety of plants may be grown to provide
such pastures. Those which are the most suitable
for each locality will vary with the conditions.

3. That among the plants adapted to such a
use, winter rye, sorghum and rape are worthy of a
prominent place. Each in its season produces a
large amount of pasture. Each can be grown in
nearly all parts of the United States and Canada
possessed of an arable soil, and each is the comple-
ment of the other two. Winter rye furnishes pas-
ture in the spring and in the autumn, but chiefly
in the spring. Sorghum is at its best in the hot
weather of summer, and rape is emphatically the
autumn pasture plant. With these three and a

-280 FORAGE CROPS.

grass pasture, sheep can be kept on succulent food
all the season.

4. That with the aid of such pastures a much
larger number of sheep can be kept upon an arable
farm than could be sustained by grass pastures with-
out the aid of these. The extent of such increase
will depend upon a number of conditions.

5. That such a system of pasturage is eminently
helpful in destroying weeds and also eminently
beneficial to the land, as explained above.

The Principle in the Experiment.—It may be
mentioned here, and with much propriety, that this
experiment is not intended to be an absolute guide
for the farmer. The chief aim sought in carrying
it on was to demonstrate the possibility and the
practicability of pasturing sheep during the greater
portion of the season on pastures other than grass,
that is to say, on pastures sown expressly for the
purpose. The principle thus sought has been dem-
onstrated, notwithstanding that many things about
it are yet undetermined, as, for instance, the relative
suitability of certain foods for the purpose, and the
very best methods of growing them, also the rela-
tive profit in pasturing sheep thus as compared with
pasturing them on grass only. Some of these, of
course, can never be determined other than in an
approximate way.

The Application of the Principle—The appli-
cation of the principle must be made by the flock-
master himself, and in consonance with the nature
of his surroundings. For instance, he must ascer-
tain, first, which of these summer crops are the best
adapted to his conditions ; second, how many of them
he will grow and the relative acreage of each; third,

SHEEP PASTURES. 281

the succession at which he shall grow them, and,
fourth, the nature and extent of the fencing
required. Though the principle is applicable in all
the arable sections of the United States and Canada,
the application of it will vary with the surroundings,
and it will vary from year to year with the specific
requirements for that particular season.

There are but few flockmasters, however, pos-
sessed of tillable land who cannot embody the prin-
ciple, to some extent at least, in their practice. They
can grow one or more of these foods to pasture the
sheep on when the grasses are dry. That alterna-
tion in grazing off the pastures may be possible, the
fields may either be permanently fenced, or movable
fences may be used. The greatest convenience and
profit will most probably be found in combining the
two ideas, that is to say, in having some fields long
rather than broad enclosed with permanent fences,
and then using some portable fence to be placed
across the narrow fields as occasion may require.
With winter rye, sorghum, rape and a grass pas-
ture, sheep can be supplied with succulent food from
spring until the advent of winter. In some seasons
one of these along with grass may suffice, in other
seasons two of them, and yet, again, all three may
be necessary. But various other plants may yet be
introduced which will possess even superior adapta-
tion in providing summer pasture for sheep.

‘eo

“

FIG.

ee ae es

Prete Or ELLCUSTRATIOGNS

PAGE.
Rape Plant Grown for Seed, Frontispiece
Sheep Pasturing on First Growth of Corn and Rape I!
Second Growth of Rape Sown with Corn - - 23
Sorghum Grown for Fodder - > - - 29
Sorghum and Rape - - - - - - - 35
Sorghum and Rye, Third Crop - - - - ae
Sheep Pasturing on First Growth Sorghum - - 44
Sheep Pasturing on Second Growth Sorghum - - 46
Red Kaffr Corn Grown for Fodder - . ~ 49
White Kaffr Corn Grown for Fodder - - - 53
White Milo Maize Grown for Fodder - - ~ 53
Brown Dhourra Grown for Fodder - - - - 55
Jerusalem Corn Grown for Fodder - - - - 57
Eight Plants of Green Field Pea - - - - 104
Field Peas, Noosack Valley, Wash - - - - 108
The Sand Vetch in Bloom - - = - - - 123
Sheep Pasturing on Sand Vetch - - - = 428
Sheep Pasturing on Cowpeas’ - - - > - 132
Sheep Pasturing on Soy Beans - - - ah) Teas
Sheep on Rape Sown for Early Pasture - - - 148
Rape Grown for Seed - - - - - st EEE
Sheep Pasturing on Cabbage - ~ - - - 167
Pearl Millet Grown for Fodder - - - - 199
Australian Saltbush - - - - ~ - - 249
Sheep Barn - - - - - . - - 264
Sheep Pasturing on Winter Rye - - - - - 2066
Rape and Clover Pasture - - ” - - 268
Sheep Pasturing on Second Growth Rape - - - 270

Sorghum and Rape Pasture - = - 2 a

INDEX

PAGE

Alfalfa, discussion of..93-102 | Clover—Continued

PERCTINCO oc. os ctlewee vece cs 94
aS Ge LLOM: OF. « «xa ssis oa ec 95
place in the rotation for..96
TUBE DTS SA als ciaia’ vue wie ates 96

preparing the soil for....84
sowing . ee AE ee heey"
pasturing Saiatvum peels eS a.arety eee
Observations ON.........6.8!

preparing the soil for....97 Clover, crimson, discus-

SYS) Ti, 22S a ae 98
oubilinhige ya) cb ae a 100
Se POT oe wince ac ctie's cc's os LOO
Bbeervations ONn......«....102
Alsike clover.............82-87

Artichokes, discussion of
212-220

SR COE ovina oe ce sv a cebe=de
MGDPRINEG soot uc Ss cacwmwwrae 88
ISILON. OF °2.,..... 56052 88
place in the rotation for.90
soils for .... ‘
preparing the soil ‘for. ..91
SOVAIDE. O o Aichi eas sere Sou eee

PEBERIIEG sa sinc dive vows ee elo cultivating Ae gre tae 92
reasons for growing....213 DAstarine oo... cooks. 88
objections to growing..213 observations on. Soe
WeIPICTIGS CON coors cs ores rece 214} Clover, mammoth, “aiarites
distribution of...........214 sion meer a 78-82
place in the rotation for contrasted with me-
215 SR PRU Oe. oo Sve ve eS 78
Sania ROT cs fe tle sc claw das es 216 Gistritaition. Of... ...s.22c 78
preparing the soil for..216 place in the rotation for..79
BUM EIRES Coe Socinie' ein nll V os bo =n 217 ReMMReERE, Soe SS a a 79
ABC IV GtINE sco oid nc oc ne eke preparing the soil for....80
pasturing ...........0..- 218 SNE Ss igcd koe 20s ios Lae
ObSEervations ON....2.:....219 Pm@lLiyetine 65 cs oe ces 81
Australian salt bush..248-251 PASLMEINE 31.4 e ssc dees ke 81
Bereat 6 ticks......0. +. 246-248 observations on ..........82
Cabbage, discussion of, Clover, medium red, dis-
163-169 cussion of............67-78
GIistrrmlition. Gls ..5.% . os. 163 Gistripution. Of. ss..5: vac. =. 68
place in the rotation for 164 place in the rotation for..69
soils for.. Sek nastiest 164 soils for.. ay 69
preparing ‘the soil for..164 preparing the soil ‘for. tO
Richi a! Sasa ied ose s hare eb ce 165 sowing ee aS
MERE UEE MAE EINE = wie ecto wkicraelew s @ 166 CULLIVA IME ocean ccisss Som weie'e 74
PASTUTINE 222.202 .en eens 168 Vn tg (1) a ee 75
observations on ........169 Common vetch........ 115-121
Cereals, discussion of, Corn or maize, discus-
170-188 sion of . iat . 8-27
Clover nlants, discussion varieties of. age |
WRG. no Baek ded San wel LOD habits of growth ‘of.. 2
Clover, alsike, discussion for pasture for sheep.. ee = 36
Bie Toe Oe ee ee teh eee et 82-87 for pasture for cattle..... 10
contrasted with the me- Gastripw tion (Oe 4 sick 4 cise oles 13
PCIE INe TOO ale sic caresses cals 82 place in the rotation for..15
distribution of.. Ses oe Sols fOr 7s... see
place in the rotation for..83 preparing the "soil for.. “eh
SMe) EOP vans scp s s.bds pommel oo etter LOP. oc. eh case 19

285

286 INDEX.
PAGE PAGE
Corn or maize—Continued Mixed grains—Continud
sowing or planting....... 20 soils for .... . 182

sowing rape seed with..21
cultivatine 2... cneaseae eee
Pastures. ic. ses ac wewarenase
observations on. ey 43,
Cowpea, discussion of. 128- “138

GESCTIDEE ish iterh ite Sars s eee 129
Varieties Of 2) ccc aeees ecloU
distribution Of s22025.<éis 131
place in the rotation for,
131
soils for (io cae ee 133
preparing the soil for..134
SWINE: ence eas y cern te eee
cultivating » Jonna pe cee SG
DAStTMTINE? svete eics caine 137
obser vationston: <3... 137
Crimson clover..........88-89
DWOUITSA toes teeeoes occ Hoe
Mield pean. .2 o2ccsses.~ OSSD
Piat Messi. y sees ..222-224
Forage, definition ‘of. a kloheees i
definitions, exceptions to..3
why not grow more....... 4
reasons for growing...... 4
wito should -2row. +e... seo
outcome from growing....6
plants discussed ..........7
Japan Glover 2... Fsc2«. 200-229
serusalem (COrinicssee. c= coer 52
HSE iGOPNY cicecs geen 200
Kale tgs oss et "1235- 237
Leguminous piazita. mene
than clover ........103-144
TU PINGS: seas pesmi kes ne 240-242
Mammoth clover ...... 78-82
Medium red clover......67-78

Millets, discussion of..189-201
classified and described.190

qistripution® Of... .-se. 192
place in the rotation of..194
soils for.. Ee ;.195

preparing the soil for. .195
fertilizers for
SOWIE. sce ecccs cece on cero:
cultivating Dewey gees Ceateee
DASTHPINGE es cciccieeceacesTnUL
Milo. Miadl7eve. Keaalacerierkies 50
Miscellaneous plants, dis-
cussion of ..221-251
Mixed grains, discussion
BEN. y xiive ce etalk ss LOSES
pastures from Giscar elec wea
distribution’ of is. s60s.3.. 281

preparing the soil “for. ..182
SOWINE «s.. Secas' oc ioc ca 0 ere
cultivating <....s<csss seen

pasturing . errr.
observ ations on. ee waleepee 185
Mustard: 4% eee . 237-240
Non-saccharine sorghums,

discussion -<. <<< eens 48-66
varieties Of.......sssasueeee
described)” =~. 2.5 ee,
comparison between : nee 52
distribution Of «2 .sseseee0 56
place in the rotation for..59
Sollssfor faa : interaaen
preparing the soil for as see
sowing or planting....... 61
cultivating: ;...¢.c7seeeene 63
pasturing © ...s>3.. cease 66

Pasturing cereals when
YOUNES sinc valence 187-188
Peanuts .. -- 243-244

Peas, field, discussion of,
103-115

varieties: of .. 0... fec eee
habit of gstowth».. .2.seenus
distribution ‘of......s22s00e
place in the rotation for.107

Solis for: J2.. . 109
preparing the soil ‘for. , » 110
fertilizers for.. Py ie a MiP
SOWA eters on
pasturing’ ..2).. ci Seater
Plants discussed . .7-8

Rape, discussion of.. Tala 163
rapid extension in the
f2rowth: of... si.c.va eee 146
qualities ‘Of. ...4teeesues 147
described. $2.02 cs te~eheieees
distribution: of <..isceeeceee
growing seed’... .o2. ...eeatou
place in the rotation for.150
soils. for-...... ttn eee 152
preparing soils for ......153

SOWINE ©: 22 ds eee
Root..crops.... -<sn ee 202-212
Rutabagas, discussion of,

202-208

distribution! of. ....3..eee 203

place in therotation for. 203

soil for.. ..204

preparing “the: soil ‘for. . 204

fertilizers -for—~..i.ssceen 205

SOwine: Asser os Na on hee Oa ee

cultivating eeeeeeeeeree 20207

INDEX.

PAGE

Rutabagas—Continued
POULT VINES foo is laa ejajesiela tere Bee

ES Wile xbs beleecwsdior sete Li boded
PERCE We ae eas, os laate? 242-243
SREP UPUN@ TT cove eyave’s aret asic oe, 2:6 229-232
Dame Vitec dcicceeees> 121-128

Sheep pastures at the
Minnesota university
experiment farm...261-281

objects sought in ae

TINA) ES TORE PERE TCEE easel:
outline of SateNeicwsl slo uyetls steve bin 262
ORS UO LE o-/shcie \e.cis ares +.ce BOO
succession in. ae 22265

when to begin. erazing. al
comparative yields of ..273
mode of handling.......274
character of the soil....275
weather when grazing..276
some grass pasture nec-

essary .... s2tO
health of the animals. Sy Arh
effects on weeds........277

influence on fertility ..218
sixteen sheep on one

RCO be Systane fopattotey aes (ee yersierand ae 278
eonclusions ... ..219
principle in the experi-

AGU Gene) aa stad satewierd scr red 280
application of the prin-

PUM oh oisice sales. aa oe DOO

Sorghum, discussion of ..28-47
WSES. OF ...5% rere .28
a midsummer pasture Sach
classes of .... nll
manner of growth.. esol
power to withstand.

CRON ostuctem cas sics, cess. 132
not much grown in com-

DIME EIGIMIS sis osieies aco oe 32
distribution of.. Seve
place in the rotation. .34

soils for.. 34
preparing the soil for. .36
MORGMIZETS TOW, ay. sine 58 38
sowing or planting ......39
sowing rape with ........ 41
UUW eUE LIT’ S. cratie eS ciadats sew Fe
AO USRTO IRE Ne oles s\ocate suatevere 5.6 ,% 43
alleged Fora rerae Bae

160 tf a ee 45

Soy bean, dissension “ai

138-144
EMOTE. 26s de is a 139
Oieiripution Gf... 32... 139

287

Soy bean—Continued
place in the rotation for.140

SOM Se GO eto ak e's ows AT cies 141
preparing the “soil: for’ s.241
SUT GS CCAR AE kare Se ire an a el 5 |
cultivating Drape sce Syd sictevalte 143
DASCUTMIO sates ees. thes 144
OUSEPVATIONS- “ON... 0.6: 144
Spurry i= .. 202-2385

Succession in forage
crops discussed....252-260
Sweet clover ..........224-226
ADYEYSSTL al 072) "oe se eae ee Pe 52

Turnips, discussion of
208-212

MISETIGUtION: Of. =. is)... s200
place in rotation for....209

soil suitable for.. ritioeed Ls
preparing the soil ‘for. . 209
SOMME Es caso ics . 209
pasturing . ree aaa
observations one chants Me
Velvet beans...........244-246
Vetch, the common, dis-
CUSSION (Of 2.4 ..'s.00L 5-120
MESERUDCOE rai. Geer scciec os escie LO
CASEHIDUEION Obs. osha scr ool

place in the rotation for.118
SHOTS LOT, Mes oer he aes eit auee ee 118
preparing the soil for ..119

SCOT 0 es ied ace nee green ett ert I
CUUEIWARIMS 9s fcc io cmye crete oO
PASCUBMIS OSs caeey wo. 120
ODSCEVAtION <5 ies c0se ed
Vetch, the sand, discus-

SUIGH MN 0) Bt eea tees 121-128
MESCTIDEO sor wicc es c-ocidawe oe od
Gistribution: Of 2.052256 222

place in the rotation for.123

SOUS et Ole ae fara istet crete ele ales 123
SOW MES Maree os sete eee cele
CULPUIVI REINS a5 kracoic ates eee 26
ASHI i os es Oe oe LG
ODSEFVALIONS ON! .Sosi 5.3%. 128
Winter rye, discussion of,

171-180
ALSEPIOUULON: Of sok) ac od. te
place in the rotation for.173
SOMA AEOn © peers Pe ledics
preparing the soil ‘for.. .174
SOW DI Seta ia aieis cata 8 oa. 6 URE T
CUE NENTS serie ce eee col ele 176
(OSU RG h naa ee ees er eae 177
observations on ........178%

Mellow Clover... eek 226-228

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ADEE
e

PAA