Fodder and pasture plants

Donated by,-

The Department of Agriculture, Ottawa,
For use as a reference book on fodder and
pasture plants and to remain the property of,-

Main Lib »r,PlC, OFPT.

DOMINION OF CANADA
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

BY

GEO. H. CLARK, B.S.A.

AND

M. OSCAR MALTE, Ph. D.

WITH WATER COLOUR ILLUSTRATIONS BY

NORMAN GRIDDLE

Published by direction of

The Honourable Martin Burrell, Minister of Agriculture

Ottawa, 191?

AVAILABLE AT THE OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF STATIONERY
GOVERNMENT PRINTING BUREAU, OTTAWA

Price, 50 Cents

v*>-

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE1,

Preface 5

Introductory 7

Grasses 8

Leguminous Plants 13

Seeding to Fodder and Pasture Plants 19

Corn 30

Millets 35

Common Millet 36

Foxtail Millet 38

Pearl Millet 39

Barnyard Millet 40

Reed Canary Grass 41

Sweet Vernal Grass 42

Knot Root Grass 43

Timothy 44

Meadow Foxtail 48

Red Top 50

Blue-joint Grass 52

Yellow Oat Grass 54

Tall Oat Grass 56

Orchard Grass 58

Crested Dog's Tail 60

Canadian Blue Grass 62

Kentucky Blue Grass 64

Rough-stalked 66

Wood Meadow Grass 68

Fowl Meadow Grass 69

Water Meadow Grass 70

Red Fescue 72

Sheep's Fescue 74

Fine-leaved Fescue 76

Hard Fescue \ 76

Various-leaved Fescue 77-

Meadow Fescue 78

Tall Fescue 78

Reed Fescue 81

Awnless Brome Grass 82

Field Brome Grass 84

Fringed Brome Grass . 85

Perennial Rye Grass 86

Italian Rye Grass 88

Western Rye Grass 90

28549— 1J

323186

TABLE OF CONTENTS— Concluded.

PAGE.

Western Wheat Grass 92

Awned Wheat Grass 93

Couch Grass 93

Virginia Lyme Grass 94

Crimson Clover 96

Red Clover 98

White Clover 106

Alsike Clover 108

White Sweet Clover 112

Alfalfa 114

Yellow Lucerne 121

Variegated Alfalfa 122

Yellow Trefoil ' 124

Kidney Vetch 125

Sainfoin 126

Common Vetch 128

Hairy Vetch 130

Horse Bean 131

Grass Pea 132

Flat Pea 132

Soy or Soja Bean 134

Rape 135

Glossary 137

Index 140

PREFACE.

Agriculture is an art that renders those who understand it rich, but leaves those who do not
understand it, however much they may labour in it, to live in poverty. — Xenophon, 434-355, B.C.

When we consider that about one-third of the improved land
in Canada is under fodder and forage crops, the importance of dis-
seminating information respecting fodder and pasture plants must
be apparent to all. That the interest taken in these plants really is
very great is amply illustrated by the numerous inquiries that have
been received during recent years by the Department of Agriculture.

It is, therefore, the purpose of this book to provide, in a form
convenient for reference, fairly comprehensive information about
those grasses, clovers and other fodder and pasture plants that are
generally acknowledged to be of value in Canada. The introduction
into Canada from time to time of different fodder and pasture plants
which are of more or less importance in different parts of Europe
has induced the authors also to deal with a number of plants that
are not as yet well known in Canada, but for some reason or other
might prove in future to be of general or local value.

The aim of the book being to present only well-established facts
and practices, no attempt has been made to advance or support new
or questionable ideas or theories. It has been the endeavour to
bring together only a summary of authentic information that may
prove interesting and helpful to farmers, students of agriculture and
others who may be interested in the development of the vast agricul-
tural resources of Canada.

As the book has been written with the intention to make its
contents intelligible to all classes of readers, the use of technical
terms has been avoided as much as possible. It has, however, been
found necessary to append a glossary in which technical or semi-
technical terms contained in the text are listed.

5

6 , ' \ -.-' PREFACE.

In the introductory part of the book, the principal groups of
fodder and pasture plants have been dealt with in a half-scientific
way. The plants have been arranged chiefly in accordance with the
system followed in the last edition of Gray's Manual of Botany.

The authors are greatly indebted to Leonard S. Klinck, B.S.A.,
Professor of Field Husbandry at Macdonald College, Que., who
kindly consented to examine and criticise the manuscript, and to
C. A. Zavitz, B.S.A., Professor of Field Husbandry at the Ontario
Agricultural College at Guelph, who has given the authors much
valuable information on fodder and pasture plants that are of interest
to the province of Ontario. The helpful suggestions given by these
well-known authorities have been most encouraging and are greatly
appreciated.

Recognition for much arduous detail work in correcting the proof
is due to Mr. E. D. Eddy, B.S.A. Miss A. L. Brown, who also com-
piled the quotations from old writings which are inserted where
the space would otherwise be unoccupied, as the text is paged to
suit the arrangement of the plates.

G. H. C.

M. O. M.
M. B.

Without forage no cattle; without cattle no manure; without manure no crops. — Flemish
Proverb.

Keep the dry provender which you have laid up for winter and think how long a winter it may
be. — Cato, 95-46 B.C.

A. Furius Chresimus, a freedman, having found himself able, from a very small piece of land, to
raise far more abundant harvests than his neighbours could from the largest farms, became the object
of very considerable jealousy among them, and was accordingly accused of enticing away the crops

of others by the practice of sorcery Apprehensive of being condemned, he had all his

implements of husbandry brought into the Forum, together with his farm servants, robust, well-
conditioned, and well clad people, Piso says. The iron tools were of first rate quality, the mattocks
were stout and strong, the plough-shares ponderous and substantial, and the oxen sleek and in prime
condition. When all this had been done, "Here, Roman citizens", said he, "are my implements of
magic; but it is impossible for me to exhibit to your view, or to bring into this Forum, those midnight
toils of mine, those early watchings, those sweats, and those fatigues." Upon this, by the unani-
mous voice of the people, he was immediately acquitted. — Pliny, Natural Histcry, 23-79.

Fodder and Pasture Plants.

INTRODUCTORY.

THE dawn of civilization is closely associated with primitive
agriculture. If we try to unveil the history of a race we
often find it hidden in myths and legends. When it is
accessible, we see that a people, after slumbering for centuries in the
night of barbarism, advances slowly to the realization of higher
ideals. The awakening is always connected with the cultivation of
the soil, and agriculture is therefore the foundation upon which the
progress of humanity rests. Its development depends upon the
climate and the natural possibilities of a people. Climate is largely
responsible for the fact that some tribes still follow the migrating
life of the nomad, while others have settled down in fixed dwellings.
In the warmer parts of the world, where it is easy to grow cereals
and other plants, agriculture is much older than far north, where
climatic conditions are less favourable.

At first only such plants were grown as would serve for human
food; natural meadows and pastures provided for domestic animals.
Even now there are large areas where no special efforts are made to
secure food for stock. With increasing population, however, more
ground must be devoted to cereals for human food, and the value of
land rises. Natural pastures largely disappear and the farmer must
grow other crops as food for stock during different seasons. The
cultivation of fodder and pasture plants has reached its greatest
perfection in temperate regions, where the animals cannot graze
during the winter.

Compared with the cultivation of cereals, the introduction of
artificial meadows is very recent. The oldest known were those of
the Romans. Clovers, which form their most essential part, came
into general use as late as the sixteenth century, since which time
the importance of forage plants has been more and more realized.

Two groups of plants are used for fodder and pasture, viz., the
grasses and the leguminous plants, representing two large families
botanically known as Graminea and Leguminosa. All the plants
dealt with in this book, except Rape, belong to one of these families.
Rape belongs to the Mustard family, Cruciferce.

8 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

GRASSES.

Name: When speaking of grasses one often includes such plants
as Rib Grass, Poverty Grass and Cotton Grass, which botanically
have none of the characteristics of true grasses. On the other hand,
many people do not regard Corn and Millet as true grasses. Agricul-
turally a distinction is made between cereals and grasses, but botan-
ically such a distinction is impossible, rye, barley, oats and wheat
being grasses as truly as Meadow Fescue, Red Top and Timothy.

Seed: If with a sharp knife we cut through a corn grain, parallel
to its broadest side, we see that a great portion of it consists of a

white or yellow mass, in which the naked
eye cannot discover any distinct structure.
This part of the grain, which in Fig. I is
marked End. is called endosperm and pro-
vides food for the young seedling. The
remaining part of the grain is dull-coloured,
and the naked eye can discern three dis-
tinct sections. This is the embryo or
young plant before germination. It con-
sists of a so-called cotyledon (Fig. I, Cot.)
which lies close to the endosperm, a ter-
minal bud (Fig. i, B.) from which the stem
and leaves of the germinating plant de-
velop, and a radicle (Fig. I, Rad.) from
which the first root is formed. The por-
tion lying between the radicle and the
terminal bud is the stem of the embryo.

Fig. 1. Section through a

grain of Corn.
Four times natural size.
End. — Endosperm .
Cot. — Cotyledon.
B— Bud.
Rad. — Radicle.

Germination : When corn germinates
the cotyledon acts as a sucker, turning the
food in the endosperm over to the embryo ;
it remains enclosed in the grain during germination. The other parts
of the embryo soon become visible. The radicle develops into a root
and the bud soon displays a number of green leaves. The primary
root soon dies and its function is taken by secondary roots, which
sprout from the lower parts of the stem. The essential features of
this process of germination are characteristic of all grasses.

Root System: Most fodder and pasture grasses are perennial;
that is, their underground parts survive from year to year. These
surviving parts consist of underground stems, from which roots and
overground stems develop. Sometimes they are creeping with long

GRASSES. Q

internodes, when the overground stems appear scattered and the
whole plant forms a more or less spreading mat, as in Red Fescue.
In other cases the internodes are very short. The overground stems-
are then close together and the plant develops into one of the
bunch grass type, such as Sheep's Fescue. Although characteristic
of a certain species, the type may be modified by the soil. Thus,
stiff, compact soil is apt to prevent the development of creeping
rootstocks, and the plant may assume a more or less bunchy appear-
ance. On the other hand, bunchy plants often develop looser tufts
in open, loose soil than in stiff clay.

Sterns: The stems of the grasses, generally called culms, are
hollow, except in corn, in which they are solid, but are closed at
intervals by variously coloured swollen parts called nodes or joints.
The parts of the stems between the nodes are called internodes.
Immediately above the nodes a small portion of the stem remains
soft and continues to grow during almost the whole life of the plant,
but the upper part of the internode soon becomes firm and stops
growth. This enables the stems, if they are not too old, to regain
their upright position when lodged by wind or rain.

Leaves: The leaves consist of two distinct parts. The lower
encloses the stem like a tight case, usually open along one side. It
is called the sheath. The upper part, the blade, is
generally long and narrow. Where the plants have
sufficient moisture the blades are flat; during drought
they are often rolled together and bristle-like, turning
their upper surface outward. A plant which during
excessive drought has bristle-like leaves may display
flat ones if moisture becomes abundant in either air or
soil. As the moisture secured by the root evaporates
chiefly through the lower surface of the leaf, the
rolling together of the blade during drought prevents
loss of moisture and thus saves the plant from perishing
Fig. 2-Sheath and of thirst. Where the blade is attached to the sheath
lower partjrf leaf tnere js genferany a tnin membranous appendage, of

Natural size. varying size and shape, called the ligule (Fig. 2, L.).

L. — Ligule.

Inflorescence: The flowers are in inflorescences which, however
different they may look, are always constructed on the same prin-
ciple. That of Kentucky Blue Grass is typical (Plate 10). It
consists of branches arranged in whorls at the upper joints of the main
stem. When the branches are elongated, as in the Blue Grasses,

10

FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

Red Top, Fescues, Oats, etc., the inflorescence is called a panicle.
When they are very short, as in the Foxtail Millets, the inflorescence
has the appearance of a spike. Timothy (Plate 3) and Meadow
Foxtail (Plate 4) inflorescences are extremely like regular spikes,
but even in these the type is that of the ordinary panicle. This is
proven by the fact that branched inflorescences occasionally occur
in Timothy. Even an ear of corn is a modification of a panicle,
characterized by extremely short branches from a fleshy main stem.
The panicles of many grasses are differently shaped at different
stages of development. Thus, in Red Top and Sheep's Fescue the
branches spread during flowering and the inflorescence is therefore
open and broad. When flowering is over, the branches close in to-
ward the main stem, making the inflorescence contracted and narrow.

— -JL

Spikelets: The ultimate branches of the inflor-
escence end with so-called spikelets, a kind of partial
inflorescence (Fig. 3). At the base of the spikelet are
two sterile glumes (Fig. 3, Gl.), though Italian and
Perennial Rye Grass have only one. Above them are
a number of fertile glumes, called lemmas (Fig. 3, L.),
which carry a flower in their axils. Each flower is
Fig. s. Spikeiet enclosed by a delicate glume called palea (Fig. 4, Pa.)
of Awnkss Brome ancj consists chiefly of three stamens (Fig. 4, St.) and
Natural size. a pistil with two feathery branched stigmas (Fig. 4, P.).
c^— Sterile The numDer of flowers varies in different grasses;
L— Lemma. Awnless Brome has seven to nine in each spikelet,
whereas Red Top has only one. In the latter the whole spikelet
consists of the two sterile glumes (Fig. 3, Gl.), the lemma (Fig. 4,
L.) and the palea (Fig. 4, Pa.) enclosing the flower proper.

Fertilization: Before blossoming the
glumes tightly enclose the flowers, and
nothing is seen of the stamens and pistil.
At flowering time the glumes generally
open wide and the stamens and pistil are
visible (Fig. 4). Dustlike masses are soon
produced from the stamens and carried
away by the wind. This is the pollen,
which, when caught by the branches of
Fig. 4. Flower with enclosing the stigmas, induces the lower part of the

FouSmes nl™il0siz^rass' pistil or ovary (FiS- 4> °0 to develop into
L.— Lemma. p.— Stigma, fruit. In wheat, oats and barley the pollen

Pa— Palea. O— Ovary. . „ , .

St.— Stamen. is generally transported to the stigmas be-

fore the glumes of the spikelet begin to separate; each flower is con-

GRASSES. 1 1

sequently fertilized by its own pollen. This is never the case with the
grasses dealt with in the present publication. The stamens are not
ready to shed their pollen until after the glumes have separated, and
there is thus always a chance for the pistil to be fertilized by pollen
from another flower. In many grasses such a cross-fertilization is
favoured by the fact that the stamens and pistil of one flower are
not ripe at the same time.

Fruit: After fertilization the ovary of the grasses develops into
a fruit enclosing a single seed. Properly speaking, the grains of corn,
wheat and rye are fruits containing a seed, just as the hazel nut is
a fruit enclosing the seed. The hulled seed of Timothy is in reality
a fruit containing a single seed. In most grasses the fruit remains
enclosed in the glumes and the whole thing is termed seed. This is
the case, for instance, in Rye Grasses, Fescues, Blue Grasses, Red Top,
unhulled Timothy, etc., the seed of which, properly speaking, is a
fruit enclosed in the glumes. The term "seed" being generally ap-
plied, it has been used in the description of the grasses to designate
the fruit enclosed by the glumes, as it is generally found in commerce.

Agricultural Value: Practically any wild grass will serve, in
one stage or another, as food for stock. Even the grasses of
deserts, or other inhospitable localities, which are dry, woody and
unpalatable the greater part of the year, may, when young or when
refreshed by rain, furnish nutritious fodder or pasture. The value
of wild grasses, however, is generally considerably lower than that of
the cultivated sorts. The latter are better cared for, have readier
access to food, less of a struggle for existence, and so are apt to
grow more luxuriantly and yield a better quality of hay or fodder.

When attempting to cultivate a wild grass, or when growing a
cultivated variety, one should consider its suitability to the climate
and soil and to the purpose for which it is grown. Different grasses
make different demands. All of course require sufficient food and
water, but what is enough for one may bring another to the point
of starvation. A water supply which produces luxuriant growth in
a certain grass may prove injurious to another, perhaps closely re-
iated, species. Thus Sheepvs Fescue can make a comfortable living
where Meadow Fescue would surfer seriously. On the other hand,
Meadow Fescue and Orchard Grass would languish in wet and sour
soil, where Blue-joint Grass, Meadow Foxtail and Fowl Meadow
Grass would grow luxuriantly. It is therefore important to choose
varieties to suit the locality.

Such grasses as Red Top, which have a creeping root system
and grow from early spring to late fall if the weather is favourable,
are especially fitted for pasture, as they stand tramping and provide

12 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

green food the whole season. On the other hand, they are not good
for hay, as most of the leaves are rather close to the ground. Timothy
and similar grasses are less adapted for pasturing, as their bunchy
growth and shallow root system make them liable to be uprooted
or at least injured by tramping. But this type of grass furnishes-
excellent hay.

The development and duration of a grass are also factors to be
considered. Some start growth very early in spring, and are valuable
when early hay or pasture is required. Others, starting late, are
rather slow and are desirable for late hay or pasture. Some grasses.
are short-lived and die after the first or second year; Italian Rye,
for instance, may be used in a short rotation, but is of no use for
permanent pasture. Most of the perennial grasses reach full de-
velopment the second or third year after sowing, and are valuable
when permanent pasture or hay is desired.

One variety is rarely grown alone, except when intended for seed,
as mixtures of grasses or grasses and clovers generally give a higher
yield of better quality. Orchard Grass, for instance, is generally
grown with other varieties. If grown alone, it would be coarser,
less digestible and less palatable. The farmer's demand for the
maximum yield of the best obtainable quality has led to the use of
mixtures which give the heaviest possible returns in hay or pasture
of the highest feeding value.

To obtain a heavy yield it is not sufficient to choose grasses-
which are heavy producers when grown alone. They must be adapted
to the soil and climate and be able to thrive together and make the
best possible use of every inch of ground. When hay is desired,
the worth of the mixture depends not only on the value of the indi-
vidual grasses, but also on their ripening together. An ideal mixture
is composed of species which reach the flowering stage at the same time.
The proper time to cut for hay is generally during early flowering.
If very early and very late grasses are grown together, the return
will be comparatively small and the quality of the hay inferior. Which
species should be used depends upon the soil, rainfall, and other
factors.

Clovers are often grown with grasses because such a mixture gives,
a better balanced feed and does not rob the soil of as much fertility
as would grasses alone, which are heavy feeders. A ton of Timothy
hay contains about eighteen pounds of nitrogen, six and one-half
pounds of phosphoric acid and from twenty-eight to thirty pounds
of potash. This is rather more than would be returned to the land
by a ton of ordinary green farmyard manure. If no fertilizers are
applied, it is evident that continuous crops of Timothy would rapidly

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS.

deplete the soil, and the same is true, in a general way, of other
grasses. Leguminous plants (see page 18) accumulate nitrogen
from the air and are of great importance as soil improvers. Clovers
return nitrogen to the soil, and thus to a certain degree maintain its
fertility.

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS.

Name: These plants belong to a large family of a distinct type,
called Leguminosce. Peas, Vetches, Beans, Red Clover, Alsike and
Alfalfa belong to this great family — that is, the plants which farmers
commonly term legumes and clovers. As generally used, the name
"clovers" includes Red Clover, Alsike, Dutch Clover, Crimson
Clover, Alfalfa, Trefoil, Sweet Clover and other leguminous plants.
Botanically, however, only the first four are clovers in the true sense;
that is, they belong to the genus Trifolium, whereas Alfalfa, Trefoil
and Sweet Clover belong to other genera.

Seed: When splitting a bean or a pea, the two halves seem
to be kept together by the seedcoat only. One of them has a

smooth, more or less shiny surface, on
which no special texture can be dis-
covered by the naked eye. Near the
upper end of the other half is a peculiar
organ consisting of two distinct portions.
The upper is a bud (Fig. 5, B.), which
corresponds to the similar formation in
the grass embryo (see page 8). The
lower, which lies close to the seed-
coat, has a thicker upper part (Fig. 5,
St.) and a tapering end (Fig. 5, Rad.),

Fig. 6. Section through a Bean. the former being the Stem of the em-
Four times natural size. , ,, i , • , j- i r>

_ , T, - , bryo, the latter its root or radicle. By

B. — Bud. Rad. — Radicle. J J

s*.— Stem. Cot— Cotyledon, far the greatest part of the seed (Fig. 5,
Cot.) consists of the two cotyledons of the embryo. A leguminous
•embryo has thus two cotyledpns whereas a grass embryo has only one.
But a leguminous plant has no endosperm. The function of the en-
dosperm of a grass seed, as stated on page 8, is to supply the embryo
with food during germination. This function in a leguminous plant is
performed by the two cotyledons, which are thick and filled with food.

Germination : When the seed of a leguminous plant germinates,
the bud (Fig. 5, B.) develops into stem and leaves and the radicle
(Fig. 5, Rad.) into the root of the plant. The stem of the embryo

14 ODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

(Fig. 5, St.) acts differently in different plants. In beans it grows
in length and lifts the cotyledons (Fig. 5, Cot.), which gradually
become flat and thin, above the ground. In peas it is short, and the
cotyledons remain hidden in the soil for a long time, enclosed within
the seed coat.

Root system: Leguminous plants are annual, biennial or per-
ennial. When annual, like Crimson Clover, or biennial, like Sweet
Clover, the primary root of the embryo always develops into a tap-
root. When they are perennial, a taproot may be found, or the under-
ground system may consist of a rootstock, from which secondary
roots are developed. With a rootstock the system is generally
shallow and the plants depend on the surface soil for their food. A
taproot usually penetrates to a considerable depth and the plant
gets much of its food from the subsoil. Both secondary roots and
taproots are characterized by small tubercles or clusters of nodules.
The significance of these is discussed on page 18.

Stems: The stems of leguminous plants are erect or ascending
as a rule. Only in a few cases, as in White Clover, are they creeping
and able to develop secondary roots from their joints. Plants of
this type form more or less spreading mats, in which individuals are
difficult to recognize. The same is often the case when the stems,
as in Flat Pea, develop from a spreading and extensively branched
rootstock. In some species and genera, as in Flat Pea and Vetches,
the stems are weak and are kept from falling to the ground by special
organs on the leaves, called tendrils (see below).

Leaves: The leaves of leguminous plants are compound; that
is, each leaf consists of a number of leaflets each completely separated
from the others. The type — a leaf consisting of a number of pairs
of leaflets and ending with an odd one — is that of Sainfoin (Plate 23).
All other kinds are mere modifications of this type. Thus, when the
leaflets are only three, as in Red Clover, Alfalfa, Sweet Clover and
others, the well-known trifoliate leaf is obtained. In other species,
such as the vetches (Plates 24 and 25) and Flat Pea, the blades of
the upper leaflets are not developed ; only their ribs remain and they
are transformed into tendrils, the function of which is to support the
weak stems.

Everybody knows that the plants in a field of peas or vetches
are sometimes so firmly tied together, when the stand is dense, that
to pull those at the end of a long row will move the plants at the other
end. This is because the tendrils wind about the stems and branches
of neighbouring plants and bind them together. These tendrils are

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 15

marvellous things. Rub one gently with a bit of straw and it will
answer to the touch by bending. Give it an opportunity to grasp
the branch of an adjoining plant and it will embrace the branch so
firmly that it will be impossible to loosen the plants without breaking
the tendril. It has the faculty of feeling and the ability to act. Its
sensitiveness is so great that some tendrils can feel a weight of only
a quarter of a milligram.

Two appendages,
the stipules, are at-
tached to the base of
the leaf stalk (Fig. 6,
St.). They are gener-
ally narrow and in-
significant, but some-
times, as in peas,
they are shaped like
the leaflets and are
almost as large.

C/ IW\^ IMSK1 Inflorescence: The

OZ. (9m AT Vmmffl fet flowers of leguminous

plants are in clusters
which, however dif-
ferent in appearance,
are always construct-
ed after the same
principle. Sometimes
they are long and
comparatively sparse-
ly covered with flow-
ers, as in vetches

Fig. 6. Leaf of Alsike Clover. (Plates 2A and 25).

Natural size. _,, , ,, .

St.— Stipule. They are then called

racemes. In other plants ^he racemes are short and the flowers
crowded, as in Red Clover and Alsike. The inflorescences are then
called heads. It is, however, impossible to draw a sharp line between
a head and a raceme, the inflorescences, for instance, of Alfalfa
(Plate 21) and Crimson Clover (Plate 17) being as much like
short racemes as elongated heads.

Flowers: The flowers of all leguminous plants are alike in general
construction and totally different from the flowers of other plant

1 6 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

families. The lower part (Fig. 7, Sep.) is insignificant. It is com-
posed of five green, toothlike organs, called sepals, connected at their
base. The upper part, popularly called the flower, consists of five
mostly showy petals. One of these is much larger than the others
and encloses them in the bud. It is called the standard (Fig. 7, St.).
The lateral ones are irregular in shape and are called wings (Fig. 7,
W.). The two others grow together, forming a boatlike organ called

Fig. 7 — The different parts of a flower of Pea.

Natural size.

Sep. — Sepals W. — Wing. St. — Stamens.

S.— Standard. K. — Keel. O.— Ovary of pistil.

P. — Stigma of pistil.

the keel (Fig. 7, K.), which encloses the stamens (Fig. 7, St.) and the
pistil. Nine of the ten stamens grow together in their lower parts,
forming a tube that encloses the pistil. Each flower has only one
pistil. It consists of a broad lower part, the ovary (Fig. 7, O.) and
.a narrow upper part, strongly knee-bent and developed at its top
into a stigma (Fig. 7, P.).

Fertilization: Fertilization in leguminous plants is never per-
formed by air currents. In a few genera, such as peas and vetches,
the flowers are self-fertilized; that is, the pollen automatically
fertilizes the pistil of its own flower. In most leguminous plants,
however, the pollen is transported from one flower to another by
insects, which visit the blossoms for the nectar stored at their base.
When the flowers are large and showy, the standard acts as a sign,
-announcing to the insect the location of the honey. In other species
the comparatively small flowers are very numerous, and are thus
visible at a long distance. Still others have insignificant flowers
borne close to the ground. Such plants, like Trefoil, grow under
taller neighbours, and are therefore more or less hidden. But in

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 17

spite of their humble appearance and secluded position, insects are
attracted by the fragrance of the blossoms.

A brief description of the fertilization, which varies in different
genera, is given in connection with Alfalfa on page 114, and with
Red Clover on page 99.

Fruit : The fruit is a pod ; that is, a narrow fruit with leathery or
papery walls. When ripe and dry, the pod splits its entire length and
lets the seeds out. Its two halves often twist like a corkscrew, some-
times with such violence that the seeds are thrown a considerable
distance. In some species and genera there is only one seed, when the
pod falls off without breaking up, but generally the seeds are numerous.

Agricultural value: On well prepared land, stored with a fair
supply of plant food, especially potash and phosphoric acid, legu-
minous plants yield heavy crops of great nutritive value, relished
by all kinds of stock. Putting aside their value for soiling, legumin-
ous plants can be used to advantage for either hay or pasture. Their
suitability for fodder depends largely on their mode of development.
As a rule their nutritive value is highest when they are in bloom or
shortly before. If intended for hay they should therefore not be
cut too late. It is true that sometimes the crop is larger if cutting
is delayed until shortly after the plants have completed flowering;
but, on the other hand, the hay is coarse and more or less woody.
It lacks palatability and fat and milk producing constituents, and
in spite of its larger quantity it is of smaller total value than if cut
at the proper time. Late cutting also spoils the second growth.
When Red Clover and Alfalfa, for instance, begin to bloom, new
shoots start from the crown of the root. If cutting is delayed until
these shoots are high enough to be caught by the mower, it is evid-
ent that the second growth will be seriously affected.

Some species, like White Clover, are suitable for pasture, as the
tramping of stock encourages the plants to new growth. Others,
like Red Clover and Alfalfa, with a crown a little above the ground,
must be pastured more carefully, tramping being apt to injure the
plants if the soil is not in the proper condition. As the new growth
starts from the crown, the plants should not be pastured too close,
at any rate not late in the fall.

It is well known that leguminous plants enrich the soil. This
faculty used to be attributed to their rather deep root system. It
was claimed that the taproots gathered from the subsoil great quan-
tities of food inaccessible to plants with shallower roots. The sub-
stances thus removed from the subsoil were said to be used in building

28549—2

1 8 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

up the superficial roots and the overground parts of the plants,
which parts, when ploughed down, added this material to the surface
soil. There is no doubt that plant food is removed from the subsoil
and stored in the upper parts of the plants and that the above ex-
planation should be considered. But the soil-enriching faculty of
leguminous plants is connected with phenomena that render this
explanation insufficient. Generally Alfalfa will not thrive on soil
where it has never been grown before. The plants soon stop growth,
turn yellow and finally die. If, however, some soil from an old
Alfalfa field is sown on the land, a crop will be produced without
any trouble. If the plants are examined, it will be found that the
roots of those grown on old Alfalfa soil are provided with numerous
nodules, whereas the roots of weak plants on virgin soil are destitute
of them. Only quite recently have the origin and significance of
these tubercles been understood. It has been proved that they are
a kind of gall produced by certain bacteria. These bacteria live in
the ground, attack the root hairs, break through their thin walls,
and make their way to the interior of the root branches. There
they propagate rapidly, forming masses within the nodules. Later
on, most of the bacteria decompose and are used by the plants,
which thus obtain additional food. As the bacteria are very rich in
nitrogenous substances, the source of which is the air contained in
the porous soil, leguminous plants are able to secure, indirectly through
the bacteria, their nitrogen from the air. They are therefore able to
accumulate nitrogen without robbing the soil and, when dying, to
leave a supply of nitrogenous substances for succeeding crops.

When soil from land where Alfalfa, for instance, has been suc-
cessfully grown is put on a field, that field is supplied with the bacteria
necessary for the development of Alfalfa. The amount needed is
not large, two hundred pounds being sufficient for an acre. Instead
of soil from old fields, artificial cultures of bacteria are now available
at many botanical laboratories. These cultures, with directions for
their use, are on sale in bottles at a low price.

Nodule-forming bacteria are necessary for the proper development
of all kinds of leguminous plants. But this does not mean that
bacteria which will serve for a certain plant will satisfy another kind.
On the contrary, there are different species and races of nodule-
forming bacteria, and each species or race is able to produce nodules
only on a certain kind of leguminous plant. Thus the bacteria
which work on the roots of Red Clover are different from those
which produce nodules on the roots of Alfalfa and are quite unable
to benefit the latter plant. In using artificial cultures of nodule-
bacteria therefore, care should be taken to procure the right kind.

SEEDING TO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 19

SEEDING TO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

The preparation of the soil prior to seeding with grasses and
clovers is usually intended primarily for the benefit of the nurse
crop. To get a good catch, it is important that the surface soil be
of fine tilth, friable, well-drained and contain a liberal supply of
decaying vegetable matter. The tender seedling plants require
plenty of moisture, though they are injured by an excess. If the
soil lacks humus and a hard crust is formed over its surface, growth
will be stunted and the young plants will suffer from even a few hot,
dry days.

Seeding to grasses and clovers should follow a cleaning crop
that has had deep and thorough cultivation. The suppression of
perennial weeds should precede the making of a meadow. Such a
location as a clayey hillside, where the soil is apt to become hard
after heavy rains, may be greatly improved by a light top-dressing
of rotted stable manure, which should be incorporated with the
surface soil by harrowing. On low, wet lands the best possible
surface drainage should be provided, even for grasses that like
abundant moisture. On the dryer prairie soils the subsoil should
be packed to keep the moisture near the surface until the seedlings
have grown robust.

Nurse crops are designed, in part at least, for the protection
of seedling plants of grasses and clovers. When all the soil moisture
does not have to be saved for the meadow, a light nurse crop screens
the seedlings from the burning heat of the sun; it helps to suppress
weeds until the grasses have sufficient vigour to compete with them ;
and it may give a return from the land while the meadow is devel-
oping. Wheat or barley is generally considered most satisfactory
as a nurse crop. Oats, even with thin seeding, are later to mature
and apt to make too much shade. Standing in a nurse crop, one
should be able at any time during the growing season to see the
young grass ten or twelve feet away. The nurse crop should be
ready to harvest as soon as tl\e grasses commence to tiller or stool out
and the clovers or other legumes to develop new shoots or branches
from the crown.

In districts where the rainfall is less than thirty inches, or not
well distributed throughout the growing season, the nurse crop may
rob the young fodder plants of necessary moisture. In some seasons
a good stand of Red Clover is difficult to obtain, partly because of
the lack of humus in the soil, but also because the nurse crop, fre-
quently oats, robs the young plants of the available moisture. If

22543-21

2O FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

the"meadow is of more importance than the nurse crop, it is advisable
in a dry season to dispense with the latter; or, if planted, to cut it
for fodder before the seedlings perish from thirst.

The depth of seeding depends on the kind of seed, the char-
acter and condition of the soil, and the moisture. It is said that
no seed should be planted deeper than four times its diameter. When
growing wild, fodder and pasture plants drop their ripe seeds, which
germinate very near or on the surface of the soil. But nature is
more wasteful than the farmer can afford to be; he should provide
the best possible conditions for the development of a perfect seedling.

Method of seeding: When the soil is quite firm, as for spring
seeding on fall wheat land, harrowing after broadcast seeding, if
the land is reasonably dry, makes a good tilth and covering for the
grass and clover seeds and is beneficial to the wheat plants. When
seeding after deep spring cultivation, the fodder crop seeds may be
sown by the seeder in front of the grain drills and then rolled and
given a stroke with a weeder; if the subsurface soil is firm and the
surface in fine tilth the grain drill may be followed by a weeder
alone to level the soil and redistribute the seeds that have been
thrown together between the drills. If the weather is favourable, it
is sometimes satisfactory, although bad practice, to broadcast the
seed after the nurse crop has been sown and depend on rains to
cover and protect it during germination. Any method that will
insure its even distribution and a covering of half an inch is prefer-
able to surface seeding without covering. Heavy rains are apt to
wash the seed lying on the surface into the furrows and ditches.
Then, too, many kinds of grass seeds that require two or more weeks
to germinate may be destroyed if exposed on the surface. Sowing
from one to one and a half inches deep is sometimes recommended
for Alfalfa and other fodder crops on prairie soils. In semi-arid
districts Alfalfa for seed crop may be thinly sown in drills from
twenty to thirty inches apart. If the soil is very dry the growth will
be dwarfed, but their deep roots enable the plants to get moisture
enough to produce a fair yield of good seed.

Implements are specially designed for sowing grass and clover
seeds. Most grain seeders are fitted with an attachment, sometimes
in front and sometimes behind the drill tubes, for sowing fodder
plant seeds. If the surface is in fine tilth, and the grain drill is followed
by a weeder or light harrow, to level the soil, the fine seeds are not
apt to be covered too deeply, which sometimes happens in lumpy
clay. The hand broadcast seeder, with a revolving disc to scatter

SEEDING TO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 21

the seed, is a satisfactory implement for most grass and clover seeds
and is quite generally used. When seeding with mixtures, however,
it has the same disadvantage as scattering the seed by hand; the
heavier clover seeds are thrown so much farther than the finer grasses
that the distribution may be unequal.

Thick seeding, especially for meadows of short duration, is
commonly recommended by seedsmen and experienced farmers. For
hay the advantage, as a rule, is not in an increased yield, but rather
in the finer quality of the crop. If soil and weather are favourable,
a satisfactory stand of Timothy, Alsike and Red Clover, for instance,
may be had by sowing four, three and six pounds respectively per
acre. By sowing six pounds of Timothy, four of Alsike and ten of
Red Clover, the chance will be better for securing a good stand of
plants, suppressing the weeds, and obtaining a large yield of hay of
good quality. The cost of the additional seed should be considered
as inexpensive insurance of satisfactory results. Thick seeding is
not recommended for a seed crop. Both yield and quality of the seed
are inferior when the stand is too thick.

Quality of seed is an important factor in making a meadow.
The rental value of the land plus the cost of preparing it are many
times greater than the cost of the seed ; but if only a small percentage
of the seed is capable of germination and that which is vital is not
true to name, or if it is infested with noxious weed seeds, the total
outlay may result in a loss, or, worse still, in a positive injury.

The origin of growth of grass and clover seeds is often equiv-
alent to varietal differences, usually in point of hardiness. Grass
plants grown from seeds produced in a warm climate are more easily
winter killed, and those from a moist temperate climate are more
susceptible to drought than are thoroughly acclimated plants.
Experiments with Alfalfa at Guelph show that northern grown seed,,
particularly that from long-established fields in the district, is more
hardy than seed obtained from dryer or warmer climates. Red Clover
from southern Europe or from Chili, although of satisfactory type,,
will not stand the Canadian winter as well as plants from home-
grown seed. Competent seedsmen should know the origin of the
grass and clover seeds they sell, and purchasers should demand seed
of northern and, if procurable, of local production.

Varieties : Few Canadian farmers differentiate between varieties
of the common grasses and clovers. In fact, varieties of Timothy,

22 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

Orchard Grass, Western Rye Grass, early Red Clover, Alsike or
Alfalfa are little known, and, with the exception of certain strains
of Alfalfa, are not commercially available. Such varieties are of
recent production, but the difference in point of earliness, yield or
general quality is quite remarkable. As soon as reliable seed of the
best varieties is available, farmers will find it profitable to use it
instead of the ordinary seed of commerce.

Percentage vitality in grass and clover seeds is an important
consideration and should receive special attention in the case of the
finer grasses. Fully ninety-five per cent, of the fodder crop seeds
used in Canada consist of Timothy, Orchard Grass, Brome Grass,
Western Rye Grass, Red Clover, Alsike and Alfalfa, and, with the
exception of Brome Grass, commercial seeds of these kinds are sel-
dom deficient in vitality. Good seed of Brome Grass, the Blue
Grasses, Fescues and others of the finer grasses should germinate
eighty per cent, or better; but commercial samples often contain less
than fifty per cent, of vital seeds. Seed that will germinate eighty
per cent, or better is really cheaper at thirty cents per pound than
seed at half the cost, if the percentage vitality is commensurately
low. Reliable seedsmen know what the vitality of their seeds is,
but purchasers of the finer grass seeds should buy at least a month
before planting time and test their seeds. Sow two hundred average
seeds of each kind in light soil in a flower pot and keep them slightly
moist in a living room temperature in a sunny window for about three
weeks.

Purity: The value of grass and clover seeds is affected most by
the nature and amount of their impurities. Unfortunately it is diffi-
cult to obtain these seeds free from weeds. One hundred weed seeds
in an ounce of grass or clover may not be detected, but the weeds are
very evident in the resultant crop. The folly of purchasing the in-
ferior qualities is not always clear from an examination of the seed
itself; and although the weeds may be quite evident in the meadow
their bad effect on the stock is seldom fully appreciated. The best
available seed is always the cheapest in the end.

The suppression of noxious weeds in meadows is most
effectively and economically accomplished by clean cultivation before
fodder crop seeds are sown. • Perennial weeds, such as Daisy, Thistle,
Campion and Couch Grass, tend to increase in meadows. In a
moist climate such annual and biennial weeds as Wild Oats and
Blue Weed can be prevented from seeding and thus effectively
suppressed by leaving the land in meadow for five years or more.

SEEDING TO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 23

In a dry climate weed seeds buried in the soil retain their vitality
longer. Mustards, Ragweeds and other annuals may be reduced by
seeding the land to meadow or pasture for a term of years, though it
is scarcely possible to prevent occasional plants from ripening a few
seeds each year.

After seeding to grass and clover on reasonably clean land, an
early maturing nurse crop can usually be counted upon to check
weed growth and prevent the seeds from maturing before the crop
is harvested. The nurse crop should be ready to harvest or be cut
for fodder within three or at most three and a half months after
seeding. If weeds are not too prevalent when the nurse crop is
harvested, it is better for the seedling grass and clover to leave a
stubble four or five inches high. That will remove the seed stalks
of the taller and more vigorous weeds and will enable the still tender
fodder plants to gradually adapt themselves to altered conditions.
Autumn weeds may be largely prevented from seeding by cutting
with a mowing machine about a month after the nurse crop is har-
vested, and when Ragweed is prevalent this is especially important.

In the development of a meadow it frequently happens, as
a result of unfavourable weather, irregular seeding, patches of too
wet or too hard and dry soil, or a heavy nurse crop perhaps lodging
in places, that the seedling plants suffer severely or are killed out
in small areas. As soon as the autumn rains commence, or, if the
soil is sufficiently moist, at any time after the summer heat is past,
it is well to re-seed such patches quite thickly. If necessary, apply
a thin dressing of rotted barnyard manure to cover the seed, to
retain moisture and to insure vigorous autumn growth. If the
killed out areas are large, it is sometimes advisable to use a sharp
harrow to make a good seed bed. If the late fall is favourable and
the re-seeded patches are well protected during the winter, they
should make a fair growth, even for the first cutting, and succeeding
crops will well repay the trouble and expense.

In addition to the suppression of weeds, close cutting with a
mowing machine, not later than the third week in September, or
about a month after the nurse crop is harvested, stimulates the branch-
ing and stooling out of the clovers and grasses, thus insuring a thicker
stand and a more uniform growth the following spring. By removing
the nurse crop stubble and the autumn weed growth, a cleaner and
better quality of hay is secured from the first cutting. It is import-
ant, however, that this be done in plenty of time to insure a good
top growth for winter protection. The last cut of Alfalfa should be

24 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

made not later than the third week in August. After such autumn
cutting the young meadow should not be pastured. Early the fol-
lowing spring, if the land is sufficiently well drained, the use of a
heavy roller is often beneficial.

On the dryer prairie soils, where a nurse crop may not be used,
two or three cuttings with a mowing machine will suppress the weeds
and conserve the moisture, but the crop should not be cut after the
middle of August.

The lack of winter protection for young meadows is the most
common cause of reduced yields and inferior quality of hay. During
dry seasons, when natural pastures and fodder crops are short, the
use of newly seeded meadows immediately the nurse crop is removed
sometimes seems unavoidable, even when the seedling plants are
struggling for existence and much reduced in vigour by their com-
petition with a nurse crop that has robbed them of moisture rather
than protected them. It is under just such conditions that pasturing
is most disastrous. For every pound of forage taken from the young
plants more than ten pounds are lost in the hay crop; the stand will
be thinner and the quality of the hay poorer. The young plants
should completely hide the ground and show a growth of six inches
or more before the autumn season is past. Only when there is
danger of smothering the crop from a rank growth of clover, which
rarely occurs, is there any advantage in pasturing a young meadow
the first year.

Grasses and other fodder plants should be cut when the
crop has reached its maximum value, in yield and quality, for cured
hay; the effect on the aftermath or succeeding crops should also
be considered. The main natural function of the plant is to repro-
duce itself. Until its seed-bearing organs have been fertilized, it
collects nutriment and stores it up in its tissues for the development
and maturing of seeds. As soon as the flower is fertilized, the seed
draws on the store of nourishment in the stems and leaves and the
plant begins to harden. With some kinds of fodder plants, such as
Blue-joint Grass, that depend largely on their roots for reproduction
and bear few seeds, the hardening of the plant is less pronounced; but
in nearly all the most valuable kinds the change from succulent and
pliable tissues to brittle and woody stems and leaves is rapid and
marked. Even before fertilization, many of the fodder plants, such
as Alfalfa, Western Rye Grass and Timothy, commence to harden.

If cut before the flowers are ripe for fertilization, the plant will
renew its efforts to reproduce itself, and the aftermath or second crop

SEEDING TO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 25

will consequently be greater. When cutting is delayed until seeds
have started to develop, the natural tendency of Red Clover and
other biennial fodder plants is to die down; with Timothy and other
grasses the effect is apparent not only in the aftermath but also in
the crop of the succeeding year. In wild nature the next year's
crop would consist in part of young plants from seed which, under
agricultural conditions, is frequently allowed to form but not to mature
and drop.

From the standpoint of the quality of the hay, nothing is gained
and much may be lost by deferring cutting until the bloom is well
advanced. The yield per acre is slightly increased during the few
days between early and late flowering, but that small increase is
obtained at the expense of a marked depreciation in quality; and if
the aftermath or succeeding crops are taken into account, the total
yield is actually reduced.

When fodder crops that reach the early flowering stage at
different times are sown together, as Early Red Clover and Timothy,
the best time for the first cutting depends on the proportion of each.
It will usually be found advisable, and in the end most economical,
to cut when the early maturing clover is not more than two or three
days past its best condition for hay-making. In dry, hot weather
fodder crops ripen quickly, and a few days' delay may then do as
much damage as a much longer period would in cool weather with
a moist soil.

For hay, cutting is best done by machine mowers. The harvest-
ing of grass seed is commonly done with self-binders, the sheaves
being stood together in small shocks to cure and ripen the seed.

Close cutting for hay is recommended. When the fodder crop
consists largely of clovers and is heavy and lodged in patches, the
cutter bar should be so adjusted as to get below the stalks, else the
remaining stubble will be dangerous to the machinery in tedding
and raking and will leave a worthless roughage to be collected with
the next hay crop. The advantage of a smooth surface, produced
by the use of the weeder following the grain drill and by spring
rolling across the furrows, is best appreciated when a heavy and
badly lodged crop of clover is to be cut.

It is usually convenient to cut during that part of the day when
the dew prevents the work of making and hauling. When, however,
the clover crop is heavy and liable to collect on the divider when wet
with dew, late afternoon cutting is desirable. Tedding or turning
the green fodder should commence soon after it is cut. If the crop

26 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

is heavy, tedding should be continued at intervals until the fodder
is sufficiently cured to rake into coils and stack into small cocks.
If at all possible, this should be done the day it is cut, or, if cut in
the afternoon, the day after. Green fodder, when cut at the best
stage for hay-making, usually contains about eighty per cent, of
moisture. In good weather even a heavy crop of clover may be dried
sufficiently in one day to be ready to put up in small cocks for further
curing. The moisture in hay ready to store commonly ranges from
twelve to fifteen per cent. A larger percentage would conduce to
sweating and mow-burning. It is a good plan to cut until nine
o'clock in the morning and then have one person ted and rake for
the balance of the day; hauling and storing should proceed from
nine o'clock until four or four- thirty in the afternoon, the remaining
two hours or less to be devoted to putting up the freshly cured hay
into cocks. Plans for hay-making are, however, often interrupted
by showers, which add to the labour of curing and are often more
disastrous to the quality of the hay than extreme dry heat.

Even during continued rain it is advisable, by tedding or turning
with a fork, to keep the partly cured hay loose and open to prevent
it from packing and becoming soaked. Its flavour and much of its
nutritive matter are more liable to be lost if it lies in a sodden mass
than if it is kept loose and open though wet. If the wreather is dry
and hot, it is important to cut and cure promptly. Hay dried by
the burning heat of the sun is apt to lose much of its fine quality;
it is best shaken out and dried by light winds. In dry, hot weather
it is advisable to use the tedder immediately after cutting and at
frequent intervals and to rake and cock while the fodder is still quite
moist. Rapid ripening sometimes makes it expedient to defer hauling
in favour of cutting and curing. It is then advisable to put it up
in large cocks.

Because of the scarcity and cost of farm labour, approved
methods of curing and handling have to be modified, and such im-
plements as hay loaders substituted for hand labour and cocking.
If hauling can be done from the windrow, as soon as the hay is suf-
ficiently cured, good results are obtained.

Compared with the labour of hay-making by the early settlers,
when cutting was done with a scythe, curing by turning with a fork,
raking with wooden rakes, and loading and unloading by hand,
modern hay-making is not arduous. Ten acres of hay meant a fairly
large undertaking for the pioneer farmer; his grandson, with less
help but more machinery, can make light work of five times that
area. When operating his machines he is not troubled with stumps

SEEDING TO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 27

and stones. His grandfather built fences with them. Seated on
his tedder, he can shake out as much hay in an hour as his great-
grandmother and her daughters could in a day. The raking, loading
and unloading are now largely done by horse-power.

The effect of meadow weeds: With the evolution of labour-
saving machinery and transportation facilities have come the intro-
duction and dissemination of farm weeds. The losses due to weeds
in the fodder crop are not well understood. The farmer can estimate
the depreciation in the yield of grain caused by weeds, but the total
yield of cured hay may be actually increased by their presence.

Badly infested pastures are good places in which to study weeds.
It will be observed that many kinds avoided by cattle are less
objectionable to horses and are sometimes even relished by sheep.
Some weeds, as Water Parsnip, are very poisonous. Others, such
as the mustards, docks and daisies, are not dangerous unless con-
sumed in considerable quantities or for long periods, when their
poisonous nature is made evident by the chronic ill-health of the
animals. When grazing, unless fodder grasses are quite depleted,
live stock are not apt to consume enough weeds seriously to impair
their health. When allowed to select their own food in fields, the
animals, especially cattle, usually thrive much better than when
provided with even more nutritious rations in the stable.

The acrid flavour of Wormseed Mustard, False Flax, Shepherd's
Purse and other members of the Mustard family is well known.
They contain a strong irritant, the effects of which, if the weeds are
consumed in quantity with cut feed, are best understood by those
who have suffered under a mustard plaster. When fed for long on
hay or grain that contains only a small quantity of the plants or
seeds, the effects are less acute. They are first noticeable in the
urine; the animal finally breaks out in deep ulcers, which, like those
sometimes produced by prolonged applications of mustard plaster, are
slow to heal.

Most members of the Cockle family contain saponin, which is
distinctly poisonous, and^ although they have not enough to prove
fatal to horses and cattle eating cockle-infested hay, they conduce
to an unthrifty condition indicated by imperfect digestion, loss of
appetite, lack of vigour, a hot skin and gradual loss of flesh.

Buttercups are strongly acrid and blister the mouths of animals;
stock will not pasture where they are prevalent. When consumed
in excess, or for a long period, they are said to cause abortion in cows.

Many members of the Sunflower family are known to be un-
wholesome, and some of them positively poisonous. Ragweed is a

28 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

strong irritant. Its pollen is believed to cause hay fever. Ragwort
(Senecio Jacoboea), which is common in some parts ot the Atlantic
provinces, has been shown to be the cause of the Pictou cattle disease.
Like many other weeds poisonous to some kinds of stock and harmless
to others, this is not injurious to sheep.

The objectionable flavour of weedy hay induces stalled animals,
which have no option but to eat it or starve, to pick over their fodder
and eat only the palatable part. To avoid this apparent waste, the
cutting box is used to turn weedy fodder into cut feed. The feed
so prepared is rendered unpalatable and often unwholesome by the
weeds. Milch cows will eat only enough to allay hunger and will
produce a gallon of milk of disagreeable flavour instead of three
gallons of good milk per day. Chronic ill-health and a condition of
unthrift in the live stock, particularly in the cattle, is often found
on a weed-infested farm. The value of a fodder crop may be reduced
or even destroyed by weeds. In establishing a meadow then, it
is most important to suppress objectionable weeds before the fodder
crop seeds are sown.

The duration of meadows and pastures depends on the kind
of farming, soil and drainage. For naturally well-drained upland
farms under mixed crops, short rotations with two years in Red
Clover and grasses are recommended. As soon as the hay crop of
the second year is removed, the meadow may be ploughed and
fallowed for the balance of the year to suppress weeds. An application
of farmyard manure, shallow ploughed or worked into the surface
soil, should fit the land for spring planting with a hoed or other
cleaning crop, which may be followed by a nurse crop of cereal
grains, and again seeded to Red Clover and grasses for two years
of meadow and pasture.

Because of the scarcity of farm labour, less intensive systems
of farming are popular in some districts. Large returns are obtained
from Alfalfa with much less labour. Hardy strains, particularly of
Variegated Alfalfa, are available, and when farmers get northern
grown seed from the best strains they can count on satisfactory crops
for years, provided the land is well drained and not infested with
perennial weeds. In districts where the crop is protected by snow
the danger of winter-killing is reduced. In the Niagara peninsula
fields of Variegated Alfalfa of more than thirty years standing still
produce large yields of fodder. Unless well protected, pure Alfalfa
is apt to be killed out by severe winters and few fields continue to
give satisfactory crops for more than five or six years.

In wet, clayey soils and river flats it is often necessary or ex-
pedient to leave the land to permanent meadows or pastures for long

SEEDING TO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 29

periods. It is difficult to prepare low-lying wet soils for cereals in
the early spring, and river flats are apt to be badly washed and
furrowed by floods unless retained by sods. The annual deposit of
sediment from spring freshets usually maintains the fertility of
river flats left in permanent meadow, and if the most suitable grasses
are well-established large yields of good hay may be obtained for
many years.

Fertilizing meadows of long duration is common in Europe,
less frequent in the eastern provinces of Canada, and not at all
general inland. A dressing of well-rotted farmyard manure applied
in the early spring every two or three years is highly beneficial, and
is the best way to maintain an upland meadow in good condition.
The decaying manure spread over the surface forms a mulch that
helps to retain the moisture. Clovers are often benefited by
potash and gypsum or other form of lime, but are little affected
by nitrogenous manures. Old meadows respond quickly to an
application, at the commencement of the growing season, of nitrate
of soda at the rate of about one hundred pounds per acre. On
low-lying, naturally moist soil, good yields may be had by sowing
every two or three years three or four hundred pounds per acre of
mixed fertilizer or bone meal that is rich in nitrogen.

Permanent pastures yield a small revenue when compared
with thorough cultivation and alternate cropping. If used for soiling,
ten acres of good Alfalfa will give as much nutritive fodder as forty
acres in permanent pasture. The waste due to tramping is much
greater in temporary pastures, such as Clover and Timothy, than
in permanent pastures composed of grass mixtures, but the yield is
usually much larger and the forage is more easily available to cattle.
Permanent pastures are of greatest value for sheep. On land that
is easily tillable and productive under alternate cropping, they are
not recommended for cattle, unless it is impossible to procure labour
to cultivate the land.

Reseeding and renovating are seldom necessary when proper
•care is taken of a meadow and natural winter protection is provided.
On some soils it will be found, however, that where several kinds of
grasses and clovers are sown, one or two sorts will predominate, to
the practical exclusion of the others. If a meadow of long duration
or a permanent pasture is required, it may be necessary to supple-
ment the kinds that have established themselves by re-seeding with
•other grasses. These must be selected with care and for a definite
purpose; Red Top, for instance, might be chosen for bottom grass
on moist lands where all other kinds except Timothy have been killed

30 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

out. The seeding should be done in the early spring, and, if the land
is dry enough, a sharp harrow, followed by a heavy roller, may be
used to cover the seed and secure a smooth surface.

Hillsides and exposed places in newly-seeded as well as long-
standing meadows and pastures often need renovating and re-seeding
after a severe winter. A liberal re-seeding followed by the harrow
or roller, or both, usually gives satisfactory results. If the soil on
the re-seeded patches is apt to become hard and baked, a light dressing
of well-rotted stable manure is necessary to insure a good catch.

Both new and old meadows are benefited by spring rolling,
especially if they have been repeatedly frozen and thawed during
the early spring.

CORN (Zea Mays L.)
Other English names: Indian Corn, Maize.

Botanical description: Corn is one of the tallest and most
vigorous of the annual grasses. The stems, which vary in height
in different types and varieties, are solid, whereas in most other grasses
they are hollow. The leaves are long and broad, wavy and gradually
tapering towards the apex. The top of the stem bears a large panicle
with spreading branches, each of which forms a spike with numerous
flowers. These flowers contain only the stamens- or male organs
and are normally unable to form seeds. The seeds are developed in
the ear, a kind of fleshy spike, the flowers of which are arranged
in distinct rows and contain only the pistils or female organs. When
young the ears are enclosed within a husk of broad leaves and nothing
can be seen of the flowers. At flowering time a cluster of long,
slender, yellowish-green or reddish threads protrude from the top
of the ear. These threads, called the silk, are the top ends of the
female flowers and catch the dust-like pollen developed in the male
flowers and transported by the wind. The development of the ear
starts, as in all other inflorescences of grasses, at the base and proceeds
upwards. Thus the first visible silk threads belong to the lower
flowers, which consequently, under normal conditions, are fertilized
earlier than the upper ones. Should the weather during the latter
part of the flowering period be unfavourable, the pollen will not be
freely transported and deposited on the silk and the upper part of
the ear may be partly or wholly barren, as the seeds are unable to-
develop properly without fertilization.

CORN. 31

Geographical distribution and history: Corn is undoubtedly
of American origin. It was grown by the Indians long before the
discovery of America. The Incas of Peru are said to have built
large storerooms for it, to prevent famine in case of crop failure.
It was grown as far north as the St. Lawrence valley when the first
explorers arrived there. Ears of corn are often found in old Indian
tombs, deposited with the deceased as provision for the long journey
to the happy hunting grounds.

Where or when it was first cultivated, or from what wild plant
it developed, is not definitely known. It is generally assumed that
its cultivation started in Central America and spread north and
south. It has never been found wild. This might either mean that
wild corn was extinct before botanists could make a record of it, or
that it is a plant so different from the cultivated form that it is now
impossible to recognize it. The latter assumption is the one generally
favoured, and the plant mentioned as the probable primitive form
is the Mexican Teosinte (Euchlaena mexicana Schrad.). Although
very different from corn in its general appearance, Teosinte is evid-
ently closely related to it, as is shown by the fact that hybrids
obtained by crossing the two produce germinable seeds. Though
this is not conclusive proof, it is evidence that corn may have de-
veloped from Teosinte, for in all other known cases hybrids between
distinct grass species are sterile.

Climate: Being of southern origin, corn requires a warm, moist
climate. In the north, where the season is short and the weather
comparatively cool, only the earliest varieties reach full maturity
under ordinary conditions.

Soil: It demands a warm, fertile soil and thrives best in a deep,
rich loam, well drained yet stored with abundant moisture. A good
supply of organic matter, furnishing readily available plant food,
will increase the yield considerably. Poor sandy soils, or soils with
the water table near the surface, do not allow the roots to gather
sufficient nourishment. In stiff clay, or in soils which form a hard-
pan subsurface, the growth is slow and the yield uncertain, especially
in dry weather.

Varieties: Corn includes hundreds of agricultural varieties.
This is chiefly due to the readiness with which cross-fertilization
takes place between individuals of different types. Some varieties
are dwarfs, no more than eighteen inches high; others are giants,

32 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

reaching a height of from twenty to twenty-five feet. In some the
ears are only an inch or two long; in others as much as sixteen inches.
The number of kernel rows, which is always even, ranges from eight
to twenty-four or more, according to variety. Abnormal individual
ears sometimes have as few as four in some varieties, or as many
as forty-eight in the large-eared sorts. The size of the kernels, their
shape, colour, chemical composition, etc., are extremely variable.
According to Dr. E. L. Sturtevant, the varieties may be classified
into the following seven principal groups.

1. The pod corns have each kernel enclosed in a pod or small
husk and the ear thus formed is also enclosed in husks. All other
groups have naked kernels within the husks. It is doubtful, however,
whether the pod corns form a natural group. Possibly the husks
surrounding the kernels are abnormal and might be found in any of
the main groups. This opinion is supported by the fact that the
kernel structure varies in the pod corns.

2. The pop corns are characterized by an excessive proportion
of the corneous endosperm; that is, the nutritious matter, which
forms the greater part of the kernel and is stored for the use of the
sprouting germ, contains little starch. In this group the kernels and
ears are small. The property of popping over a fire, which is the
complete turning inside out of the kernel through the explosion of
its moisture content, is most pronounced in varieties which have a
corneous endosperm throughout and is less marked as the percentage
of starch increases.

3. The flint corns may be recognized by the central part of
the endosperm being starchy and completely surrounded by a corn-
eous coat, varying in thickness in different varieties. Cartier found
varieties of this group in the neighbourhood of Montreal.

4. The dent corns have the central starchy part of the endo-
sperm surrounded by a corneous layer at the sides of the kernel only,
the starchy endosperm thus extending to the summit of the kernel.
When the endosperm dries and shrinks, various indentations are
formed on the summit of the kernel. The dent corns are extensively
grown in the United States, the number of varieties exceeding that
of all other varieties combined.

. 5. The soft corns have no corneous endosperm. The shrinkage
in ripening is therefore uniform in all parts of the kernel. To this
group belong the mummy corns of Peru and Chili.

CORN. 33

6. The sweet corns are characterized by translucent, horny
kernels and their more or less crinkled, wrinkled or shrivelled con-
dition. These corns are extensively grown for canning, especially in
the eastern parts of North America.

7. The starchy-sweet corns have the lower part of the kernel
starchy, the upper part half-horny and translucent. Little is known
about this group.

Agricultural value: When Columbus landed in the West
Indies, he was presented with a kind of bread made from a grain
which the natives called "mahiz." From this word is derived the
English maize, under which name the plant is known in Europe.
Columbus took corn home with him, but outside of Spain and
Portugal the plant was but slowly appreciated in Europe. It is
now grown there, especially in Italy, where corn porridge (polenta)
is the working man's common food, in Spain, where cakes of corn
meal (tortellas) are of great importance, and in the countries along
the lower course of the Danube. Latterly it has been grown ex-
tensively in Europe, East India and Africa. Its cultivation in
Europe, Asia or Africa, however, cannot be compared with its cul-
tivation in America. In South and Central America and in the
United States it is grown for both grain and fodder. Its importance
as a forage plant increases northwards with latitude; along the
northern limits of the corn belt it is grown principally for that pur-
pose.

Fodder: Corn is commonly fed green as a supplement to pasture
in the late summer and autumn. It is liked by all kinds of stock,
but for soiling it is especially valuable for cattle. It is sometimes
cut green and cured into dry fodder, but it is retentive of moisture
and difficult to store for winter feeding

When grown for husking, the cured fodder, after the ripened
grain is removed, is hard and woody. When cut short for feeding,
moistened and left in a pile until fermentation starts, dry corn stover
becomes more succulent, is wholesome, and is a cheap, bulky food
for store cattle. It is, however, deficient in feeding value when
compared with corn cut about two weeks earlier and made into
ensilage with the grain.

In Canada, corn is grown as an ensilage crop almost to the ex-
clusion of all others. Even along the northern limits of the corn belt
the early dwarf flint varieties, such as the common Eight-rowed
Yellow, will yield a larger food value per acre than any other forage

28549—3

34 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

crop. The type and variety best suited to the production of ensilage
in any locality depend on the length of the growing season and the
natural warmth of the soil. The maximum food value per ton is
obtained from corn that has reached the glazed stage of maturity,
or that stage of ripening when the kernels commence to form a hard
crust over their surface. The protein or flesh-forming constituents
are then of the greatest amount and highest quality, having developed
from nitrogenous substances of a much lower feeding value, which
were present in liquid form in the earlier stages of ripening. Ensilage
made from corn that has reached only the early milk stage is commonly
sour, and although valuable for its succulence, it is markedly de-
ficient as a food for stock when compared with corn that has nearly
reached maturity.

It is of first importance to have ensilage corn capable of reaching
the glazed stage, even under slightly unfavourable weather con-
ditions, in plenty of time for harvesting before danger of frost; it is
of secondary importance to obtain a large yield of both stalk and
grain. As a rule, the most profitable variety to grow for
ensilage on average soil — the variety that will give the largest food
value per acre — is one that may be depended upon to reach full
maturity when grown on a warmer soil in the same locality or on a
similar soil not more than forty or fifty miles south of it. Experience
in ensilage-making invariably demonstrates the wisdom of increasing
the acreage of early varieties rather than of depending on large
yielding late sorts for the desired tonnage.

For fodder, corn is commonly planted in drills at the rate of
from twelve to twenty quarts of good seed to the acre. The drills
should be not less than thirty-six inches apart for the short-growing
early sorts, and forty- two inches for the tall, late varieties.

When two or more varieties of corn for ensilage are to be planted
it is advisable to plant them separate, especially if one of the sorts
is taller and later in flowering than the other. When the smaller and
earlier varieties are planted in mixture with the larger and later sorts
the smaller, early corns are usually imperfectly fertilized and the
yield of grain from them is reduced.

Seed: Cross-fertilization between varieties should be prevented
if possible. The pollen is carried long distances by wind, and seeds
of varieties grown within four hundred yards of each other are apt
to be more or less impure.

Both shelled corn and corn in the ear are very retentive of
moisture; unless the seed is thoroughly dried before being stored
the vitality is apt to be injured or destroyed by heating or severe

MILLETS. 35

freezing. When fully ripe, seed corn should be cut and dried on the
stalk before husking. If the weather is damp and unfavourable to
drying in the shock, the seed should be dried on the ear by artificial
means; it should be protected from freezing until the cob is quite
dry and brittle. A dark germ with a wrinkled covering shows that
the seed has been injured by frost.

MILLETS.

The millets are among the most ancient agricultural plants,
grown from time immemorial in Asia and parts of Europe, where
the seed is used chiefly as human food. In America they are grown
as forage plants. In Canada they are seldom used in the regular
rotation, but are grown as catch crops.

All millets require a rich, loamy soil, stored with plant food
near the surface and containing a liberal amount of moisture. Under
favourable conditions the growth is rapid and a good stand is obtained
in a short time. The crop can be used for hay, pasture or ensilage.
The numerous varieties grown in Canada and the United States
belong to four species widely different in general appearance.

When the sunne shineth, make hay. — John Heywood, Proverbes, 1546.

Some persons recommend that, before housing the corn, a bramble frog should be hung up by
one of the hind legs at the threshold of the granary. To me it appears that the most important pre-
caution of all is to house the grain at the proper time; for if it is unripe when cut, and not sufficiently
firm, or if it is got in in a heated state, it follows of necessity that noxious insects will breed in it. —
Pliny, Natural History, 23-79.

Accuse not nature, she hath done her part;

Do thou but thine, and be not diffident

Of wisdom; she deserts thee not, if thou

Dismiss her not, when most thou need'st her nigh.

— Milton, Paradise Lost, 1669.

If you sow one Ground still with the same Corn, (I mean not the same Corn that grew upon the
same Ground, but the same kind of Grain, as Wheat, Barley, &c.) it will prosper but poorly; therefore
besides the resting of the Ground, you must vary the seed. — Bacon, Natural History, 1625.

As touching the various ways in which the earth itself needs treatment, either as being too moist
for sowing, or too salt for planting, these and the processes of cure are known to all men: how in one
case the superfluous water is drawn off by trenches, and in the other the salt corrected by being mixed
with various non-salt bodies, moist or dry. Yet here again, in spite of knowledge, some are careful
of these matters, others negligent. — Xenophon, The Economist, 434-355 B.C.

36 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

COMMON MILLET (Panicum miliaceum L.)*
Plate i; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. i.

Botanical description: Common Millet is an annual, generally
from two to four feet high. The stems are erect or ascending from
a decumbent base, rather stout and covered with outstanding hairs.
The leaves, which are also hairy, are flat and broad. The flowers
are in large panicles, which are often drooping and contain a great
number of spikelets. As a rule these are bright green, but occasion-
ally they have a blackish or purplish tint. Each spikelet contains
a single flower with a bright red pistil.

History: The wild plant from which the cultivated Common
Millet originated is not known; its cultivation goes further back
than history. The Swiss lake dwellers grew it as early as 2000 B.C.
and it has also been traced to the lake dwellings of Italy. It is
cultivated in eastern and southern Europe, and is of great importance
in east and south Africa. It was introduced into America rather
early, but has never been extensively grown in Canada.

Varieties: Like all other long-cultivated plants, Common Millet
occurs in a large number of varieties, differing from each other es-
pecially in the shape and structure of the panicle and the colour of
the seed. In some the panicle is open and erect, in others it is
compact and headlike. Broom Corn Millets have a spreading and
drooping panicle which resembles the seed cluster of Broom Corn.
The names of other varieties, such as White and Red French, refer
to the colour of the seed.

Agricultural value : Common Millet is better suited for human
food than any other of the millets mentioned. It is largely grown
for that purpose in the eastern parts of the Old World. Before the
potato was known it furnished the main part of the poor man's food
in central Europe. At present it is of practically no importance
there as food for the people. In North America it is used exclusively
as a forage plant.

When intended for hay it is important to cut it at the right time.

"This plant is the Common Millet of Europe, grown there from time immemorial. Some
confusion has arisen from the fact that what is sometimes called Common Millet in
America is not the Common Millet of Europe but is a Foxtail Millet, in Canada chiefly the
Hungarian variety.

Plafe I

COMMON MFLLE-T

( Panicum miliaceum L.)

COMMON MILLET. 37

It has its highest nutritive value when in bloom; after that the
quality of the hay deteriorates rapidly. When sown for hay or
pasture, thirty pounds of seed should be used per acre; when grown
for seed, twenty pounds are sufficient.

Seed: The seeds of Common Millet are considerably larger than
those of the Foxtail Millets. They are about one-eighth of an inch
long, ovate, somewhat flattened, with the outer side more convex
than the inner, shiny and differently coloured in different varieties.
The ordinary colours are white, red, yellow, brown, grey and black.
The seed of Japanese Panicle Millet, which is the most widely
grown variety of Common Millet in Canada, weighs sixty pounds
to the bushel.

Even though the earth lie waste and barren, it may still declare its nature; since a soil productive
of beautiful wild fruits can by careful tending be made to yield fruits of the cultivated kind as beau-
tiful.— Xenophon, The Economist, 434-355 B.C.

Many persons, for the more effectual protection of millet, recommend that a bramble-frog should
be carried at night round the field before the hoeing is done, and then buried in an earthen vessel in
the middle of it. If this is done, they say, neither sparrows nor worms will attack the crop. The
frog, however, must be disinterred before the millet is cut; for if this is neglected, the produce will
be bitter. It is pretended, too, that all seeds which have been touched by the shoulders of a mole
are remarkably productive. — Pliny, Natural History, 23-79.

Be suer of hay, and of provender some,
For labouring cattle, till pasture be come.
And if ye do mind, to have nothing to sterve,
Have one thing or other, for all things to serve.

— Thomas Tusser, Five Hundreth Poinles of Husbandrit, 1557.

A soil that is blackish and rich under the entered ploughshare, and whose mould is loose and

crumbling, for this we aim at in ploughing, is generally best for corn That land which

exhales thin mists and flying vapour, and drinks in the moisture, and emits it at pleasure; and which,
always green, clothes itself with its own grass, and does not hurt the ploughshare with scurf and salt

rust that, you will find by experience, to be both suitable for cattle and fitted for

agriculture. — Virgil, Georgics, 37 B.C.

It is a world also to see how manie strange hearbs, plants and annuall fruits are dailie brought
unto us from the Indies, Americans, Taprobane, Canarie lies, and all parts of the world: the which,
albeit that in respect of the constitutions of our bodies they doo not grow for us, because that God
hath bestowed sufficient commodities'upon everie countrie for hir owne necessitie ; yet for delectation
sake unto the eie, and their odoriferous savours unto the nose, they are to be cherished, and God to
be glorified also in them, because they are his good gifts, and created to doo man help and service. —
William Harrison, 1593.

38 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

FOXTAIL MILLET (Setaria italica (L.) (Beauv.)

Plate 2; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 3.
Other Latin name: Ixophorus italicus (L.) Nash.

Botanical description: Foxtail Millet is an annual with
rather stiff and erect stems, ordinarily from two to four feet high,
but sometimes reaching a height of six feet or more. The leaves arc-
broad and somewhat similar in size and texture to those of Common
Millet. From the latter, however, this plant is easily distinguished,
even when very young, by its lack of hairiness. The inflorescence
is a contracted panicle, often nodding at the top; on account of its
short branches it resembles a spike. Its lower branches, as a rule,
are not so close together as the upper ones. The spikelets are
crowded and mixed with stiff bristles, the latter representing branches
on which no spikelets are developed. These bristles are generally
long and often reddish or purplish. They give the panicle the
appearance of a foxtail, which is the common name for cultivated
millets belonging to the genus Setaria. Each spikelet contains only
one flower with a yellow pistil.

History: It is generally assumed that Foxtail Millets developed
in prehistoric time from Green Foxtail or Pigeon Grass (Setaria
viridis (L.) Beauv.), which in many parts of Canada is a trouble-
some weed; but there seems to be no conclusive proof of this. At
any rate, its cultivation goes very far back. It is one of the five
holy plants which, according to a command issued 2700 B.C., were
sown each year by the emperor of China at a public ceremony. At
present it is grown extensively in Central Asia, northern East India,
China and Japan. It is also cultivated in southern and eastern
Europe, but is there of only secondary importance.

Varieties : There are a great many so-called varieties of Fox-
tail Millet, most of which, however, are not varieties in a botanical
sense and are therefore not clearly defined. So-called German Millet
illustrates this fact. This variety is so variable in appearance and
habit of growth that practically no field is uniform. Hungarian
Millet or Hungarian Grass, Japanese Millet, Siberian Millet, Golden
Wonder, Holy Terror, Gold Mine, etc., are more or less distinct
varieties and yet are not really uniform within themselves.

Plate 2

HUNGARIAN OR GPRMAN MILLlrT

(Sehana ihaiica a.) Betuu>.).

PEARL MILLET. 39

Agricultural value: Foxtail Millet is an important food plant
in many parts of Asia, especially in northern China, where the seed
is ground and used for porridge. In America it is not used for human
food. The best time to cut for hay is when the majority of the
plants are in bloom, as the nutritive value of the stems and leaves
is then greatest. When the plants begin to blossom, the bristles of
the spikes are still soft and harmless, but when the flowering period
is over they become stiff and harsh, produce more or less irritation
in the digestive tract of the animals, and are said to sometimes form
compact balls in the stomach, causing serious trouble or even death.
When used for pasture, millet should be grazed before the heads are
formed. When grown for hay or pasture, thirty pounds of seed
should be sown to the acre ; when grown for seed production, twenty
pounds are sufficient.

Seed: The seed varies in size. It is always smaller than the
seed of Common Millet, but is of the same general shape, though
the inner side is more decidedly flat. The colour varies with the
variety, ranging from orange and yellow to grey and black. Some-
times different coloured seeds are found in the same variety. This
is especially the case in Hungarian Grass, the seed of which varies
from pale yellow to black; seeds of widely different colour may
occur in the same plant and even in the same head. So far as is
known, no satisfactory explanation of this fact has been offered. It
may be the result of cross-fertilization and thus correspond to the
similar phenomenon observed in corn.

A bushel of Foxtail Millet seed weighs forty-eight pounds.

PEARL MILLET (Pennisetum typhoideum Rich.)

Pearl Millet is an annual plant which, on rich alluvial soil and
under favourable climatic conditions, reaches a height of from six to
fifteen feet. The stems are, extremely leafy and the flowers are borne
in dense spikes, frequently fourteen inches in length. The plant
somewhat resembles corn, although it is more slender and more
branching.

Pearl Millet is a native of tropical Africa, where it is as important
as wheat is in America. It includes a considerable number of var-
ieties, none of which, however, has proved suitable to the climate
of Canada.

4O FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

BARNYARD MILLET (Panicum Crus-galli L.).
Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 2.

Other Latin names: Echinochloa Crus-galli (L.) Beauv.; Oplismcnus
Crus-galli Drum.

Other English name: Barnyard Grass.

Botanical description: Barnyard Millet is an annual which
grows to a height of from one to three feet. The stems, often knee-
bent, are ascending and rather stout. It differs from other millets
mentioned by having the sheaths of the leaves compressed and
sharply keeled and by the presence of a bunch of long hairs at the
base of the leaf. The panicle is composed of numerous one-sided
clusters of spikelets, varying in size, colour and general appearance.
Each spikelet consists of a single flower, which generally has a short
stout awn. In some varieties (for instance, Japanese Barnyard
Millet) the awn is wanting, while in others it is very long.

Geographical distribution: Barnyard Millet is indigenous to
the Old World, where it occurs in moist fields, in gardens, along
roads and ditches, in waste places, etc., often as a troublesome weed.
It is not a native of Canada, but was introduced early.

Agricultural value: Being a coarse grass which rapidly deteri-
orates in quality after blooming, Barnyard Millet should be cut for
hay when the plants are in flower, or even earlier. If intended for
ensilage, cutting may be delayed until flowering is well over.

Twenty pounds of seed should be sown to the acre for hay; for
seed production, twelve and a half pounds are enough.

Meadow land will grow old in time, and it requires to be renovated every now and then, by sowing
upon it a crop of beans, or else rape or millet, after which it should be sown the next year with corn,
and then left for hay the third. — Pliny, Natural History, 23-79.

The sticks and the stones go gather up clean,
For hurting of scythe, or for harming of green.

— Thomas Tusser. Five Hundreth Pointes of Husbandrie. 1557.

Come then, let your sturdy bullocks forthwith turn up the rich soil, in the very earliest months
of the year; and let the dusty summer with its strongest suns bake the clods as they lie exposed.
But if the land be not rich, it will be enough to plow it lightly, rather before the rising of Arcturus;
in the former case, lest weeds obstruct the healthy corn; in the latter, lest the scanty moisture forsake
the unproductive soil. — Virgil, Georgies, 37 B.C.

REED CANARY GRASS. 4!

REED CANARY GRASS (Phalaris arundinacea L.).
Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 4.

Botanical description: Reed Canary Grass is a perennial
plant with a vigorous creeping rootstock, from which long, scaly,
underground runners are developed. These creep extensively and
later send up stout, smooth stems, from two to six feet high. The
leaves are broad, almost a foot long and sometimes marked with
white stripes. The panicle is large with rather short branches, which
are spreading during flowering time but later become erect. The
spikelets, which are crowded toward the end of the branches, are
narrow, pale green, sometimes slightly tinged with purple. They
are generally a little curved and contain only one awnless flower.
The panicle resembles that of Orchard Grass, but is readily dis-
tinguished by the one-flowered spikelets.

Geographical distribution: Reed Canary Grass is native in
almost all Europe and the temperate parts of Asia, Siberia and North
America. It is fairly common in Canada, especially in the Prairie
Provinces.

Habitat: It grows naturally on low, wet ground, along streams
and ditches, and in marshes and sloughs. Although a native of
wet ground, it will endure considerable drought. It is little affected
by frost.

Agricultural value: This grass becomes rather coarse and stiff
with age and should be used for hay or pasture when comparatively
young. In many parts of the great plains of the northern United
States it forms a large part of the native hay.

Biting cold would never let grass grow. — Shakespeare, 2 Henry VI., Act 3, Sc. II,, 1592.

What is good tillage? First, to plow thoroughly: second, to plow: third, to manure. The
other part of tillage is to have good seed, to sow plentifully, and to take up all the weeds that may
grow during the season. — Cato, 95-46 B.C.

If after you have put the seed into the ground, you will await the instant when, while earth is
being richly fed from heaven, the fresh green from the hidden seed first springs, and take and turn
it back again, this sprouting germ will serve as food for earth: as from manure an inborn strength
will presently be added to the soil. But if you suffer earth to feed the seed of corn within it and to
bring forth fruit in an endless round, at last it will be hard for the weakened soil to yield large corn
crops. — Xenophon, The Economist, 434-355, B.C.

28549—4

42 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

SWEET VERNAL GRASS (Anthoxanthum odor alum L.)
Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 5.

Botanical description: Sweet Vernal Grass is a perennial,
with a short rootstock and tufted stems. The stems reach a height
of from half a foot to two feet and carry the leaves principally
toward their base. The leaves are bright green, short and hairy
along the margins, especially below. The flowers are arranged in a
dense, spikelike panicle, which is green when young but later turns
golden yellow. Each spikelet contains three flowers, two of which,
however, are barren and greatly reduced. Each barren flower con-
sists of a dark-coloured glume covered with dense, stiff hairs and
provided with a strong knee-bent awn. The fertile flower, which is
placed between the barren ones, is of the ordinary type, but contains
only two stamens.

Geographical distribution: Sweet Vernal Grass is distributed
over large areas of the Old World. It is common in most European
countries, western and northern Asia, and parts of northern Africa.
It has been introduced into North America and occurs especially in
the eastern parts of Canada.

Habitat: It grows naturally in meadows, woods, gardens, and
on almost any kind of soil. It prefers moist sands and loams, though
it is little affected by drought.

Agricultural value: Sweet Vernal Grass is one of the earliest
grasses. On account of its low growth and short leaves, however,
the agricultural value is not great. It contains a sweet-smelling
substance which, while giving the hay an agreeable odour, makes
the taste of the plant bitter and not liked by stock.

It is the best plan to cut hay in the night while the dews are falling. — Pliny, Natural History,
23-79.

Awake, the morning shines, and the fresh field
Calls us, we lose the prime, to mark how spring
Our tended plants * * * *
How nature paints her colours, how the bee
Sits on the bloom extracting liquid sweet.

— Milton, Paradise Lost, 1669.

To obtain the knowledge the farmer needs, he must not only think about planting, but he must
do it. — Cato, 95-46, B.C.

KNOT ROOT GRASS. 43

KNOT ROOT GRASS (Muhlenbergia racemosa (Michx.) BSP.)

Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 6.
Other Latin name : Muhlenbergia glomerata Trin.

Botanical description: Knot Root Grass is perennial with a
vigorous root system. Its creeping rootstocks are branched, ir-
regularly tubercled, and send out numerous scaly runners, from the
ends of which stems develop. The stems are from one to three feet
high, rather succulent when young, becoming hard and woody when
old. They are freely branched, especially below, and form loose
tufts or rather dense, extensive mats. The leaves are narrow, nu-
merous and crowded, chiefly towards the base of the stems. The
panicles are narrow, three to four inches long, with short, upright
branches. The latter are densely crowded with narrow spikelets,
which consist of two awl-shaped sterile glumes, enclosing a single
flower shorter than the glumes.

Geographical distribution and habitat: Knot Root Grass
is a native of Canada, distributed practically all over the country.
It reaches its greatest perfection on loose, gravelly or sandy soil
and does not thrive where the ground is too moist. In wet soil the
stems are low and the whole plant is often tinged with purple.

Agricultural value: This plant has been subjected to experi-
ments for some time, but no conclusive evidence has been gained
regarding its agricultural value. About twenty pounds of good seed
should be sown to the acre for hay or pasture.

Titania. — Or, say, sweet love, what thou desir'st to eat.

Bottom. — Truly, a peck of provender: I could munch your good dry oats. Methinks I have a
great desire to a bottle of hay: good hay, sweet hay, hath no fellow. — Shakespeare, Midsummer
Nigkt's Dream, Act 4, Sc. I., 1505. -."

Good provender, labouring horses would have,
Good hay and good plenty, plough-oxen do crave;
To hale out thy muck, and to plow up thy ground,
Or else it may hinder thee many a pound.

— Thomas Tusser, Five Hundreth Pointes of Husbandrie, 1557.

The term "goods" may be defined as something that is serviceable to the owner. The same
things therefore are goods to him who knows how to make use of them but not goods to him who
does not know. Land certainly can not be called a part of a man's goods if, instead of supporting him,
i t brings him nothing but hunger. — Xenophon, The Economist, 434-355, B.C.

44 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

TIMOTHY (Phleum pratense L.).

Plate 3; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 7.
Other English names: Meadow Cat's Tail, Herd's Grass.

Botanical description: Timothy is a perennial grass which
has a very short rootstock and therefore grows in more or less compact
tufts. The stems, which reach a height of from one to four feet or
more, are smooth and generally erect. Especially on dry and hard
soil the base of the stems is thickened into a kind of bulb, which
contains a supply of nutritive matter of a peculiar kind. The leaves,
which when in bud are rolled inward from one side, are generally
short compared with the height of the plant. The spikelets are
arranged in a dense, cylindrical, spikelike inflorescence, each spikelet
containing but one flower enclosed in a pair of acutely keeled glumes,
which are not fastened together as in Meadow Foxtail. In shape
and size the spikes of Timothy and Meadow Foxtail are somewhat
similar, but that of Timothy feels rough when touched, whereas the
spike of Meadow Foxtail is very soft. When in flower the arrange-
ment of the male and female organs is conducive to cross-fertil-
ization, which is effected by air currents.

Geographical distribution: Timothy is indigenous to Europe
with the exception of Turkey. It is also a native of northern Africa
and large portions of western Asia and Siberia. It was introduced
into North America with the early settlers, and is now generally
cultivated throughout the northern United States and the eastern
provinces of Canada.

History: Although a native of Europe, the value of Timothy was
first recognized in North America. It was brought to Maryland
about 1720 by Timothy Hanson, after whom it was named. The
name Herd's Grass, which is used in New England, is said to be
derived from a Mr. Herd, who found it in New Hampshire and
introduced it into cultivation.

Cultural conditions: For cold, moist or wet lands, particu-
larly for heavy clay soils, Timothy is superior to any other grass
for hay. It succeeds best on moist loams and clays. It does not
thrive on sour lands or on soils liable to become parched during
drought, such as impoverished sandy soils or shallow soils over rocks.

Plate 3

TIMOTHY

( Pbleuro prepense L.

TIMOTHY. 45

Timothy is essentially a plant of temperate climates and is
affected more by conditions of moisture than by temperature. It is
very resistant to cold and bears a heavy cover of snow of long duration.
Although the root system is rather shallow, it stands drought fairly
well; the yields, however, are light under too dry conditions.

Varieties: Timothy includes innumerable types, markedly dif-
ferent from each other and of widely different agricultural value.
In places where wild Timothy, or Timothy escaped from cultivation,
has established itself, hundreds of types can be found side by side
under exactly the same conditions. Giant plants, extremely leafy
and consequently of great economic value, may be found cheek by
jowl with small, dwarf types with but few leaves and spikes only
half an inch long. Open tufts with ascending or almost decumbent
stems may be seen in company with dense and bunchy tufts.
Pale green, bluish green and bluish red plants may be found growing
side by side. Early types, with the basal leaves brown and dead,
may occur alongside of late maturing plants with an abundance of
green leaves.

Habits of growth: Timothy is rather slow-growing and as a
rule medium to late in maturing. It is in flower early in July in
the southwest peninsula of the province of Ontario and from the
middle to the end of July in Manitoba and northeastern Quebec.
The seed is ripe about a month after flowering. If sown with cereals
in the spring, it gives a satisfactory hay crop the following year.

Agricultural value: Timothy is used in Canada almost to the
exclusion of other grasses, largely because clean seed of strong vitality
is generally available at a low price. The expense per acre of seeding
is less than with any other grass.

If fed alone, it is of low nutritive value for growing animals or
for milk production, because it is deficient in flesh-forming constit-
uents; it is therefore not a profitable fodder by itself for those pur-
poses. A liberal mixture of clover improves it. It is favoured for
work horses that have heavy grain rations as well, and, on account
of its digestibility, it is the standard hay for livery horses required
to work immediately after feeding.

Except on rich, moist lands, it does not by itself develop into
a thick stand of plants, and for uplands it is better sown with other
grasses or with Red Clover. When a fodder crop is required for only
two years in a short rotation, it may be sown alone or with Alsike

46 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

Clover on heavy, moist or wet soils, and with Red Clover on dryer
and lighter land. By relatively thick seeding a grass of finer texture
is produced, which should be cut soon after the spike is well formed
and flowering has commenced. If left until late flowering, some in-
crease in yield is obtained at the expense of the quality and feeding
value of the hay. When it reaches its maximum growth, the stalk
becomes hard and woody. If a second growth is wanted, it should
be cut just before the flowering period, as this makes the aftermath
greater.

When sown alone, from nine to fifteen pounds of good, fresh
seed should be applied per acre.

Timothy is not a desirable pasture grass, except as a part of a
mixture. On account of its shallow root system and somewhat
bunchy growth, it will not stand tramping as well as other grasses
commonly recommended for pasture. In the dryer uplands it will
within a few years give place to the native grasses, especially if the
fields are allowed to be grazed bare by sheep.

Seed: For a seed crop Timothy should be harvested as soon as
possible after the plant has reached full maturity — when the spike
turns from green to yellowish. If harvested too early, the seed will
be small, undeveloped and of poor germinating power. If harvested
after it is ripe, the seed is apt to hull when it is threshed and to lose
its bright silvery lustre, thus giving it the effect of old seed.

Timothy is commonly threshed with an ordinary grain thresher,
although the best obtainable seed is harvested by hand and threshed
by flail. It is grown in the St. Lawrence valley and Georgian Bay
district, and the quality of this seed from the standpoint of boldness
and bright silvery colour is not surpassed. It is sometimes saved
from screenings of fall wheat sown after Timothy sod, but such seed
is generally polluted with False Flax and other weed seeds not common
in grass lands.

Seed of good quality is of a bright silvery lustre, and only a
small amount is hulled. Dull-looking seed is either old or has been
harvested or stored under unfavourable conditions. When newly
threshed, the vitality of the hulled seeds is not inferior to that of
the unhulled ; but the naked seeds lose their vitality earlier than those
enclosed in seed coats. If fully matured seed is preserved in a cool,
dry place, it retains its vitality from three to five years; even when
nine years old it gives a high total percentage of germinable seeds,
although at that age the germ is usually perceptibly weakened.

TIMOTHY.

The legal weight per bushel is forty-eight pounds.

The great bulk of the Timothy seed of commerce is clean when
compared with the seeds of other grasses and clovers. The prin-
cipal weed seeds to be guarded against when purchasing it are Ox-
eye Daisy, False Flax, Mayweed, Sheep Sorrel, Bladder Campion,
Perennial Sow Thistle, Canada Thistle, Chickweed and Cinquefoil.

Timothy, like many other species of grasses, is attacked by
Ergot (Clamceps}. Ergot grains (sclerotia) vary in size and form
according to the species of grain or grass on which they develop.
The solid bodies are dark purple and may readily be detected
protruding from the seedcoat in the spike. Meadows infested with
Ergot should not be taken for seed.

Mow your hay in the proper season and be cautious that you do not mow it too late. Cut
before the seed is ripe. — Cato, 95-46 B.C.

Here may'st thou range the goodly, pleasant field,
And search out simples to procure thy heal,
What sundry virtues, sundry herbs do yield,

'Gainst grief which may thy sheep or thee assail.

— Michael Drayton, Eclogue VII., 1563-1631.

When the grass is cut it should be turned toward the sun, and must never be stacked until it is
quite dry. If this last precaution is not careiull • taken, a kind of vapour will be seen arising from
the rick in the morning, and as soon as the sun is . / it w'.il ignite to a certainty, and so be consumed.
— Pliny, Natural History, 23-79.

If rreadow be forward, Lc mov.-rn if some,
But n:ow as the makers ".ay well : 'ercome.
Take heed to the weather, the v\im and the sky,
If danger approacheth, then cock apace, cry.

— Thomas Tusser, Five Hundreth Pointes of Husbandrie, 1557.

But saltish ground, and what is usually called sour — that is unproductive of corn crops; it is
not rendered kindly by ploughing, nor does it preserve to grapes their natural good qualities, nor to
apples their character and name — will give you the following indication. Take down from the smoky
roofs baskets of close woven twigs and the strainers of your wine-press. Into these let some of that
faulty mould and sweet water from the spring be pressed brimful; you will find that all the water will
strain out, and big drops pass through the twigs. But the unmistakeable taste will prove your test,
and the bitterness will, by the sensation it produces, twist awry the tasters' faces, expressive of their
pain. — Virgil, Georgics, 37 B.C.

48 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

MEADOW FOXTAIL (Alopecurus pratensis L.).
Plate 4; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 8.

Botanical description: Meadow Foxtail is a perennial much
resembling Timothy. It has a short rootstock, which produces
scaly, underground runners. The ends of the runners develop into
stems and leafy shoots. If the runners are very short, as they
generally are in comparatively dry soils, the whole plant becomes
tufted almost like Timothy. If the runners grow to any consider-
able length, as they often do in wet and loose soil, the tufts are
looser and less marked. The stems are from two to four feet high,
sometimes knee-bent and rooting at the base. They are smooth and
leafy to above the middle. The bulk of the leaves is produced by
the basal shoots. They are generally long, broad and soft, the sheaths
of the upper ones often being swollen.

The flowers are in a spike rather like that of Timothy. The
spike of Meadow Foxtail can, however, always be easily recognized
by its softness; that of Timothy is rough. The softness of the spike,
which has given the plant its name, is due to the spikelets being
covered with long, soft hairs. Each spikelet contains a single flower
enclosed within two acutely keeled glumes, which are fastened
together at their base. The flower carries an awn at its back, the
awns projecting above the top of the spikelets and giving the spike
a bristly appearance. Fertilization being accomplished by means
of air currents, there is a chance for self- as well as cross-fertilization.
The latter is the more common on account of the arrangement of
the stamens and pistil during flowering.

Geographical distribution: Meadow Foxtail is indigenous to
the greater part of Europe, northern Africa and central and northern
Asia. It is distributed throughout eastern and central Canada and
is now grown in practically all European countries. It occurs nat-
urally in moist meadows, marsh lands, along catches and streams
with low banks, and generally in moist soil rich in nutritive matter.

Cultural conditions: Although preferring wet localities,
Meadow Foxtail cannot be grown successfully where water remains
stagnant the greater part of the year. It thrives best in low-lying
clays and loams which are temporarily flooded. It is extremely
resistant to frost and is regarded as the earliest grass for eastern
Canada. It starts early in spring and has reached full development

Plate 4'

MEADOW FOXTAIL

(Alopecurus prahensis L.)

MEADOW FOXTAIL. 49

before most other grasses have made appreciable growth. It is
useful wherever early pasture or hay is required.

Agricultural value: If grown for hay it should be cut when in
bloom. The stems then contain a great amount of sugar, making
the hay sweet and nutritive. After flowering, this sugar is used for
the formation of the seed and the feeding value of the hay decreases
rapidly. If grown for pasture, Meadow Foxtail furnishes an abun-
dance of excellent fodder early in the season when there is nothing
else to graze on. All kinds of stock like it. Where the land is suit-
able, it is no doubt one of the most valuable grasses. It is prac-
tically always grown in a mixture.

Seed: Meadow Foxtail ripens its seed very quickly but rather
unevenly. This makes harvesting comparatively difficult. In many
places in Europe the seed is stripped off by hand. Gathered in such
a way, it is dried in an airy place and turned daily for about two
weeks. If not thus treated, germination will be rather low. Com-
mercial seed is generally of low vitality, owing to uneven maturing.
To secure a large amount of good seed, cut the crop a little before
full maturity, make the sheaves small, stand them nine or ten,
together in round shocks and leave them to ripen. When grown
alone, twenty to twenty-five pounds of seed to the acre are sufficient.

Good seed is straw-coloured and weighs from six to twelve
pounds to the bushel.

It hath been noted that Seed of a year old is the best, and of two or three years is worse; and
that which is more old is quite barren, though (no doubt) some Seeds and Grains last better than
others. — Bacon, Natural History, 1625.

There is no storm that may them deface,

Nor hail, nor snojy, nor wind nor frostCs keen.

— ChaucerrT/ie Flower and the Leaf, 1360.

Meadow lands should be selected in a rich, or else a moist or well-watered, soil, and care should
be taken to draw the rain-water upon them from the highroad. The best method of ensuring a good
crop of grass, is first to plough the land, and then to harrow it: but, before passing the harrow over
it, the ground should be sprinkled with such seed as may have fallen from the hay in the hay-lofts
and mangers The land should not be watered, however, the first year, nor should cattle be put to
graze upon it before the second hay-harvest, for fear lest the blade should be torn up by the roots.
or be trodden down and stunted in its growth. — Pliny, Natural History, 23-79.

28549—5

RfrD TOP
(AgrotHt lib* '

RED TOP. 51

North America. Its cultivation began in England about two hundred
and fifty years ago, but it is only since the middle of the last century
that it has been commonly grown in Europe.

Cultural conditions: Red Top grows naturally in all kinds of
localities. Some of the varieties persist in light, sandy soil where
little moisture is available, but they make a poor growth and have
no agricultural value. Other varieties make a luxuriant growth in
wet places and are of great importance. As the yield depends almost
entirely upon the growth of the creeping root system, the grass does
best in soil where the roots can develop freely. This they will do
in light and wet soil, whereas in heavy dry land the rootstocks and
runners become short and rather unproductive. Red Top makes a
splendid growth in a moist climate. It is therefore suitable for low
ground not far from the seashore. It is very resistant to cold.

Habits of growth: In proper soil it makes a good growth the
same year it is sown. It starts comparatively late in spring but
when once growing it keeps on until late in the fall.

Agricultural value: When mixed with other species for hay,
Red Top makes a splendid bottom grass and will grow in places too
wet for most other grasses. On account of its slow start, it has not
as a rule reached full development when the other grasses in the
mixture are ready to cut. On the other hand, it produces leaves and
stems until late in the fall and is valuable where a second growth
is required for pasture. It is liked by all kinds of stock and stands
tramping very well, being even induced by it to send out a greater
number of rootstocks and runners. It quickly develops into a dense
and even sod, but if allowed to grow too long in one place it may be
difficult to suppress. It is especially valuable for lawn-making. If
used alone, twenty pounds of good seed should be sown to the acre.

Seed: When grown for seed it should be harvested when the
seeds are easily rubbed out. Commercial Red Top, as a rule, con-
tains a great amount of chaff. So-called recleaned seed is nothing
but ordinary seed from which some of the chaff has been removed.
Ordinary commercial seed is reddish brown with a silvery sheen.
The more silvery the lustre, the less the chaff and the heavier the
weight. When the proportion of chaff is large, the weight is rather
low, sometimes not more than eight pounds per bushel. Recleaned
seed containing little chaff may weigh as much as thirty-five pounds
a bushel. As a rule the seed germinates well as it retains its vitality
for several years.

52 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

Agrostis vulgaris With.

Botanical description: This grass has often been confused
with the preceding one. It differs from Red Top in the following
essential respects.

It grows in bunches, owing to the fact that the rootstocks are
very short and do not produce creeping runners. All the branches
of the panicle, the main as well as the secondary ones, spread after
flowering, and as the lower main branches are generally a little
shorter than the middle ones, the outline of the panicle is more that
of an egg than of a pyramid. The ligule is extremely short and
sometimes wanting.

Geographical distribution: It is doubtful whether this plant,
which has the same general geographical distribution in the Old
World as has Red Top, is indigenous to North America.

Habitat: It occurs naturally in sandy or gravelly soil and is
more adapted to dry conditions than is Red Top.

Agricultural value: There is about the same relation between
the agricultural value of Agrostis vulgaris and that of Red Top as
there is between the value of Sheep and Meadow Fescue. In other
words, Agrostis vulgaris is a rather inferior grass which should not
be used where more valuable grasses can be grown. The leaves and
stems being rather short, the former generally crowded near the
ground, it cannot be grown to advantage for hay. Its chief value
is as a pasture grass on poor and dry soil.

Seed: The seed is like that of Red Top, though as a rule a little
smaller and more yellowish. In many cases, however, it is almost
impossible to separate the seeds of the two species.

BLUE-JOINT GRASS (Calamgrostis canadensis (Michx.) Beauv.)

Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 10.

Other Latin name: Deyeuxia canadensis Hook.

Other English names: Small Reed Grass, Sand Grass, Canada Bent-
grass.

Botanical description: Blue-joint Grass is perennial with a
creeping rootstock which sends out brown, scaly, underground
runners. The runners indicate that the plant does not growin dense

BLUE-JOINT GRASS. 53

tufts. The stems are more or less clustered, the clustering depending
on the character of the soil. They are rather firm in texture, from
two to five feet high, reddish-brown or bluish-red below. This is
why the plant is called Blue-joint Grass. The leaves are numerous,
broad, long and very rough. The flowers are in a large panicle,
built up after the fashion of that of Red Top, and generally reddish-
brown. For this reason Blue-joint Grass is improperly called Red
Top in many places in western Canada. Although the panicles are
somewhat alike, the differences between the two species are pro-
nounced. The easiest and most accurate way to identify them is
to examine the flowers. Blue-joint Grass has only one flower in
each spikelet, just as Red Top, but the flower has an awn and is
surrounded at its base by a tuft of white, silky hairs, very conspic-
uous and of about the length of the flower itself. Such hairs are
never present at the base of the flower of Red Top.

Geographical distribution: Blue-joint Grass is indigenous to
Canada and the northern parts of the United States.

Habitat: It occurs naturally in moist meadows and marches,
along rivers and creeks, at the border of lakes, etc., and generally
on bottom lands where the ground is wet.

Agricultural value: Sometimes it occupies large areas, to the
exclusion of other grasses. Hay from such areas is said to be of excel-
lent quality and relished by all kinds of stock. It is also said to be
palatable and nutritious a long time after flowering. Although experi-
ments are necessary to confirm this statement, there is no reason to
deny it and there is some evidence to support it. Attempts to grow
Blue-joint Grass from seed, made at one of the experiment stations
of the United States, were unsuccessful, the seeds seeming to lack
vitality. This may mean that no seeds, or very few, are developed,
as is the case in Reed Grass (Phragmites communis Trin.). Should
this be true, it would be easy to understand how the grass keeps its
nutritive qualities after flowering. As has been pointed out in the
description of Meadow Fextail, the nutritious constituents are used
for the formation of the seed. Should no seed develop, the nutriment
remains in the hay, thus making it valuable even after flowering.

As a matter of fact, little is known about the feeding value of
Blue-joint Grass. It may be an important addition to Canadian
forage plants, but nothing positive can be said at present. It is of
special value for very wet soil, as it grows in places too wet for even
such moisture-loving plants as Red Top.

54 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

YELLOW OAT GRASS (Trisetum flavescens (L.) Beauv.)

Plate 6; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. n.
Other English names: Yellow False Oat, Golden Oat Grass.

Botanical description: Yellow Oat Grass is perennial with a
short rootstock forming loose tufts. The stems are from one to two
feet high, very slender, and leafy to about the middle. Secondary
shoots develop from the base of the stems. They sprout from buds
within sheaths of old leaves and are at first enclosed by them. In
the development of the shoots the old sheaths burst, and thus the
base of the stems becomes surrounded by the ragged remnants of
brown old sheaths. The secondary shoots produce quite a number
of leaves. These, like those of the stems, are very soft in texture
and covered with soft hairs. Their sheaths, as a rule, are also hairy.
The flowers are arranged in a panicle, pyramidal in shape and with
spreading branches during flowering time. After flowering, the
branches turn upwards and the panicle thus becomes contracted and
narrow. The numerous spikelets are green at first, but toward
flowering time they turn a beautiful golden yellow — hence the name
of the grass. After flowering they assume a duller, yellowish-brown
shade. The spikelets contain three flowers, each of which is enclosed
by two glumes. The outer glume bears on its back a delicate,
somewhat bent and twisted awn. The fertilization is accomplished
as in Tall Oat Grass.

Geographical distribution: Yellow Oat Grass is indigenous
to Europe, northern Africa and the temperate parts of Asia. It has
been introduced into North America. It has been recorded only
once as growing wild in Canada.

Habitat: It grows naturally in somewhat dry meadows, along
roadsides, on the slopes and even summits of mountains, and in
mountain valleys.

Cultural conditions : Yellow Oat Grass is not fastidious about
the soil, provided that other conditions are favourable. Although it
stands some drought, it makes poor growth where the ground is too
dry. It likes a fairly moist soil, rich in organic matter and lime.
It is more sensitive to excessive moisture than to drought, stagnant
water having always an injurious effect.

Plafe 6

YELLOW OAT GRASS

(Trisehcim f lave see ns -UJ x.&s.)

YELLOW OAT GRASS. 55

Habits of growth : Yellow Oat Grass is medium early, flowering
a little later than Orchard Grass. When soil and climate are suit-
able, it makes a good stand in a short time and spreads readily.

Agricultural value: On account of its somewhat tufted habit,
it should always be sown with other grasses. Its principal value is
for bottom grass in hay mixtures, as it increases both the yield and
the feeding quality. After cutting it produces a great number of
new stems and leaves, and the second growth may be profitably
used for either hay or pasture. All kinds of stock like it, and in
some parts of Europe it is considered one of the most valuable fodder
grasses. Experiments in Canada, however, have not given prom-
ising results. When sown alone, twenty to twenty-five pounds of
seed should be applied to the acre.

Seed: The commercial seed of Yellow Oat Grass is generally
very impure, as it is always secured from mixtures with other grasses,,
especially Tall Oat and Orchard Grass, and afterwards separated by
sieves. It is yellowish-brown and weighs from five to six pounds a
bushel.

These keep
Seeming and savour all the winter long.

— Shakespeare, Winter's Tale, A'-t 4, Sc. III., 1592

Over-luxuriance in corn is repressed by the teeth of cattle, but only while it is in the blade; in
which case, if depastured upon ever so often, no injury to it when in the ear will be the result. — Pliny,
Natural History, 23-79.

The elements of agriculture are the same as those of the world: water, earth, air, the sun. These
things are to be understood before you sow your seed, which is the origin of vegetation. — Marcus
Terentius Varro, 116-27 B.C.

Everyone will tell you that manure is the best thing in the world for agriculture, and every one
can see how naturally it is produced. Still, though the method of production is accurately known,
though there is every facility to get it in abundance, the fact remains that, while one man takes pains
to have manure collected, 'another is entirely neglectful. And yet God sends us rain from heaven,,
and every hollow place becomes a standing pool, while earth supplies material of every kind; the
sower, too, about to sow, must cleanse the soil, and what he takes as refuse from it needs only to be
thrown into water and time itself will do the rest, shaping all to gladden earth. For matter in every
shape, nay, earth itself , in stagnant water turns to fine manure. — Xenophon, The Econcmist, 434~355
B.C.

56 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

TALL OAT GRASS (Arrhenatherum elatius (L.) Beauv.)
Plate 7; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 12.

Other English names: Oat Grass, False Oat Grass, Meadow Oat
Grass, Tall Meadow Oat Grass.

Botanical description: Tall Oat Grass is perennial with a
short rootstock from which leafy stems and sterile shoots develop.
Sometimes the rootstock is swollen and the shoots bulblike at the
base. The rootstock being short, the shoots become crowded and
the plant therefore grows in tufts. These are, however, rather loose.
The stems are from two to five feet high, often knee-bent at the base,
generally dark green. They are leafy to above the middle. The
leaves are long and broad, rather soft in texture, and usually bright
green, almost yellowish. When mixed with other grasses, Tall Oat
Grass may be recognized by this peculiar colour. The flowers are
in a spreading panicle, which somewhat resembles that of oats —
hence the name Oat Grass. The general appearance of the spikelets
is also similar to oats. Each spikelet contains two flowers which
are very unlike. The lower one has only stamens, is consequently
sterile, and its glume bears a long, bent awn; the glume of the upper
one has generally no awn, both stamens and pistil are developed,
and the flower is thus fertile. Each spikelet consequently produces
only one grain. Rarely both flowers are awned and sometimes a
third flower is developed above the two normal ones. Stamens and
pistil are ready for fertilization at the same time. There is there-
fore a chance for self-fertilization, although cross-fertilization is
probably quite frequent.

Geographical distribution: Tall Oat Grass is indigenous to
the greater part of Europe and to northern Africa and western Asia.
It was introduced into North America from Europe.

Habitat: It grows in meadows and on hills, in open fields and
in openings in woods, along seashores and on mountains.

Cultural conditions: Tall Oat Grass can be grown on almost
any kind of soil, provided it is fairly moist. It does well on high,
dry, gravelly soils, but will not make a satisfactory growth on very
wet ground. It gives the best returns on light, moist loams and on
clays not too stiff and wet. As the roots go deep, it will stand con-
siderable drought. It is fairly winter hardy.

Plafe 7

TALL OAT GRASS

( Arrbenahberum elahus <L.)Beauv. )

TALL OAT GRASS. 57

Habits of growth: It is rather easy to secure a good stand of
Tall Oat Grass. The young plants make a vigorous and rapid growth,
sometimes producing flowers the first year. If competition with
other grasses is not too keen, it is productive for many years. Tall
Oat Grass starts early in the spring and requires about the same time
as Orchard Grass for its development.

Agricultural value: When grown for hay it does well when
mixed with Orchard Grass, Meadow Fescue and Red Clover. As it
grows in tufts, it should not be sown alone but always with other
grasses. It should be cut when in bloom if used for hay. If left
only a few days after flowering is over, its feeding value is consider-
ably lessened as the stems get hard and woody and quickly lose
their nutritive constituents.

Pasture: Tall Oat Grass makes a quick start after cutting and
stands pasturing well. In spite of this, it is not as suitable for pas-
ture as for hay, because the green plants have a rather bitter taste
which makes them unattractive to stock until the animals are accus-
tomed to the flavour. In a pasture it should therefore be used only
in small quantities with other forage plants. When grown alone
for hay or pasture, thirty to thirty-five pounds of seed should be sown
to the acre.

Seed: When grown for seed, Tall Oat Grass should be cut as
soon as the spikelets begin to take a yellowish tinge. Like Wild Oats,
it drops its seed very readily, which makes early cutting advisable.
The seed may be harvested and threshed like oats.

Quality of seed : Good commercial seed is greenish-yellow with
a brownish or reddish tint. It weighs about ten pounds per bushel.

Cold biting winter mars our hop'd for hay. — Shakespeare, 3 Henry VI., Act 4, Sc. VIII, 1592.

Let pasture Be stored and fenced about,
And tillage set forward, as needeth without;
Before ye do open your purse, to begin
With any thing doing, for fancy within.

— Thomas Tusser, Five Hundreth Pointes of Husbandrie, 1557.

The Transmutation of Species is, in the vulgar Phylosophy pronounced impossible: And certainly
it is a thing of difficulty, and requireth deep search in Nature: But seeing there appear some manifest
instances of it, the opinion of Impossibility is to be rejected, and the means thereof to be found out. —
Bacon, Natural History, 1625.

98549—6

58 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

ORCHARD GRASS (Dactylis glomerata L.).

Plate 8; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 13.
Other English name: Cocksfoot.

Botanical description : Orchard Grass is perennial with a very
short rootstock. The stems, which are from two to three feet high,
are crowded and surrounded at the base by numerous leafy shoots.
The leaves are long, broad and flat, rather soft in texture, and for
this reason often overhanging, especially in dry, hot weather. Orchard
Grass can be easily recognized, even at a very early stage of de-
velopment, by the basal shoots which are flat and double-keeled.
This peculiar shape of the shoots is due to the leaves in the bud
being folded together along the middle line. The flowers are in a
short panicle, which as a rule has only two or three stout and
rather short main branches. When in bloom the branches spread
like the toes of a bird's foot — hence the English name Cocksfoot.
During the ripening period they gradually move upward, after the
manner of arms being lifted over the head, so as to form a rather
narrow panicle. The branches of the panicle are naked below,
carrying the spikelets at their top in dense, one-sided clusters. The
spikelets are compressed, the one side being slightly hollow, the other
rounded. They contain from two to five flowers, each of which is
enclosed within two strongly keeled and sharply pointed glumes. The
stamens are developed a trifle later than the pistil. Thus there is
a possibility of cross-fertilization between flowers of different plants.
The flowers of a panicle are, however, very crowded and self-fertiliz-
ation probably takes place to a great extent.

Geographical distribution: Orchard Grass is indigenous to
Europe, the temperate zone of Asia and northern Africa. It was
introduced into North America very early. When it was first grown
for fodder in England, about one hundred and fifty years ago, the
seed was obtained from Virginia. It is now grown in temperate
regions all over the world.

Habitat: Orchard Grass grows naturally in meadows, waste
places, along roadsides, etc. It occurs in woods as well as in open
fields, and is more adapted to shady situations than other meadow
grasses. Its frequent occurrence in orchards has given it its name.

Plate 8

ORCHARD GRASS OR COCKSFOOT

( Dachylis glonoeraha L.)

ORCHARD GRASS. 59

Agricultural value: Orchard Grass is no doubt one of the
best fodder grasses and is highly esteemed by farmers. It thrives
remarkably well in almost any kind of soil, provided it is not too
wet; it is very resistant to drought.

It is rather slow in getting established. The first year the plant8
are small and poor-looking, consisting chiefly of leafy shoots from
the short rootstock. The second year the shoots appear in greater
number and flowering stems arise in their midst, but it is only from the
third year that its high yielding power is manifest. If slow to reach
full development, when once established it keeps on giving a heavy
yield for many years. It is an early grass and ready to cut before
Timothy. For this reason it is better sown with Red Clover.

Orchard Grass is scarcely surpassed in feeding value, provided
that it is cut at the right time. Its nutritive quality is highest and
its yield heaviest if cut when in bloom, or even a little earlier. It
becomes woody after flowering is over and loses its feeding value.
It recovers quickly after cutting, the numerous leafy shoots fur-
nishing an excellent pasture for horses and cattle. The second
growth, however, should not be allowed to develop too far as it
loses its palatability with age. There is little danger from pasturing
too close except in an extremely dry season; on the contrary, close
pasturing prevents the plants from getting coarse and woody.

If given sufficient space and nourishment, its short rootstock
causes Orchard Grass to develop into dense tufts. This is an un-
desirable quality that should be suppressed, either by comparatively
heavy seeding or by sowing it with other forage plants. In either
case the tuft formation will be less marked and a grass of finer
texture and of superior quality will be obtained. When sown with
other forage plants, only varieties which reach maturity at the same
time, such as early Red Clover, Tall Oat Grass and Meadow Fescue,
should be chosen. When seeded alone for hay or pasture, twenty-
eight to thirty pounds of good seed should be used to the acre; a
little less for seed production.

Seed growing: When grown for seed, the same field can be
harvested for five or six years, the greatest yield being obtained the
third and fourth seasons. The yielding power is considerably in-
creased if the field is top-dressed with manure every year. Orchard
Grass is ready to cut for seed three or four weeks after it has flowered.
To determine the proper time, beat some heads in the palm of the
hand. If a small quantity of seed shakes out, it is ready to harvest.
Cutting too early means inferior quality. It can be harvested with

6O FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

an ordinary grain binder and the sheaves, which must be rather
small, should be set three to five together in small shocks. They
should be left to cure from two to six weeks, depending on the
weather, and then threshed without stacking.

Quality of seed: Good seed is bright straw-coloured and con-
tains only a small amount of hulled seed and whole spikelets, or
groups of seed not loosened from each other in threshing. It keeps
its vitality fairly well for two years. Seed older than that should
not be used as the germs are considerably weakened.

CRESTED DOG'S TAIL (Cynosurus cristatus L.)
Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 14.

Other English name: Dog's Tail Grass.

Botanical description: Crested Dog's Tail is perennial with
a short rootstock and grows in loose tufts, consisting chiefly of leafy
shoots. The stems are very slender, from one to two feet high, and
comparatively few in number. The leaves are narrow, those of the
stems shorter than those of the basal shoots. They are folded in
the bud and are generally slightly concave when fully developed.
The flowers are arranged in a panicle of peculiar shape and con-
struction. The branches are very short and turned towards the same
side, thus giving the panicle the appearance of a one-sided spike.
Each branch carries two spikelets which are extremely unlike. One
is composed of three or four normal flowers which have stamens and
pistils and consequently are fertile. The other consists of a number
of sharp-pointed scales, arranged in two rows, like the teeth of a two-
sided comb. This spikelet has neither stamens nor pistils and is
consequently sterile. When the panicle is young the fertile spikelets
are hidden by the sterile ones and the panicle has a crested appear-
ance. This look and the shape of the panicle have given the plant
its name.

Geographical distribution: Crested Dog's Tail is indigenous
to almost all parts of Europe and to southwestern Asia. It has
been introduced into North America but is found only occasionally
in Canada.

Habitat: It grows naturally in meadows, on hills and mountain
slopes, along seashores and roadsides, etc.

CRESTED DOG'S TAIL. 6 1

Cultural conditions: It requires soil of medium quality and
is especially adapted to fairly moist low land. It does not thrive in
extremely dry localities although its rather deep roots enable it to
stand drought.

Habits of growth: It reaches full development the second and
third years after sowing. It is medium late in starting and the
greatest yield is secured from the second growth.

Agricultural value: On account of its low and somewhat
bunchy growth, Crested Dog's Tail may be used as bottom grass
with other grasses. It is of special value in pastures. The excellent
feeding quality of the pastures of England, Holland and Schleswig-
Holstein is claimed to be largely due to this grass. It is commonly
used in mixtures for lawn-making.

Seed: Seed of Crested Dog's Tail is generally secured from
wild plants. It is yellowish-orange to reddish or greyish brown. In
commercial samples different coloured seeds are mixed together,
giving a mass effect of yellowish brown. The weight ranges from
twenty to thirty-two pounds per bushel.

To the dales resort, where shepherds rich.
And fruitful flocks, be everywhere to see.

— Spencer, Shepherd's Calendar, 1 579.

In the newly opened spring, when cold moisture descends from the snow-covered hills, and the
soil loosens and crumbles beneath the western breeze; then let my steers begin to groan under the
entered plough, and the share to glitter, polished by the furrow. That field especially answers the
expectations of the greedy farmer which twice hath felt the sun, and twice the cold; the immense
harvests of such a field are wont to burst the barns. — Virgil, Georgia, 37 B.C.

Friend, alway let this be a part of thy care,
For shift of good pasture, lay pasture to spare.
So have you good feeding in bushets and leaze,
And quickly safe finding of cattle at ease.

— Thomas Tusser, Five Hundreth Pointes of Husbandrie, 1557.

Creation was not by the Curse made altogether and for ever a Rebel, but in virtue of that
charter "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread," it is now by various labours (not certainly by
disputations or idle magical ceremonies, but by various labours) at length and in some measure subdued
to the supplying of man with bread; that is, to the uses of human life. — Bacon, Novum Organum,
1620.

62 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

CANADIAN BLUE GRASS (Poa compressa L.)
Plate 9; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 15.

Other English names: Canada Blue Grass, English Blue Grass, Wire
Grass, Creeping Poa, Smaller Blue Grass, Virginia Blue Grass.

Botanical description: Canadian Blue Grass is perennial.
The underground rootstock is extensively creeping, sending out
numerous branches in all directions. Where a plant has an oppor-
tunity to develop undisturbed for some years, it will generally form
a circular patch. The overground part of such a patch consists of
scattered stems and leafy shoots, making a dense sod more like a
continuous mat than a loose tuft. The stems are from one to two
feet tall, often knee-bent at the base. They are wiry, few leaved and
strongly flattened. No other cultivated species of the genus Poa
having flattened stems, Canadian Blue Grass may be recognized by
this peculiarity. The leaves are from one to three inches long, not
as broad and numerous as those of Kentucky Blue Grass. They
are bluish-green, sometimes quite glaucous. The flowers are in a
panicle unlike that of Kentucky Blue Grass. In the latter species
it is generally broadly pyramidal, the lower branches being numerous
at each joint. When in bloom the panicle of Canadian Blue Grass
is generally oblong, or narrowly egg-shaped, the branches being
short and only one or two from each joint. When flowering is over,
the panicle becomes contracted and narrow with erect branches.
The spikelets are like those of Kentucky Blue Grass and fertilization
takes place in the same way.

Geographical distribution : Canadian Blue Grass is indigenous
to all European countries and to southwestern Asia. It was intro-
duced into North America and was found in Canada more than a
hundred years ago. It is now grown to a considerable extent in
southern and central Ontario.

Habitat: It grows naturally in dry and sunny places, along
roadsides, on rocks and stony hills, and from the sea level to high up
in the mountains. It often occurs in poor, gravelly soil where other
plants find it difficult to get a foothold.

Cultural conditions: In Canada, stiff rather sterile clay or
clay loam is the soil in which it is preferably grown, often because
it makes a fairly good growth where other plants fail to give a yield
worth mentioning.

Plate 9

CANADIAN BLUE GRASS

(Poa, compressa. L.)

CANADIAN BLUE GRASS. 63

Climate: It is rather insusceptible to climatic conditions.
Severe drought that would be disastrous to most other forage plants
makes it die down, but with the advent of rain it starts again, ap-
parently unharmed, developing new stems and leaves from its root-
stock. It is resistant to frost and stands freezing and thawing without
injury. This explains the frequent occurrence of Blue Grass patches
in low-lying parts of poorly drained Alfalfa fields in the Blue Grass
sections of southern Ontario.

Habits of growth: In its manner of propagating itself and bear-
ing unfavourable conditions without injury, Canadian Blue Grass
closely resembles certain weeds, especially Couch Grass. In rich
soil where forage plants such as Alfalfa can be successfully grown,
Canadian Blue Grass is really nothing but a weed, hard to get rid
of, and many farmers look upon it as a pest.

Agricultural value: In yielding power and general feeding
value it cannot compete with Kentucky Blue Grass, and on rich
limestone soil the latter is superior beyond comparison. On poor
clays, however, Canadian Blue Grass is apt to succeed much better
than Kentucky Blue Grass.

Fodder: On account of the rather low yield, it is not much used
for hay though it is claimed to be wholesome and highly nutritious
for horses.

Pasture: Its chief value is as a permanent pasture grass. It
should not be allowed to get too old as it becomes less palatable.
There is no danger in pasturing it close; close grazing encourages
the growth and makes it more attractive to stock. As a pasture
grass it is rich and nourishing, especially for the production of beef
or mutton; it can also be used to advantage for milk production.
It is recommended as a lawn grass for stiff clay soils deficient in lime,
and it is commonly used as an ingredient in commercial lawn mix-
tures. Twenty to thirty pounds of seed are sufficient for an acre.

Seed growing: When grown for seed the heaviest yield is
generally obtained from new fields or from volunteer crops after
wheat or other grain. It should be cut when the panicles are deep
yellow. Curing and threshing are easy and can be done in the same
way as for Timothy. The grain thresher or clover huller may be
used, the latter being preferred as a rule.

64 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

Quality of seed: The seed is yellowish-brown in bulk, some-
what dull and a little darker than that of Kentucky Blue Grass;
otherwise the seeds are very similar in the trade. Generally Cana-
dian Blue Grass seeds are blunter, with a broad end, and the side
nerves of the glumes are wanting or indistinct.

The legal weight of a bushel of seed is fourteen pounds.

KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS (Poa pratensis L.)
Plate 10 ; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 16.

Other English names: Blue Grass, June Grass, Spear Grass, English
Grass, Green Grass, Bird Grass, Smooth-stalked Meadow Grass,
Common Meadow Grass.

Botanical description : Kentucky Blue Grass is perennial with
a widely creeping rootstock. This produces runners and leafy shoots.
The runners are underground stems, carrying colourless scales instead
of green leaves. They creep under the surface of the ground, rooting
from the joints and finally producing upright, leafy stems from their
ends. The leafy shoots are upright from the beginning and arise
in bunches from the very base of the stems. They are round and
have at first only leaves but develop later into flower-bearing stems.
The stems are from one-half to three feet high, perfectly smooth.
The stem leaves are comparatively short, only one or two inches
long, and their apex is contracted somewhat after the fashion of the
end of a canoe. The leaves of the basal shoots are longer and
generally narrower than the stem leaves. Although showing con-
siderable variation in colour, shape and size, the leaves have always
this characteristic in common, that the ligule is very short and blunt.
The flowers are in a panicle, pyramidal in shape during blossoming
time and afterwards more or less contracted. Each branch of the
panicle carries several spikelets. These are generally bluish-green —
hence the name Blue Grass — but sometimes they have a purplish or
violet shade. A spikelet has as a rule four or five flowrers, each of
which is enclosed within two glumes of equal size. Although the
arrangement of stamens and pistils indicates that cross-fertilization
would be easy, no doubt much self-fertilization takes place.

Geographical distribution: Kentucky Blue Grass is a cos-
mopolitan plant, distributed all over the world outside of the tropics.

A

Plate 10

KB-NTUCKY BLUE GRASS

(Poa prahensis L.)

KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS. 65

Thus it is a native of Europe, northern Africa, Siberia and North
America. It is also indigenous to Australia and the most southern
parts of South America.

Habitat: It grows naturally in practically all localities and is
able to live under the most trying conditions. Its natural home is
the meadow, but it is also common in other places. Thus it grows along
roadsides and borders of woods, on dry hills and in wet marshes,
along seashores, at the foot of Greenland glaciers and on the summits
of mountains in Sahara. It is largely grown in almost every country
where agriculture is of importance.

Cultural conditions: For its proper development, Kentucky
Blue Grass requires good soil. Extremes check its growth, and poor,
sandy or gravelly soil suits it as little as do hard clays. On bottom
lands, where the soil is loose and rich in humus, it attains its highest
perfection, especially if the ground contains sufficient lime. In the
limestone regions of Kentucky and Tennessee, Blue Grass is regarded
as the king of pasture grasses, and it is said in some American states
that whoever has the limestone land has also Blue Grass.

Climate: It prefers medium moist conditions though it is
resistant to drought. It is extremely hardy, bearing severe frost
and a long covering of snow without injury.

Habits of growth: Kentucky Blue Grass is rather slow in get-
ting established. The first year it produces no stems and only a few
leafy shoots, appearing in small, scattered tufts. The second year
the tufts are less scattered because the underground runners have
developed new leafy shoots, occupying most of the room between
the branches of the first year's growth, and a few flowering stems
have developed. From the third year on, if conditions are favour-
able, a thick, dense sod is formed, covering the ground entirely.
Growth starts quite early in the spring and the plants usually flower

about the same time as Orchard Grass.

\

Agricultural value: If grown for hay, Kentucky Blue Grass
should be cut when in flower, its feeding value being greatest at that
time. After cutting, it starts rather slowly, and as the second growth
consists chiefly of leaves, it cannot be relied upon for a second crop
of hay. In mixtures, however, it makes a good bottom grass and
adds considerably to the bulk of hay in the first cutting. It is one
of the best grasses for lawn making.

28549—7

66 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

Pasture: As a pasture grass it is highly esteemed. It start
early in spring, provides superior feed, is eagerly grazed by all kinds
of stock and is of high fattening value. If sown alone for hay or
pasture, twenty to thirty pounds of seed should be applied per acre.

Seed : Commercial seed of Kentucky Blue Grass nearly all comes
from a few counties of Kentucky, in the heart of the Blue Grass
region. It is harvested by hand or by machine strippers which
rake off the seed and at the same time collect it. The crop is ready
for stripping when the panicles are yellow. The seed is then fairly
ripe and when stripped will reach full maturity during the curing
process. To cure it, the seed must be stirred frequently, during the
first days at least three times a day, to give the air admission to
every part and thus prevent heating. If not cured carefully, the
seed will take on a grey, dusty appearance and a musty smell and
its vitality will be considerably lessened or even completely destroyed.

Quality of seed: Good commercial seed is yellowish-brown.
When taken from the spikelets the seeds have a bunch of long,
cobweb-like hairs attached to their base. Such hairs are wanting in
Canadian Blue Grass seed, and it is therefore easy to separate it
from the Kentucky seed when fresh from the spikelets. During
curing and cleaning, however, these hairs are generally rubbed off
and commercial seed of Kentucky and Canadian Blue Grass are
very much alike. As a rule, the seed of the former is sharp-pointed
and the nerves of the enclosing glumes distinct, while the seed of the
latter is blunt and the nerves of the glumes inconspicuous.

The legal weight per bushel of seed is fourteen pounds.

ROUGH-STALKED MEADOW GRASS (Poa trivialis L.)

Botanical description: Rough-stalked Meadow Grass is very
like the Kentucky Blue. It is perennial with a short rootstock
from which stems and leafy shoots develop. The latter are either
upright or creeping. The upright shoots appear in great number
at the base of the stems, making the plant more conspicuously tufted
than is Kentucky Blue Grass. The creeping shoots arise in the same
way but take a horizontal direction. They thus correspond in a
way to the runners of Kentucky Blue Grass. The differences, how-
ever, are quite material. The Kentucky Blue Grass shoots are
underground and scaly while the Rough-stalked Meadow Grass
shoots always creep on the surface and carry normally developed

ROUGH-STALKED MEADOW GRASS. 67

green leaves. They root at the joints and their ends finally bend
upwards and produce normal leafy shoots, the development of which
is quite similar to that of the corresponding shoots of Kentucky
Blue Grass. All young shoots of Rough-stalked Meadow Grass are
distinctly flattened, whereas those of Kentucky Blue Grass are
round. The stems are from one to three feet high, leafy to above
the middle, and generally rough immediately below the panicle —
hence the name Rough-stalked Meadow Grass. The leaves are
numerous, generally dark green, with mostly rough sheaths and long
acute ligule. The panicle is similar to that of Kentucky Blue Grass,
but is generally more spreading and dark green.

Geographical distribution: Rough-stalked Meadow Grass is
indigenous to the temperate regions of the Old World. It was
introduced into North America.

Habitat: It grows naturally in rich and wet meadows, along
the borders of woods, roads and ditches, and in thickets, gardens and
cultivated fields, from sea level to high up in the mountains.

Cultural conditions : Rough-stalked Meadow Grass is es-
pecially adapted to low-lying land where the soil is rich and the
moisture abundant.

Climate: It cannot stand drought as well as can Kentucky
Blue Grass. This is partly due to the creeping shoots being over-
ground and more exposed than are the underground runners of
Kentucky Blue Grass. It recovers quickly after drought, however,
and can be grown on irrigated land under favourable conditions.

Habits of growth: It is much easier to start than is Kentucky
Blue Grass. During the first year the plants produce creeping
shoots, which root at the joints and develop into upright branches.
The growth being rapid, the ground quickly becomes covered. The
second year the plants fyave reached full development and give the
highest yield.

Agricultural value: Rough-stalked Meadow Grass has its
highest fodder value when in bloom and should be cut for hay at
that stage. On wet land, however, it is advisable to cut it earlier
because the stems easily rot at the base. It is a valuable addition
to hay mixtures cut once a year. When more than one crop is
required, it should be replaced by some other grass as its second

68 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

growth is insignificant. As a pasture grass it is of considerable value.
It makes a vigorous and rapid growth and stands tramping well.

Seed: In central Europe the seed of Rough-stalked Meadow
Grass is generally secured from wild plants, in which case it is simply
stripped off by hand when ripe. In Denmark the seed is grown for
commerce on a comparatively large scale. The same field is har-
vested from two to four years. Fifteen to twenty pounds of seed
per acre are sown as a rule.

Quality of seed : The seeds are provided with cobweb-like hairs
similar to those of Kentucky Blue Grass and the seeds are alike
in other respects, the only difference being that in the seed of Rough-
stalked Meadow Grass the glumes have more prominent nerves.

The seed of Kentucky Blue Grass being much cheaper, it is
often used as a substitute for Rough-stalked Meadow Grass. As a
matter of fact, pure seed of the latter is difficult to obtain.

WOOD MEADOW GRASS (Poa nemoralis L.)

Botanical description: Wood Meadow Grass is perennial,
with a short rootstock, and grows in loose tufts. The tufts consist
chiefly of flower-bearing stems, sterile, leafy shoots being developed
late in the season, usually after the seed is ripe. The stems are more
slender than in the other species of Poa herein described, and the
stem leaves are much longer. The leaves are very narrow, usually
about as broad as the stem, and their ligule is extremely short or
even wanting. The panicle is thin, oblong to egg-shaped when in
bloom, but later contracted and narrow. The spikelets are one-
coloured, generally green to bright brownish. They contain one to
five flowers.

Geographical distribution : Wood Meadow Grass is indigenous
to Europe and temperate Asia and is claimed to be a native of Canada.
This, however, is doubtful, the Canadian plants generally named
Poa nemoralis being widely different from the true European type.
Thus, the Canadian Poa nemoralis is found in meadows, along
borders of woods, and even on the open prairie. The true Wood
Meadow Grass occurs in woods and will not thrive in exposed places,
at least not on open prairies. It is especially common in beech woods,
where the shade is heavy, or under other deciduous trees.

Agricultural value: Wood Meadow Grass, being a resident of
shady localities, is evidently of no agricultural value, either for hay

FOWL MEADOW GRASS. 69

or pasture, except in shady parks and open woodlands where forage
is required. It can be used to great advantage for lawns under trees.

Seed : Most of the seed of the trade is obtained from Germany,
where it is collected from wild plants and cleaned by hand.

Quality of seed: The seeds are much like those of Kentucky
Blue and Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, but differ in having faintly
nerved glumes. In this respect they closely resemble those of Fowl
Meadow Grass, from which they differ in having sharply pointed
glumes. They are bright yellowish brown, sometimes with a purplish
tint.

FOWL MEADOW GRASS (Poa palustris L.)

Other Latin names: Poa flava L., Poa serotina Ehrh., Poa trifiora

Gilib.
Other English name: False Red Top.

Botanical description: Fowl Meadow Grass is perennial with
short runners which produce few and short leafy shoots. It looks
rather like Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, but the plants form looser
tufts, consisting chiefly of flower-bearing stems. These are rarely
quite upright but are ascending, their base lying flat on the ground.
At the base they produce roots and secondary branches which de-
velop into ordinary leafy stems. The stems are from two to five
feet high, leafy to above the middle. The stem leaves are long and
narrow, soft in texture and bright green in colour. Their ligule is
generally long but blunt. The panicles are large, with numerous
branches from the joints. At flowering time the branches are widely
spreading; later they are upright and form a narrow panicle. Each
spikelet contains three to six flowers of a peculiar colour. The
lower part is green and the top is yellow or brown with a golden or
bronze lustre. The spikelets are thus two-coloured, and the effect
of the whole panicle is characteristic and quite different from that
of either Kentucky Blue or Rough-stalked Meadow Grass.

Geographical distribution: Fowl Meadow Grass is a native
of Europe, temperate Asia and North America.

Habitat: It grows naturally in moist meadows, in ditches and
along seashores and streams, etc.

7O FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

Cultural conditions: It reaches perfection in wet meadows
where the soil is rich in organic matter, and it makes good growth
on clays or clay loams which are flooded from time to time. Stagnant
water will not hurt it and it is therefore preferable to Rough-stalked
Meadow Grass in marshy and swampy localities, where the latter is
apt to rot at the base of the stems.

Habits of growth: It is rather easy to start the plants from
seed but it takes them two or three years to reach full development.
If the soil and other conditions are favourable, it will in time crowd
out other grasses and form a dense and persisting sod. It starts
growth later than does Kentucky Blue Grass and generally blooms
some weeks later. It is peculiar in remaining green and fairly
succulent a long time after flowering.

Agricultural value: Fowl Meadow Grass is generally grown
for hay, and in low-lying localities, with abundant water, the bulk
produced is very great. It gives a rich fodder, relished by all kinds
of stock. As it gives a good second growth, it is evident that it is
of considerable value as a forage plant. It is usually sown with
other grasses such as Red Top and Timothy.

Seed: Fowl Meadow Grass is grown for seed to only a limited
extent, the most important cultures being established in Bohemia,
Austria.

Quality of seed: The seeds, which have a tuft of cobweb-like
hairs attached to their base before being cleaned, are yellowish-
brown, often with a reddish or purplish tinge. They differ from
Kentucky Blue and Rough-stalked Meadow Grass seeds principally
in the glumes, which are rather blunt and have indistinct nerves.

WATER MEADOW GRASS (Glyceria aquatica (L.) Wahlb.)
Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 17.

Botanical description: Water Meadow Grass is perennial,
with a very long and thick creeping rootstock. The stems, which
generally root at the base, are stout and up to nine feet high. They
are leafy to above the middle; the leaves are long and broad. The
whole plant has a peculiar bright green or yellowish-green colour.
Water Meadow Grass may also be readily recognized by the two
yellow or yellowish-brown spots at the upper end of the sheaths.
The flowers are in a spreading panicle, which is sometimes a foot and a

WATER MEADOW GRASS. 7 1

half long and almost as broad. Its branches are numerous and carry
a great number of spikelets. These are at first yellowish-green but
after flowering they are bright brown, sometimes with a touch of
purple. A spikelet contains from five to eight flowers, each of which
is enclosed by two glumes.

Geographical distribution: Water Meadow Grass is in-
digenous to almost all Europe and temperate Asia. In North
America a closely related species, Glyceria grandis Wats, chiefly
distinguished by its smaller flowers, takes the place of Glyceria
aquatica and may be of equal agricultural value.

Habitat: Water Meadow Grass occurs along muddy shores of
lakes and streams, where it sometimes occupies vast areas to the
exclusion of other grasses. It makes splendid growth in shallow
waters with loose and swampy bottom, where the creeping root-
stocks do not meet any resistance. In dry ground, where the root-
stocks cannot develop properly, the growth is checked and the
quality of the grass is poor.

Agricultural value: Although stout, Water Meadow Grass is
rather soft in texture and can be closely pastured by horses and cattle.
Especially when young, the stems and shoots are palatable and
greatly relished by stock. They are then sweet and highly nutritious.
Although its value as a forage plant was recognized in some European
countries in the eighteenth century, it is not extensively grown.

Seed : The seed is scarce and often only the rootstocks are
available in commerce. The seeds are broadly oblong. The outer
of the two glumes is very blunt and provided with seven prominent
nerves. The unhulled seed is generally greenish to yellowish-brown.
The hulled seed is shining blackish brown, ovate to oblong, and about
the length of Alfalfa seed.

i

Least of all shall I stand to speak of the care he took in providing that the tenderer

sort of Plants might receive no dammage by the Winters cold. — Pierre Cassendi, The Mirrour of True
Nobility and Gentility, 1592-1655.

The crops of corn die; a prickly forest of burrs and caltrops rises instead, and amidst the trim
and healthy grain, wretched darnel and barren wild oats assert their sway. But unless you persecute
the weeds by continual harrowing, and frighten away the birds by noises, and with the pruning knife
keep down the foliage which shades the ground, and by prayers invoke the showers, alas, in vain will
you view another's ample store, and solace your hunger with acorns in the woods. — Virgil, Georgia.
B.C.

72 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

RED FESCUE (Festuca rubra L.)
Plate 11; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 18.
Other English name: Creeping Fescue.

Botanical description: Red Fescue is perennial with long,
creeping, underground rootstocks, from the joints of which the
overground stems and shoots arise. For this reason no real tufts are
formed, but more or less extended mats with scattered stems develop.
The latter are from eighteen to thirty-six inches high, smooth and
round. Secondary shoots arise from buds within the sheaths of old
basal leaves. When developing, the shoots break through the sheaths
at their base, tearing them into strips. The ragged brown scales and
threads, which are always present at the base of the stems and
shoots of Red Fescue, represent the remnants of the sheaths. Red
Fescue can easily be distinguished from Sheep's Fescue by these
tattered sheaths. The leaves are rolled up in the bud, as in Sheep's
Fescue; but while in the latter all the leaves are permanently rolled
up, in Red Fescue only the basal ones persist in that condition, the
stem leaves being flat when developed except in very dry, hot
weather. The flowers are in a panicle like that of Sheep's Fescue,
although as a rule it is larger and often a little nodding. The spike-
lets, each of which contains from four to six flowers, are variously
coloured but often reddish-brown — hence the name Red Fescue. The
outer glume of the flower has an awn, which is generally longer than
in Sheep's Fescue.

Geographical distribution: It is distributed about the same
as Sheep's Fescue.

Habitat : Red Fescue grows naturally in meadows and pastures,
along seashores and on mountains, and in open fields as well as in
woods.

Cultural conditions: It is a little more particular about the
soil than is Sheep's Fescue; it does not thrive in extremely dry or
too compact land, or where it cannot develop its creeping root
system. It does best in loose, sandy or gravelly soil, when sufficient
moisture is available. It is fairly resistant to drought, although not
in the same degree as is Sheep's Fescue, and it stands severe cold
without injury. Its creeping root system being superficial, it is able
to develop in shallow soil.

Plate

RE-D PE-SCUE-

( Feshuca rubra L.)

RED FESCUE 73

Habits of growth: Red Fescue does not start so early in spring
as does Sheep's Fescue. Its nutritive value is highest at flowering
time, as the basal leaves dry up or get hard and unpalatable soon
after that. It recovers quickly after being cut or pastured and de-
velops numerous new leaves from the underground rootstocks. For
this reason it makes a fairly good bottom grass in hay mixtures.

Agricultural value: Although its feeding value is rather low,
Red Fescue has some qualities that make it especially fitted for
pastures and lawns. It stands tramping and close cutting well and
develops firm and lasting mats of tough sod which serve as soil
binders on sandy or gravelly land. Dwarf varieties of extra fine
texture are cultivated and the seed saved for lawns.

Seed : The seed of Red Fescue is commonly gathered from wild
plants. It is straw-coloured, often with a red or violet tint, and is
generally a little longer than Sheep's Fescue seed. It weighs from
ten to fifteen pounds per bushel.

Here's too small a pasture for such store of muttons. — Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona,
Act I, Sc. I., 1591

The seed is long buried and hidden in the earth; little by little it comes to maturity. But if it
bear an ear before its stem is knit, it is imperfect, and is only a plant of the garden of Adonis. — Epictetus
Maxims. No. 360, (ist century A.D.)

Who soweth in rain, he shall reap it with tears,
Who soweth in harms, he is ever in fears:
Who soweth ill seed, or defraudeth his land,
Hath eye-sore abroad, with a corsie at hand.

— Thomas Tusser, Five Hundreth Poinles of Husbandrie, 1557.

There is naught which earth displays with intent to deceive, but in clear and simple language
stamped with the seal of truth she informs us what she can and cannot do. Thus it has ever seemed
to me that earth is the best discoverer of true honesty, in that she offers all her stores of knowledge
in a shape accessible to the learner, so that he who runs may read. Here it is not open to the sluggard,
as in other arts, to put forward the plea of ignorance or lack of knowledge, for all men know that
earth, if kindly treated, will repay in kind. No! there is no witness against a coward soul so clear as
that of husbandry; since no man ever yet persuaded himself that he could live without the staff of
life. He therefore that is unskilled in other money-making arts and will not dig, shows plainly he is
minded to make his living by picking and stealing, or by begging alms, or else he writes himself down
a very fool. — Xenophon, The Economist, 434-355 B.C.

28549—8

74 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

SHEEP'S FESCUE (Festuca ovina L.)
Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 19.

Botanical description: Sheep's Fescue is perennial, forming
dense tufts. The stems are numerous and slender, more or less
angular, and from eight to twenty-four inches high. They are sur-
rounded at their base with numerous secondary shoots, arising from
buds within the persisting sheaths of old root leaves. The shoots
appear from the mouth of the sheaths, not from their base, as in
Red Fescue. For this reason the sheaths are not cut into strips, as in
Red Fescue, but are entire, except in their upper part, and the base
of the stems is not surrounded by tattered scales and strips. The
leaves are very narrow and generally pale green, those of the basal
shoots three to four inches long, those of the stem only about an
inch. They are rolled up in the bud and persist in this condition
even when fully developed. This is the reason why the leaves of
Sheep's Fescue always have a bristly appearance. The flowers are
in a one-sided panicle, one to four inches long. The branches of the
panicle spread during flowering but later become erect so as to give
it the appearance of a narrow spike. The spikelets are green, often
with a violet tint. Each spikelet contains three or four flowers
and each flower is enclosed within two glumes. The outer scale
carries a short awn at its top.

Geographical distribution: Sheep's Fescue is indigenous to
the Old World, its range extending from England to Japan and from
Spitzbergen and Iceland to North Africa and the Himalayas. It is
native to Canada and some parts of the United States ; many of the
cultivated forms, however, have been introduced from Europe where
it has been grown since about 1820.

Habitat: It grows naturally in any dry locality — in dry pas-
tures and sandy fields, on rocks, etc., from the seashore to the Alpine
region of the mountains. In Europe it is found eight thousand feet
above sea level.

Cultural conditions: Sheep's Fescue flourishes on dry and
sterile ground where most other grasses cannot get a foothold or, if
established, perish from drought and lack of nourishment. It
endures practically all the hardships of nature without being seriously
damaged and recovers quickly after long periods of suffering. Lack
of moisture brings it to a standstill; severe drought may make its

SHEEP'S FESCUE. 75

leaves so dry that they break off at the slightest touch ; but give the
plant a little water and, though seemingly dead, it will immediately
make a fresh start.

Habits of growth: It produces a light stand the year it is
sown and its yield steadily decreases after the third year. It starts
early in the season and keeps on growing until late in the fall.

Agricultural value: It is only of secondary importance as a
forage plant and its use is rather limited. On account of its low
growth, the leaves being short and crowded near the ground, it
cannot be used for hay. Its principal value is as pasture for sheep
on poor land where more valuable grasses cannot be successfully
grown. The growth being bunchy and the roots rather shallow, it
will not stand tramping and should always be mixed with other
grasses or clover. If sown with White Clover, for instance, a firm
sod is obtained and the clover improves the quality of the pasture.

Seed: Sheep's Fescue is one of the cheapest grasses, the plants
being heavy seed producers and the seed easy to harvest. If allowed
to get too ripe, the seed scatters. It is ready to cut when the spikelets
break up easily.

Quality of seed: Good commercial seed is straw-coloured — a
trifle more yellowish, as a rule, than Red Fescue. It weighs from
ten to fifteen pounds a bushel.

A herd of beeves, fair oxen and fair kine.

From a fat meadow ground. — Milton, Paradise Lost, 1669.

Each Soil hath no liking, of every grain.
Nor barley and wheat, is for every vein:
Yet know I no country, so barren of soil.
But some kind of corn may be gotten with toil.

Thomas Tusser, Five Hundreth Pointes of Husbandrie, 1557.

I have indeed seen many when sowing artificially prepare their seeds, and steep them first in soda
and black lees of olive oil, that the produce might be larger in the usually deceptive pods: and that
they might be sodden, to hasten their growth, on a fire, however small. I have seen those seeds on
whose selection much time and labour had been spent, nevertheless degenerating if men did not every
year rigorously separate with the hand all the largest specimens. So it is: all things are fated to
deteriorate, and, losing their ground, to be borne backwards. — Virgil, Georgia, 37 B.C.

76 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

FINE-LEAVED SHEEP'S FESCUE (Festuca ovina L., var.

tenuifolia Sibth.)

This variety, as a rule, is of lower stature than ordinary Sheep's
Fescue. The leaves are extremely fine and hairlike. It is distin-
guished from Sheep's Fescue by its awnless flowers.

It has no special agricultural value but could be used in mixtures
for lawns.

HARD FESCUE (Festuca ovina L. var. duriuscula (L.) Koch.)
Other Latin name: Festuca duriuscula L.

Hard Fescue is only a vigorous variety of Sheep's Fescue, with
which it agrees in all essential points. It is a strongly tufted peren-
nial with all its leaves rolled up like Sheep's Fescue, but the leaves
of the basal shoots are longer, thicker and firmer in texture — hence
the name Hard Fescue. The panicles and spikelets are a little
larger, but no fixed marks can be given to distinguish this plant
from ordinary Sheep's Fescue. It has about the same geographical
distribution and value. It is adapted to sandy soil but should not
be grown unless the land is too poor for better grasses. The basal
leaves being rather long, it may be used to a limited extent on poor
land as a bottom grass for hay mixtures.

The seed of Hard Fescue is very like that of Sheep's Fescue
but often has a bluish tint.

For they counte this the moste juste cause of warre, when anye people holdethe a piece of grounde
voyde and vacaunt to no good nor profitable use, kepyng other from the use and possession of it, the
whiche notwithstandyng by the lawe of nature ought thereof to be nouryshed and relieved. — Thomas
More, Utopia, 1515.

The greeng grass.

So small, so thick, so short, so fresh of hue,
That most like to green wool, I wot, it was.

— Chaucer, The Flower and the Leaf, 1560.

It is less creditable for a man to remain in the house than to attend to things out of doors. The
pursuit of agriculture is at once a means of enjoyment and of increasing resources; and it is also an
exercise for the body, such as to strengthen it for discharging the duties that become a man of honour-
able birth. For though it offers blessings in the greatest plenty, it does not permit us to take them in
idleness, but requires us to accustom ourselves to en'dure the colds of winter and the heats of summer;
to those whom it exercises in manual labor it gives an increase of strength, and in such as only oversee
the cultivation of it, it produces a manly vigor by requiring them to rise early in the morning and
forcing them to move about with activity. — Xenophon, The Economist, 434-355. B.C.

VARIOUS-LEAVED FESCUE. 77

VARIOUS-LEAVED FESCUE (Festuca heterophylla Lam.)

Botanical description: Various-leaved Fescue is perennial,
forming dense tufts. The stems, which are from two to four feet
high, are thin and weak. They are surrounded at their base by
leafy shoots, which arise from buds within the sheaths of old leaves
and appear from their mouth as in Sheep's Fescue. The shoots are,
however, much more numerous than in the latter. The leaves are
very long, permanently rolled up and bristle-like, but soft in texture.
The leaves of the stems are at first folded and bristly, like those of
the basal shoots, but they soon become flat and look very different.
This is why the plant is called Various-leaved Fescue. The flowers
are in a panicle which is often nodding at the top and generally
larger and more open than those of Sheep's and Hard Fescue. Each
spikelet contains three to nine flowers, which have awns half or quite
as long as the glumes that carry them.

Geographical distribution : Various-leaved Fescue is a native
of southern Europe. In Asia it is indigenous in the Caucasus and
Himalayas.

Habitat: It grows naturally in open woods and along their
borders.

Cultural conditions: It prefers low-lying land where sufficient
moisture is available, though it is able to stand considerable drought
provided the soil is not too poor and sandy.

Agricultural value: It gives the heaviest yield the second year
after sowing and when old develops into cushion-like tufts several
inches high. It is a rather good pasture grass for woodland parks
where the soil is not sandy. It prefers shaded localities to open
fields.

Seed: The commercial supply is collected from wild plants
living in woods. The seed is similar to that of Red Fescue, but
usually a little larger.

Good pasture makes fat sheep. — Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act 3, Sc. II., 1601.

In the Fabian district where they are in the habit of irrigating the fields,

it is a very singular thing that the water kills all the weeds, while at the same time it nourishes the corn,
thus acting in place of the weeding hook. — Pliny, Natural History, 23-79.

78 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

MEADOW FESCUE, TALL FESCUE (Festuca elatior L.)

Plate 12; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 20.

Other Latin name: Festuca pratensis Huds.

Other English names: English Blue Grass, Evergreen Grass, Randall
Grass.

Much confusion has resulted from the two Latin names for this
grass. Festuca elatior means Tall Fescue, and Festuca pratensis
means Meadow Fescue. Seedsmen generally term Tall Fescue
Festuca elatior and Meadow Fescue Festuca pratensis, thus support-
ing the widely spread opinion that Tall Fescue and Meadow Fescue
are two botanically distinct plants. This is not the case. They are
merely agricultural varieties of one plant, the correct Latin name of
which is Festuca elatior L., just as Banner and Abundance are two
agricultural varieties of oats, Avena saliva L.

MEADOW FESCUE.

Botanical description: Meadow Fescue is perennial with
long, strong roots. It has rather short rootstocks and is therefore
tufted but not so much as Orchard Grass. The stems, which are
from eighteen to thirty-six inches high, are smooth and rather slender.
Most of the leaves are produced by numerous sterile shoots from the
rootstocks, the stems carrying only a few. The leaves are dark green,
rather long and broad, weak in texture and often overhanging. They
are rolled up in the bud, and the young shoots are therefore round
and not flattened, as in Orchard Grass, where the young leaves are
folded together along the middle line. The flowers are in a panicle,
with two branches of different size from each joint. The branches
spread only during flowering time; before and after, the panicle is
narrow, with erect branches. Brome and other grasses have panicles
similar to that of Meadow Fescue. The latter is recognized by the
nodding panicle at the top and the branches turned toward one side.
The spikelets are oblong and often with a touch of violet. One
contains seven or eight flowers, each enclosed within two glumes
which are smooth and slightly rounded. When flowering, the sta-
mens and pistil appear at the same time. There is therefore a
chance for both self- and cross-fertilization.

Geographical distribution: Meadow Fescue is indigenous to
Europe up to the polar circle and in the temperate parts of Asia.

Plate 12

ME-ADOW FE-SCUE-

(Feshuca

MEADOW FESCUE. 79

It was introduced into North America, probably from England where,
its cultivation began about 1820.

Habitat: As indicated by its name, Meadow Fescue is a com-
mon grass in meadows in the Old World; it also grows naturally in
waste places, along roadsides, railways and river banks.

Cultural conditions: It does especially well in soil rich in
organic matter. It is well adapted to clay, although perhaps not
so well as Orchard Grass, and it can be successfully grown on sandy
land if sufficient moisture is available and the soil is not too shallow.
It is better fitted for medium wet soil than is Orchard Grass, especially
in a pasture, as it stands tramping better. On the other hand, on
account of its rather deep root system, it is fairly resistant to drought.
Generally speaking, Meadow Fescue will grow on almost any soil,
provided it is reasonably moist and not too poor. As it stands cold
remarkably well, it might be used to advantage in many parts of
Canada.

Habits of growth: If sown with other grasses or with Red
Clover, Meadow Fescue is rather slow in growth, reaching full de-
velopment the second or third year after sowing. If sown alone, a
good catch may be secured the first year. It keeps its yielding
power for many seasons, especially when given a light top-dressing
of manure once a year. It starts growth early and is ready to cut
about the same time as Orchard Grass or a few days later.

Agricultural value: Hay from Meadow Fescue is somewhat
inferior to that from Orchard Grass. The nutritive value is highest
when the grass is in flower and it should therefore be cut when in
full bloom or a little earlier. If left until flowering is over, the stems
get hard and woody, losing their nutritive value rapidly and becoming
unpalatable. After cutting, the grass quickly recovers, giving a fair
second growth, principally of leaves from the basal shoots. It is
therefore valuable for summer and fall pasture, especially as it stands
tramping well and does~not get bunchy as does Orchard Grass.

Meadow Fescue is a fairly good milk producer but its chief
value is for fattening cattle. It should not be used alone for driving
horses as it is slightly laxative. Like Orchard Grass, it should be
grown with other forage plants; with Red Clover and Timothy, for
instance, it considerably increases the feeding value of the mixture.
When sown alone for hay or pasture, forty to forty-five pounds of
good seed should be used to the acre.

86 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

Seed: Growing Meadow Fescue for seed is quite a profitable
business. The cost of labour is small, as heavy crops can be taken
from the same field for at least three years. Besides the value of
the seed secured, there is an additional income from the second growth,
as it can be pastured without injuring the seed crop the following
year, provided the pasturing is not too close or continued too late
in the fall. The crop should be cut when the panicles begin to turn
brown and the whole field looks like ripening grain. The seed easily
shatters out if cut too late, and this tendency makes it necessary to
handle the crop very carefully after cutting. What has been said
about curing and threshing Orchard Grass seed applies also to
Meadow Fescue.

Quality of seed: Good commercial seed is of a rather dull
greyish brown colour. It keeps its vitality for only a comparatively
short time; it is not advisable to use seed more than three years old.
When sown for seed, ten to fifteen pounds should be used to the acre.
The weight per bushel varies from twelve to twenty-six pounds.

Diseases: Meadow Fescue is sometimes affected by rust. This
does not usually appear until the crop is cut for seed, when it may
damage the aftermath to such an extent as to spoil not only the
pasture but the next year's seed crop, by weakening the plants and
preventing them from coming through the winter in good condition.

TALL FESCUE.

As stated above, Tall Fescue is closely related to Meadow
Fescue and cannot be distinguished from it by any fixed botanical
characteristics. It is generally a little taller and somewhat coarser
in texture. The second growth is heavier, thus making it a good
pasture grass. Investigations in the United States indicate that it
is more resistant to rust than is Meadow Fescue. But these advan-
tages are offset by its unevenness in maturing, some seeds of a panicle
being ripe while others are still soft. It must be cut early to avoid
waste, but a great percentage of the seed thus obtained is not ripe
and the general quality is rather poor.

It is ill work fighting against heaven. Certainly not by dint of sowing and planting what he
himself desires will he meet the needs of life more fully than by planting and sowing what the earth
herself rejoices to bear and nourish on her bosom. — Xenophon, The Economist, 434-355 B.C.

REED FESCUE. 8 1

REED FESCUE (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.)

Reed Fescue is practically unknown in Canada. It sometimes
goes under the name of Tall Fescue and is often regarded as a variety
of Meadow Fescue. It is, however, a well separated botanical
species and the name Tall Fescue should never be used for this grass
as it leads to confusion.

Botanical description: Reed Fescue is a tall grass, reaching
a height of four feet or more, with an abundance of broad and long
leaves. It looks like Meadow Fescue but is much coarser; the
stems soon become rather woody and the leaves get hard and stiff.
After flowering it is easily distinguished from Meadow Fescue by its
large panicle with spreading branches.

Geographical distribution: Reed Fescue occurs in Europe
almost to the polar circle, in northern Africa and in western Asia.

Cultural conditions: It is common along seashores and loves
wet ground more than does Meadow Fescue. It can therefore be
grown in wet places where the latter would certainly fail.

Agricultural value: Its feeding value is inferior to that of
Meadow Fescue and cattle generally refuse to pasture on it if other
grasses are available.

The proper time for mowing grass is when the ear begins to shed its blossom and to grow strong:
care must be taken to cut it before it becomes dry and parched. Some persons turn the water upon
it the day before mowing, where it is practicable to do so. — Pliny, Natural History, 23-79.

Ill husbandry trusteth
To him and to her;
Good husbandry lusteth
Himself for to stir.

— Thomas Tusser, Five Hundreth Poinies of Husbandrie, 1557.

Now I will tell you by what means you may distinguish each soil. If you desire to know whether
it be loose or unusually close, since the one is favorable for corn, the other for wine; first, you will
select a place beforehand and order a pit to be sunk deep where the soil is unbroken, and you will
restore to its place again all the clay, and with your feet will tread the mould till it be level on the top.
If the mould shall prove deficient, the soil will be loose and better suited for cattle and for the kindly
vine; but if it refuses to go into the space it formerly occupied, and if, after the pit has been filled,
any surplus of earth remain, the land will be close: look for stubborn clods and stiff ridges, and break
up the earth with strong bullocks. — Virgil. Ceorgics, 37 B.C.
28549—9

82 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

AWNLESS BROME GRASS (Bromus inermis Leyss) .
Plate 13; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 23.

Other Latin name: Schedonurus inermis (Leyss) Beauv.

Other English names: Brome Grass, Smooth Brome Grass, Hungarian
Brome Grass, Hungarian Fodder Grass, Aus-
trian Brome Grass, Austrian Brome Hay.

Botanical description: Awnless Brome Grass is perennial
with a creeping rootstock which produces numerous scaly runners.
These are a kind of underground stems, the leaves of which are
reduced to mere scales. They are much branched, root at the joints
and produce numerous upright stems of the ordinary type. The
runners being long and widely creeping, the upright stems produced
from them are scattered and the plants are therefore not tufted but
form loose mats. This is especially the case in light, loose soil.
The stems are numerous and rather stout. They are from one to
four feet high and carry many spreading leaves. These are long
and broad, smooth, and vary from light to dark green. The panicle
is generally large with branches spreading in all directions. After
flowering it usually becomes narrow and sometimes one-sided with
nodding branches. The spikelets, which are about an inch long,
are generally brownish-red when old. One spikelet contains seven to
nine flowers, each enclosed by two more or less blunt glumes. The
grass is called Awnless Brome because the outer glume of the flower
has no awn, although occasionally forms are found which have
awned glumes, like most other species of the genus.

Geographical distribution: Awnless Brome Grass is a native
of central Europe and Asia, extending from Holland and France to
China. Although its range of distribution is very wide, the wild
form occurs in rather scattered localities. In recent years, however,
it has been introduced in a great number of places and is now fairly
common in practically all European countries. It was introduced
into Canada about twenty years ago and is widely distributed, es-
pecially in the Prairie Provinces.

Habitat: It grows naturally in dry, gravelly places, on river-
banks and hills, along borders of woods, etc., and more rarely in
meadows.

Cultural conditions: Awnless Brome Grass does not require
a heavy, good soil but thrives on loose and comparatively poor land

Plate 13

AWNLlrSS BROME- GRASS

(Bronous inerrois

AWNLESS GROME GRASS 83

where more valuable grasses would make a poor stand. Although it
succeeds in medium wet soil, it is generally used where moisture is
rather scarce. It is highly prized on account of its drought-resisting
qualities; in dry summers it produces more green feed than any
other grass. Especially in those parts of the Prairie Provinces where
the rainfall is light, Awnless Brome Grass is desirable. It is adapted
to western Canada on account of its hardiness and its ability to stand
sudden and great climatic changes. It is extensively grown in
Hungary, where the climate is much like that of the Canadian west.

Habits of growth: Like most other perennial grasses, Awnless
Brome Grass grows rather slowly the year it is sown. The second
year the crop is heavy and the third year it usually reaches its
maximum. Owing to the great stooling power of the rootstock, the
ground soon becomes sod-bound and it is necessary to renew the
field in order to keep up the yield. When once established it is per-
sistent and thorough cultivation is required to suppress it. It starts
growth early in spring and keeps on producing stems and leaves until
late in fall.

Agricultural value: Its ability to furnish green feed, even in
a hot, dry summer, makes it valuable for pasture, although its nu-
tritive value cannot be compared with that of Kentucky Blue Grass,
for instance. Its indifference to the tramping of cattle and sheep
makes it especially important in sandy and gravelly pastures.

Fodder: Although opinions of the feeding value of the hay differ,
it is safe to say that it can scarcely be compared to medium quality
Timothy. In a dry climate it is generally advisable to sow it alone
for hay and without a nurse crop. Ten or twelve pounds of seed
to the acre have been found sufficient at the Indian Head experi-
mental farm. More seed will give a better crop the first year but
less afterwards, as the roots thicken up and produce a dense sod.
It should be cut before flowering as it becomes hard and less palat-
able after that and leses much of its nutritive value. Under favour-
able conditions, two crops of hay can be secured during the season,
the second, however, being rather light and consisting chiefly of
leaves. The hay is relished by all kinds of stock. It may be fed
for milk as well as for beef production. On account of its laxative
properties it is less suitable for working horses.

Seed: Awnless Brome Grass should be cut for seed when the
spikelets have a brownish-violet tint. If cut too early the seed will

84 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

be light and of poor quality. It is safe to let it ripen thoroughly
before cutting as the grass holds the seed well. The same methods
of harvesting and curing may be used as for cereals.

Quality of seed: The seeds are light brown with a character-
istic purple tint, almost half an inch long, flat and light. The glume
has sometimes a short awn at the top, but as a rule it is awnless
and blunt. The seed usually contains a good deal of chaff and broken
straw. Good seed weighs fourteen pounds per bushel.

FIELD BROME GRASS (Bromus arvensis L.)
Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 21.

Botanical description: Field Brome Grass is annual, or some-
times biennial, with stems one to three feet high, generally standing
many together, and with rather broad, soft leaves. The whole
plant has a characteristic greyish green colour. It is easily distin-
guished from other Brome grasses by the soft hairs covering its
lower parts. The panicle is large, spreading even after flowering,
and of a characteristic purple tinge. The outer glumes of the flower
are provided with long awns; otherwise the spikelets are similar to
those of Awnless Brome Grass.

Geographical distribution: Field Brome Grass is a native of
Europe, Siberia and Asia Minor. It has been sparingly introduced
into America.

Habitat: It is found in waste places, along roads and paths,
and in fields where it sometimes grows like a weed.

Agricultural value: Attempts have been made to cultivate
this grass. On account of its brief duration, it can be used only
in short rotations. It makes rapid growth and gives an abundant
yield; for this reason it may be used as a catch crop. Its value for
Canada has not been sufficiently tested.

We make (by Art) in the same Orchards and Gardens, Trees and Flowers to come earlier or later
than their seasons, and to come up and bear more speedily then by their natural course they do. We
make them also (by Art) much greater, their nature, and their Fruit greater and sweeter, and of
differing taste, smell, colour and figure from their nature; and many of them we so order, that they
become of Medicinal use. We have also means to make divers new Plants differing from

the Vulgar, and make one Tree or Plant turn into another. — Bacon, New Atlantis, 1676.

FRINGED BROME GRASS. 85

FRINGED BROME GRASS (Bromus ciliatus L.)
Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 22.

Botanical description: Fringed Brome Grass is perennial
with short rootstocks and grows in loose tufts. The stems are from
two to four feet high, rather slender and generally covered with stiff
hairs below. The leaves are broad, bright or almost yellowish green
in colour, soft in texture, and covered with soft, short hairs on both
sides. The panicles are generally one-sided, their long, over-hanging
branches carrying the spikelets chiefly at their ends. The spikelets
are usually green and readily distinguished from those of all other
species of Bromus by having their glumes fringed with long, out-
standing hairs. The lemma (see page 10) has a rather short,
straight awn.

Geographical distribution: Fringed Brome Grass is a native
of North America. It is common in the eastern parts of Canada.

Habitat: It occurs in moist woods, in thickets, on riverbanks,
etc., and prefers shady localities.

Its agricultural value is little known.

The gardeners, look, are hoeing vines to keep them clean and free of weeds; but they hoe so
sorrily that the loose stuff grows ranker and more plentiful. Can you call such a hoer aught but an
idle loon? — Xenophon, The Economist, 434-355 B.C.

Straight mine eye hath caught new pleasures

Whilst the landscape round it measures;

Russet lawns, and fallows gray,

Where the nibbling flocks do stray,

Mountains, on whose barren breast

The lab'ring clouds do often rest;

Meadows trim with daisies pied,

Shallow brooks, and rivers wide. — Milton, L' Allegro, 1634.

It is the Seed, and the Nature of it, which locketh and boundeth in the Creature, that it doth not

expatiate Therefore you must make an account, that if you will have one Plant change

into another, you must have the Nourishment over-rule the seed. And therefore you are to practice
it by Nourishments, as contrary as may be, to the Nature of the Herb; so nevertheless as the Herb
may grow; and likewise with Seeds that are of the weakest sort, and have least vigor. You shall do
well therefore to take Marsh-Herbs, and plant them upon the top of Hills and Champaigns; and such
Plants as require much moisture, upon Sandy and very dry grounds. — Bacon, Natural History, 1625.

86 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

PERENNIAL RYE GRASS (Lolium perenne L.)

Plate I4A; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 24.
Other English names: English Rye or Ray Grass, Common Darnel.

Botanical description : This grass is perennial with a creeping
rootstock from which bunches of leafy stems and sterile shoots
develop. The plants thus grow in spreading tufts, which consist of
minor tufts connected by the elongated branches of the rootstock.
The stems are strictly upright or more or less knee-bent ascending.
They are slender, smooth, and generally one or two feet high. The
leaves are usually dark green and folded together when in bud. In
this respect they differ from those of Italian Rye which are rolled
in the bud. The flowers are arranged in a characteristic spikelike
inflorescence, composed of a number of flattened spikelets in two
rows. The spikelets are solitary at each joint and the spike is there-
fore somewhat similar to that of Western Rye and Couch Grass.
In Perennial Rye, however, the spikelets turn their narrow side
toward the main stem, whereas in Western Rye and Couch Grass
they turn their broad side toward the stem. For this reason the
spike of Perennial Rye becomes strongly flattened, those of Western
Rye and Couch Grass being more cylindrical. A spikelet contains
from five to nine flowers, each enclosed within two awnless glumes.

Geographical distribution: Perennial Rye Grass is indigen-
ous to almost all Europe, northern Africa and the temperate parts
of Asia. It was introduced into Canada and the United States and
is now widely distributed, especially in the eastern provinces.

Habitat: It occurs naturally in waste places and cultivated
fields, on roadsides, in meadows and along borders of woods.

Cultural conditions: It prefers moist, rich clays and loams
and in suitable soil the growth is luxuriant. It can be successfully
grown on marshy land or on any good, well-drained soil. Stagnant
water has a disastrous effect upon it. It becomes tough and wiry
on dry, sterile soil and generally disappears after the second year.

Climate: Although able to stand considerable drought, it can-
not be recommended for districts where the summer is hot and dry,
and for this reason it will never be of importance for the Prairie

Plate 14

PERENNIAL RYE GRASS b. ITALIAN RYE GRASS

( Lolium perenne L. ) (Loliurn mulhflorurr) La,m.

PERENNIAL RYE GRASS. 87

Provinces. As it loves a moist climate, it may be of some value for
the Maritime Provinces and the Pacific slope, especially on heavy
soil of good quality.

Habits of growth: Perennial Rye Grass is sometimes rather
difficult to start. This is, however, not a general characteristic; it
is often due to poor seed. If conditions are favourable and the seed
of good quality, its development is rapid and a good growth can be
obtained in a few weeks. It reaches its maximum yield the year
after sowing but may continue to give fair returns for several years.

Agricultural value: It is one of the oldest forage plants of the
Old World. It was cultivated in England almost two hundred and
fifty years ago and is highly esteemed in the countries surrounding
the North Sea. Although of only medium yield and nutritive value,
in some parts of Europe it is grown in preference to any other fodder
grass.

Fodder: On account of its rapid development and short du-
ration, Perennial Rye is useful in hay mixtures, pastures, or lawns
where quick results are wanted while more valuable and permanent
grasses are becoming established. Its greatest nutritive value is
immediately before flowering. Being rather early, it should be mixed
with other early-flowering grasses, such as Orchard Grass.

Pasture: Grazing should begin before the stems are too far
advanced. Under favourable conditions it recovers quickly and
keeps on producing green feed until late in the fall. It stands rough
treatment better than almost any other grass, tramping acting
rather as a stimulant. When used alone, thirty pounds of good seed
are enough for an acre.

Seed: Most of the seed is grown in Scotland and England.
When a crop is wanted, the best land should be used, for the seed is
cheap and good returns must be secured to make the business a
profitable one. A field can be harvested for seed only once. A
crop of hay is secured early in the season and the second crop is
set apart for seed production. Cutting too early gives a light seed
which is worth little, as the price depends upon the weight. On the
other hand, if cutting is started too late, loss will result from shelling.
The right time is about a month after flowering, when the seeds
begin to be leathery.

88 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

Quality of seed: The colour is light brown, rather similar to
that of Meadow Fescue. It is, however, not as dull as the seed of
the latter and has a silvery lustre. The seeds are blunter and flatter
and always destitute of awns.

The weight varies, the best seed ranging from twenty-five to
thirty-five pounds a bushel, poor seed sometimes not exceeding
fifteen pounds.

ITALIAN RYE GRASS (Lolium multiflorum Lam.)
Plate

Botanical description: Italian Rye is perennial and very similar
to Perennial Rye Grass in general appearance. The tufts are alike,
but the branches of the Italian Rye rootstock are generally shorter
and the whole plant forms a denser tuft. The stems on an average
are higher and more delicate than those of Perennial Rye, from which
they also differ in being decidedly rough to the hand when rubbed
upwards below the inflorescence. When the plants are young they
can be distinguished from those of Perennial Rye Grass by the leaves
being rolled together when in bud. When fully developed, the
leaves are comparatively broad, soft in texture and bright green.
The inflorescence has the same general appearance as that of Peren-
nial Rye but differs in some important points. Thus a spikelet
contains a greater number of flowers, generally from ten to thirty.
When the spike is developed, the grass can be easily distinguished
from Perennial Rye by the flowers. These are enclosed within two
glumes like those of Perennial Rye, but the outer glume carries a
long awn at its top. Some varieties, however, are awnless and may
be distinguished by their rolled young leaves and upwardly rough
stems.

Geographical distribution: Italian Rye Grass is indigenous
to western and southern Europe, northern Africa and Asia Minor.
It has been sparingly introduced into North America and is found
in only a few places in Canada.

Habitat: It grows naturally in meadows, along ditches and
roads, in gardens, openings in woods, etc.

Cultural conditions: Italian Rye Grass is productive on soil
rich in humus, sandy and calcareous loams, and on marls with enough

ITALIAN RYE GRASS. 89

moisture. It does not do well on stiff, heavy clays or on very dry
soil. No grass repays fertilizers as well as does Italian Rye and
where the soil is kept rich by liquid manure the returns are very
large. In the valley of the river Po, in northern Italy, where the rich,
loamy land is irrigated, and on the sandy soil in the vicinity of
Edinburgh, Scotland, irrigated by the sewage from the city, it yields
almost incredible quantities of forage. Although of more southern
origin than Perennial Rye, it thrives comparatively far north. It is
doubtful, however, whether it is of any general importance for
Canada. It may be of value for the Pacific coast.

Habits of growth: The perennial quality of Italian Rye is not
so outstanding as that of Perennial Rye Grass. It is rather short-
lived and generally disappears after the second year, especially if it
is allowed to produce seed. It starts early in the spring and where
liquid manure is given the growth is so rapid that ten tons of grass
to the acre have been obtained six weeks after sowing. It loses its
flavour and nutritive value more quickly than does Perennial Rye
and for this reason it should be cut when the spikes begin to develop.
Where conditions are favourable it may be cut three or four times
in a season.

Italian Rye Grass was probably first cultivated in northern Italy.
It is recognized as a good fodder plant in most European countries
and is grown extensively, especially in England and Scotland.

Agricultural value: On account of its early start and rapid
growth, Italian Rye is a hay grass of outstanding merit, where the
climate is favourable, either alone or with other grasses or clovers.
It is a fine pasture grass for short rotation, relished by all kinds of
stock. Sheep, on being turned into a field sown with Italian Rye and
Red Clover and cut for hay, prefer the grass to the clover. It makes
a valuable feed for dairy cows, and, in spite of its succulence, does
not produce purging in the animals. On account of its high yield
it is said to be unrivalled among the grasses for soiling, and its rapid
growth makes it useful for the suppression of noxious weeds.

Seed: What has been said about growing Perennial Rye Grass
seed applies to Italian Rye, though the latter has a far greater dis-
position to shell its seed and for this reason must not be cut too late.

Quality of seed: The seed of Italian Rye Grass is similar to
that of Meadow Fescue and very like that of Perennial Rye. It

28549—10

9O FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

may readily be distinguished from the latter by its long, slender awn.
It is also a trifle lighter in colour, and the shiny lustre, characteristic
of the seed of Perennial Rye, is much less conspicuous. The weight
of the seed varies, sixteen pounds per bushel being the average for
good seed; it sometimes rises to twenty-four pounds per bushel.

WESTERN RYE GRASS (Agropyron tenerum Vas.)

Plate 15; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 26.
Other English names: Slender Wheat Grass, Bald Wheat Grass.

Botanical description: Western Rye Grass is perennial with
a very short rootstock not creeping, like that of Couch Grass, which
Western Rye in other respects closely resembles. On account of
the shortness of the rootstock, the stems and shoots become crowded
and the whole plant grows in dense tufts. Western Rye is therefore
a bunch grass. Besides a great number of strong roots from the
short underground rootstocks, numerous stems and sterile shoots
are produced. Both stems and sterile shoots are strictly upright,
the former being from two to four feet high, the latter varying with
individual plants and in different localities. Western Rye Grass
varies in many other respects. Thus the foliage of some individuals
is poor and confined almost entirely to the base of the plant, whereas
in others it is about as rich as that of ordinary Timothy and dis-
tributed along the stems to above the middle. Plants with narrow,
dry leaves may be found growing beside individuals with broad and
rather soft leaves ; and greyish or bluish-green plants occur side by side
with bright green ones. The flowers are in a long, spike-like inflor-
escence which has the flattened spikelets solitary at each joint and
thus somewhat resembles that of Perennial and Italian Rye Grass.
As the two latter grasses turn the narrow side of the spikelets toward
the main stem, whereas the spikelets of Western Rye (like those of
all other species of the genus Agropyron) turn their broad side
toward the main stem, there is little danger of confusion. Moreover,
in the spikelets of a species of Agropyron there are two sterile glumes
(see page 10); whereas the species of the genus Lolium have only
one sterile glume. In Western Rye the two sterile glumes are about
as long as the whole spikelet and sometimes enclose it completely.
The spikelets are always strongly appressed to the main stem, making
the whole inflorescence narrow and slender — hence the name Slender
Wheat Grass. At first they are green but toward ripening time

Plate 15

WHEAT GRASS OR W&STERN RYE GRASS

( Agropyroo henerum

!

-

WESTERN RYE GRASS. 91

they turn straw-coloured. A spikelet generally contains from four
to six flowers, each enclosed within two glumes. The outer glume
is similar in shape and texture to the sterile glumes at the base of
the spikelet. It is generally awnless but sometimes carries a short
awn at its top.

Geographical distribution: It is indigenous to all Canada,
from coast to coast, and to the northern and western parts of the
United States. As its name indicates, it is especially common in the
west, extending from the dry belts of British Columbia to New
Mexico and southern California.

Cultural conditions: Western Rye Grass grows naturally in
dry soil and thrives best where only a limited amount of water is
available. It cannot stand long flooding but responds readily to
careful irrigation. It is one of the few grasses that are not checked
by a large amount of alkali in the ground. The root being rather
deep and very strong, it stands severe drought without injury. It
is insusceptible to extreme cold, and, generally speaking, bears
unfavourable climatic conditions better than most other fodder
grasses.

Habits of growth: It is easy to grow and makes a ready start
from the seed. If sown in spring, it is well-established in one season
and might, if conditions are favourable, head out late in the fall of
the same year. It generally gives the heaviest crop the third year,
the yield depending to a certain extent on the amount of seed sown.

Agricultural value: It is no doubt the most valuable of the
western native hay grasses, and, like most other fodder grasses, in-
cludes many different types. Some of them give only a small quantity
of poor fodder; others produce much nutritious, succulent hay. As
grown at present, Western Rye is a mixture of types and the return
is therefore comparatively small. By proper selection and breeding,
varieties could be produced which in yield and nutritive value would
far surpass the average grass now grown in the Prairie Provinces.

Fodder: Western Rye is preferably a hay grass. It should be
cut just when it begins to bloom, or even earlier, as it is most palat-
able and has its greatest nutritive value before flowering. After
that it becomes tough, hard and decidedly woody. Only one crop
of hay can be taken each year. It has its greatest value as horse feed.
It is, however, not as much relished as is the hay from Brome Grass,

92 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

perhaps because the types now grown have rather poor foliage on
the stems.

Pasture: It is of little value for pasture, as the second growth
is poor.

When sown alone, ten to fifteen pounds of good seed should be
used to the acre. No advantage in yield is gained by seeding more
thickly on dry soils; on the contrary, it is apt to lessen the yield in
succeeding years.

Seed: It is ready to cut for seed when the spikelets are of a
greenish-straw colour, which stage is reached, under normal conditions,
three to four weeks after flowering. It can be cut with a binder,
cured like Timothy and threshed in a grain thresher.

Quality of seed: The seed is bright straw-coloured, from a
third to half an inch long, awnless or with a short, straight awn at
the tip.

WESTERN WHEAT GRASS (Agropyron occidental Scribn.)

Other Latin name: Agropyron Smiihii Rydb.

Other English names: Colorado Blue-stem, Blue-joint, Alkali Grass.

Western Wheat Grass is strongly perennial with a creeping root-
stock similar to that of Couch Grass. The plants do not grow in
tufts, like Western Rye Grass, but form an open sod with scattered
stems and leafy shoots like Couch Grass. The whole plant is bluish
green which accounts for the names Blue-stem and Blue-joint.
The stems are from one to four feet high and rather stout. The
leaves are comparatively long, firm in texture, flat, or in dry localities
rolled together. The inflorescence is strongly flattened, broader and
denser than that of Western Rye Grass. The spikelets are about
twice as long and contain a greater number of flowers — generally
about eight. In a spikelet of Western Rye the two lowest glumes
are about as long as the whole spikelet, whereas in Western Wheat
they are about half as long.

Western Wheat Grass is indigenous to western Canada from
Saskatchewan to the Rocky Mountains. In the United States it
extends westward from Michigan and Kansas.

COUCH GRASS. 93

Like Couch Grass, it is not very particular about soil and locality,
occurring on the open plains as well as on the foot hills. Although
extremely resistant to drought, it is not found as a rule on very sandy
or dry soil. It prefers rich land and makes a luxuriant growth
where sufficient moisture is available. As the name Alkali Grass
indicates, it does better than most other hay or pasture grasses on
saline soil.

The agricultural value of Western Wheat Grass is little known.
In some of the western states it is considered valuable, especially for
pasture, and it is thought to be highly nutritive. Its creeping root"
stock and its spreading habit are apt to make it sod-bound, however,
and it may not be worth cultivation.

AWNED WHEAT GRASS (Agropyron Richardsonii Schrad.)
Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 27.

Awned Wheat Grass has a short rootstock and therefore grows
in tufts like Western Rye Grass. It is easily distinguished, however,
by the long awns on the flowering glumes and the arrangement of
the flowers in a one-sided spike. It is common in the Prairie Prov-
inces, especially outside the semi-arid regions. It is generally coarser
than Western Rye and, on account of its long, stiff awns, less suitable
for fodder.

COUCH GRASS (Agropyron repens (L.) Beauv.)
Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 25.

Couch Grass is strongly perennial, with a widely running root-
stock and numerous leafy shoots which form large matted beds.
It is similar to Western Wheat Grass in its mode of growth but differs
in being brighter green and having smaller spikelets. It is a native
of Europe and has unfortunately been introduced into Canada, in
the eastern districts of which it has become well established. Al-
though of some agricultural value, it is one of the most noxious
weeds and should be carefully guarded against.

I know precisely that for either object, whether to bring the weeds and quitch grass to the surface
and to wither them by scorching heat, or to expose the earth itself to the sun's baking rays, there can
be nothing better than to plough the soil up with a pair of oxen during mid-day in summer. — Xenophon,
The Economist, 434~355 B.C.

94 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

VIRGINIA LYME GRASS (Elymus virginicus L.)

Plate 16; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 28.
Other English names: Bald Rye Grass, Wheat Grass, Terrell Grass.

Botanical description : Virginia Lyme Grass is perennial with
a very short rootstock and therefore grows in dense tufts. The
stems, which are generally from two to four feet high, are numerous
and densely crowded, smooth and rather slender, leafy to the top
and often tinged with purple. The leaves are long and broad, the
colour varying from bright green to glaucous. The lower leaves
soon become brown and dry and at flowering time are usually all
dead. The flowers are in a spikelike inflorescence. The spikelets
are not solitary at each joint, as in the genus Agropyron, but are
generally in pairs, making the inflorescence dense and crowded.
Each spikelet has two sterile glumes at its base and there are con-
sequently four sterile glumes at each joint. They are thick and
clawlike, bent below, and make a characteristic mark by which
Virginia Lyme can be easily distinguished from other Lyme Grasses.
A spikelet contains two or three flowers, each enclosed within two
narrow glumes. The outer flowering glume, the lemma, is awnless
or with a short awn at its tip. When the awn is present the whole
spike somewhat resembles that of rye; when it is absent the spike
is more like that of wheat — hence the names Bald Rye Grass and
Wheat Grass.

Geographical distribution: Virginia Lyme Grass is indigenous
to practically the whole North American continent. In Canada it
extends from Nova Scotia to the Rocky Mountains.

Habitat: It occurs on river banks, along borders of woods and
thickets, etc. It is rather common in open woodlands but rare in
open ground. This is why it is more frequent in the Maritime
Provinces, Quebec and Ontario than in the Prairie Provinces.

Cultural conditions: Virginia Lyme Grass stands drought
and severe cold without injury and makes quite a vigorous growth
on light, dry soil where many other grasses give a poor return.

Agricultural value: Its agricultural value is rather doubtful.
It is nutritive and succulent when young, but it quickly loses its

Plafe 16

VIRGINIAN LYME- GRASS

(Elynous virginicus L.)

VIRGINIA LYME GRASS. 95

feeding value and palatability as it gets woody and the basal leaves
soon dry up and turn brown. If intended for pasture it should
therefore be grazed early, and if grown for hay it should be cut
quite green — long before the plants have started to flower. Its
value as a pasture or hay grass is considerably lessened by its inability
to produce a reasonable second growth.

When sown alone, fifteen pounds of seed should be used to the
acre.

The strain on the soil will be an easy one by alternating the crops, provided only that you are not
chary in saturating the parched earth with rich manure, or in scattering unsightly ashes upon the
exhausted fields; thus, too, your land is refreshed by changing the crops, and in the meantime there is
not the unproductiveness of unfilled land. — Virgil, Geargics, 37 B.C.

Where cattle may run about roving at will,
From pasture to pasture, poor belly to fill,
There pasture and cattle, both hungry and bare.
For want of good husbandry worser do fare.

— Thomas Tusser, Five Hundreth Pointes of Husbandrie, 1557.

The calicular leaves enclose the tender flowers, and the flowers themselves lie wrapped about the
seeds, in their rudiment and first formations, which being advanced, the flowers fall away; and are
therefore contrived in variety of figures, best satisfying the intention; handsomely observable in
hooded and gaping flowers, and the butterfly blooms of leguminous plants, the lo\,e leaf closely
involving the rudimental cod, and the alary or wingy divisions embracing or hanging <_"er it. — Sir
Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus, 1658.

And tryed time yet taught me greater thinges;

The sodain rising of the raging seas,
The soothe of byrdes by beating of their winges,

The powre of herbes, both which can hurt and ease;
And which be wont t'enrage the restless sheepe,
And which be wont to worke eternal sleepe.

— Spenser, Shepherd's Calendar, 1579.

Some of the Ancients, and likewise divers of the Modern Writers, that have labored in Natura
Magick, have noted a Sympathy between the Sun, Moon, and some principal Stars; and certain
Herbs, and Plants. And so they have denominated some Herbs Solar, and some Lunar, and such like
toys put into great words. It is manifest, that there are some Flowers that have respect to the Sun
in two kinds; the one by opening and shutting, and the other by bowing and inclining the Head.

Of this, there needeth no such solemn Reason to be assigned, as to say, that they rejoyce

at the presence of the Sun, and mourn at the absence thereof. For it is nothing else but a little loading
of the Leavs, and swelling them at the bottom, with the moisture of the Air; whereas the dry Air
doth extend them. And they make it a piece of the wonder. That Garden Claver will hide the Stalk,
when the Sun sheweth bright, which is nothing but a full expansion of the Leavs. — Bacon, Natural
History, 1625.

96 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

CRIMSON CLOVER (Trifolium incarnatum L.)

Plate 17; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 29.
Other English names: Scarlet Clover, Italian Clover, German Clover.

Botanical description: Crimson Clover is an annual plant
with a strong taproot provided with the nodules characteristic of
all leguminous plants. From the crown of the root numerous up-
right stems develop which reach an average height of one or two feet.
They are soft in texture and covered with soft hairs. The leaflets
are somewhat similar in shape to those of common Red Clover, but
are shorter, broader, covered with short hairs and toothed in their
upper parts. The flowers are in a prolonged, spikelike head which
has a peculiar bluish green tint before flowering. The head, which
is from one to two inches long when fully developed, contains a great
number of flowers, the development of which gradually proceeds
from the base to the top. The flowers are rich scarlet or crimson
and somewhat longer than those of the common Red Clover.

Geographical distribution: Crimson Clover is indigenous to
Europe where it occurs in France, Italy, Spain and in the valley of
the Danube. In many cases, however, it is doubtful whether the
plant is really wild or has only escaped from cultivation. Its cul-
tivation, which for a long time was confined to northern Italy,
southern France and the country around the Pyrenees, is now rapidly
spreading. The northern limit of the plant, which was approx-
imately northern Italy before its cultivation began, is now extended
to southern Sweden. In America it is grown in practically all the
eastern states of the Union, especially southward. In Canada it is
only grown to a limited extent and is scarcely found except in southern
Ontario and British Columbia, except as a cover crop in orchards.

Cultural conditions: Crimson Clover is well adapted to poor
soils. This may be partly due to its strong root system, which en-
ables the plants to gather nourishment from a large area. On light,
sandy soils, where Red Clover would not thrive, Crimson Clover
may yield large crops. This is especially true if the plants are given
sufficient lime and water. It thrives best on sandy loams which
contain a rich supply of plant food, and on such soils, if the climate
is favourable, it will produce a luxuriant growth. On heavy or
moist cold clay the return is scanty.

Plafe 17

CRIMSON CLOVER

(Trifoliunn incarnahum /

CRIMSON CLOVER. 97

Habits of growth: Being a resident of southern Europe, it is
evident that Crimson Clover likes a warm climate. When found
wild, it is a so-called winter annual; that is, the seeds germinate in
the fall or during the summer and the young plants reach full develop-
ment relatively early the following season. In Canada only the
southern parts of British Columbia are mild enough to insure the
plants living through the winter. Even in southwestern Ontario
the returns from late-sown seed are uncertain. It is therefore the
general practice to sow Crimson Clover early in spring and harvest
the crop the same season. Although it requires a warm climate and
is able to make a surprisingly good growth in sandy soil, Crimson
Clover cannot endure severe drought. It does well in light soil that
can be irrigated during the growing season.

Agricultural value: Crimson Clover has a high nutritive value
and can be used for either hay or pasture. It is valuable for soiling
purposes in short rotations and in orchards, as the green matter
produced is heavy and the roots penetrate deep into the ground.

Fodder: Crimson Clover hay is readily eaten by all kinds of
farm animals and is claimed to be especially suitable for those doing
heavy work. Like other clovers, it has its highest nutritive value
when in flower and should not be cut for hay later than in full bloom.
The blossoms are provided with a great number of rather long hairs,
soft and harmless before the plant has reached the flowering stage.
When it blossoms these hairs become stiff and may cause serious
indigestion. Experience has therefore shown that it is advisable to
cut Crimson Clover a little earlier than in full bloom. Harvesting
may be done in the same way as for Red Clover.

Pasture: Where the winters are mild enough to allow Crimson
Clover to be sown late in the summer, it can be pastured the same
fall and then early next spring. Where the climate, as in south-
western Ontario, makes spring sowing necessary, pasturing must be
limited to one season. In those sections of Ontario where Crimson
Clover is grown, it i§ commonly used as pasture for hogs. Fifteen
to twenty pounds of seed should be used to the acre.

Seed: As Crimson Clover plants produce a great number of
heads, containing numerous blossoms, a large amount of seed is
generally developed. Favourable weather, however, is necessary
during harvesting, as the quality of the seed is affected by rain.
The seeds are easily shed and it is therefore advisable to cut when
the heads are wet with dew, to handle the crop with the utmost care

28549—11

98 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

and to thresh it as soon as possible. The average crop is from four
to five bushels to the acre.

Quality of seed: Crimson Clover seeds are much larger than
those of Red Clover. They are egg-shaped, plump and shiny yellow-
ish brown with an orange tint. The legal weight is sixty pounds
per bushel.

RED CLOVER (Trifolium pratense L.)
Plate 18; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 30.

Botanical description: Red Clover is mainly biennial. The
year the seed germinates, only short leaves and stems are produced
and no flowers. The second year the flowers are developed and the
seed formed, and after ripening the seed the plant dies. As with most
biennial plants, the root is a taproot; that is, the single main root
gradually tapers downward and produces numerous side branches.
On these are developed the small, rounded or egg-shaped nodules
which contain the bacteria necessary for the proper development of
the plant. From the upper end of the taproot, which is somewhat
enlarged and generally known as the crown, are formed more or less
numerous buds which develop into leafy stems. These as a rule
are from one-half to two feet high, strictly upright or ascending from
a decumbent base, the latter being the normal growth of stems
developed from the outer margin of the crown. The stems are
generally branched above the middle and the leaves are single at
each joint. The three leaflets of which each leaf consists are oblong
or egg-shaped and usually marked with a white spot of varying size
and shape. The stipules (see page 15) attached to the base of the
leaf stalk are triangular at the base and suddenly contracted into
an awnlike point. This peculiar shape is a characteristic by which
Red Clover can be readily distinguished from Zigzag Clover* (Tri-
folium medium L.), which it closely resembles and is often confused
with. The stipules of Zigzag Clover are narrow throughout. The
Red Clover flowers are in a dense head, which is about an inch in
diameter when fully developed. They vary from bright red to pur-
ple but are sometimes white.

* Zigzag Clover, so-called after the zigzag bending of the stems, has much narrower
leaves than has Red Clover. It is a perennial plant, common in Europe where it grows
along borders of woods and in open woodlands. The so-called Simpson's Perennial Red
Clover from Prince Edward Island and Couch Grass Clover from the Maritime Provinces
are of this species.

Plate 18

RFD CLOVE-R

(Trifolium prahense /..)

RED CLOVER. 99

Biology of flower: If Red Clover is isolated during flowering
time, so that no insects can visit the blooms, no seeds will be formed,
as it depends upon insects to transport the pollen from one flower to
another. Bumble bees, which visit the flowers in order to secure the
nectar, are especially active in this transportation. The blossoms
of Red Clover are peculiarly sensitive; when a bumble bee in search
of honey forces its proboscis down and touches the lower parts of a
flower, such a touch, if the flower is fully developed, makes the sta-
mens and pistil protrude from the interior of the blossom into the
open air. The bending of the stamens and pistil brings their upper
ends into close contact with the body of the insect, which thus be-
comes powdered with pollen from the stamens. The pistil protrudes
a little beyond the stamens. This might seem an insignificant fact,
but it means that the pistil has a better chance to come in contact
with the pollen from other plants, already deposited on the body of
the insect, than to come in contact with the pollen of its own flower.
As the insect travels from one plant to another, carrying pollen from
different individuals, the pistils of one are apt to be fertilized by
pollen from another. Such cross-fertilization must, in fact, take
place before seed can be developed. In other words, Red Clover is
completely self-sterile. The pollen is unable to fertilize the pistils of
the plant on which it is produced.

As a rule, the insect carries enough pollen from different in-
dividuals to give the pistils an opportunity to be powdered from other
plants. There is, however, a chance that a single visit from one
insect would be insufficient. To provide a greater opportunity for
every flower to be fertilized, nature has made it possible to have
each Red Clover blossom visited by insects many times. In Alfalfa
each flower has only one chance to be fertilized (see page 115), as the
stamens and the pistil, after the explosion of the flower, do not
return to their original positions. A Red Clover blossom has many
chances, as the pistil and stamens protrude for only an instant, after
which they move back to their original positions. Their sensibility
is not lost after the first visit of an insect; a second or third visit
will have the same-effect, and the chances of the pistil being properly
fertilized will last as long as it remains in a condition to receive the
pollen.

Bumble bees are the only insects, with the exception of some
butterflies, with a proboscis long enough to reach the nectar at the
bottom of the flower tube. As is well known by bee-keepers, the
ordinary honey bee is not able to gather honey from Red Clover,
its proboscis being far too short. In spite of this, however, the ord-
inary honey bee is of considerable importance in the fertilization of

IOO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

Red Clover. Though it cannot reach the honey, it can reach the
pollen, and when securing this for bee bread it comes in contact with
the pistil and thus has an opportunity to assist fertilization.

The result of the fertilization of the flower is the development of
a small, straight pod containing one seed. When fully ripe this is
released by the falling off of the upper caplike part of the pod.

Red Clover and all other species of the genus Trifolium behave
in a rather peculiar way after flowering. Their flowers do not fall
off but remain withered on the head during the whole season, giving
the ripened heads their characteristic brown appearance. This pe-
culiarity makes it easy to distinguish the genus Trifolium from the
genus Medicago, the flowers of the latter not being persistent. The
pods of Alfalfa and other species of Medicago are exposed while
ripening, whereas the pods of Red Clover and other species of
Trifolium are not visible.

Geographical distribution: Red Clover is a native of Europe,
southwestern Asia, parts of Siberia and northern Africa.

History: It was introduced into culture comparatively late. In
Italy and Spain its cultivation was established during the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries. It was introduced into Holland from
Spain during the sixteenth century and from there it made its way
to England during the first half of the seventeenth, the English name
being derived from the Dutch "Klafver." It was introduced into
North America during the last decennium of the eighteenth century.

Cultural conditions: Being a resident of the temperate zone,
Red Clover succeeds best where the summers are not too hot nor
the winters too severe. Although the roots go rather deep, the plant
is injured by long and continuous drought. It needs sufficient rain
during the growing period to enable it to flourish during the whole
season. As Red Clover is rather cosmopolitan, a great number of
varieties, adapted to different climates, have been developed. The
suitability of a variety for a northern climate like that of Canada
depends to a great extent upon its hardiness. Chilean Red Clover
or other varieties originating in countries with a mild climate are
invariably killed by the Canadian winter, except in the southern
parts of the country. It is therefore important to secure seed of
northern origin. If possible, Canadian grown seed should be obtained
because as a rule homegrown seed gives the best results.

RED CLOVER. IOI

Soil: Red Clover can be successfully grown on many kinds of
soil, the most suitable being clay loams with a certain amount of
lime and plenty of organic matter. Sandy loams also give good
returns, especially on limestone foundation; but generally speaking,
Red Clover prefers the heavier soils. It can be grown even on stiff
clay, provided the subsoil is open. For its proper development Red
Clover, like Alfalfa, depends a good deal upon the subsoil. This
must be open and well-drained. Stagnant water near or on the
surface is decidedly injurious. Water-soaked soil excludes the air
necessary for the respiration of the roots and is in a bad physical
condition to meet the alternate thawing and freezing of early spring.
As is well known, water expands when changing into ice, and if the
surface soil contains an abundance of water it will consequently
expand when freezing. The overground parts of the plants will be
lifted up with the freezing soil. As the lower roots are anchored in
the subsoil and therefore unable to follow the upward movement,
they will be stretched and sometimes broken. The disastrous effects
of alternate freezing and thawing make it evident that one of the
first conditions of successful clover growing is well-drained soil.

Habits of growth: Being a biennial, Red Clover devotes the
first season's growth to the development of its root system and the
accumulation of strength to meet the winter's hardships. It there-
fore produces a strong tap root, which, if soil and weather are favour-
able, penetrates to a considerable depth. The overground parts of
the plants consist at first of only a few, short, upright stems which
carry leaves but no flowers. Later in the season, short leafy shoots
are developed which generally lie flat on the ground and are known
as the winter tuft. At the same time the tap root begins to contract
until its original length is reduced by more than ten per cent. As
the end of the root is firmly anchored in the ground, the result is
that the overground parts of the plant are pulled down. This process,
which has been observed in other plants such as carrots and parsnips,
is evidently meant to bring the stems and leaves into close contact
with the ground wKere they are 'best protected against frost and
wind. Early in the spring of the second year the branches of the
winter tuft develop into flower-bearing stems, which, if not cut or
pastured, produce seed and late in the fall die. The great mass of
clover plants are thus biennial. Red Clover types exist, however,
which show a decided tendency to live longer, especially if the plants
are kept from seeding by continual cutting or pasturing. The best
known of these perennial types is Mammoth Clover.

IO2 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

Agricultural value: No forage plant has been so important
to agriculture as has Red Clover. This is due not only to its high
feeding value, which is surpassed by few plants, but also to its service
as a fertilizer and improver of soil texture. No other leguminous
fodder plant is equal to it for these two purposes.

Fodder: Red Clover has its highest feeding value when in full
bloom and should be cut for hay before the heads begin to turn
brown. If cut late, the stems become woody, lose their palatability
and the general value is considerably lessened. The quality of the hay
depends to a great extent on the way it is cured. Careless handling
causes the leaves to shatter. Exposure to rain or heavy dew dis-
colours the hay, dispels its fine aroma and reduces its nutritive value.
Over exposure to sunshine also reduces its feeding value. In curing
Red Clover hay methods should therefore be employed by which
the drying is done as much as possible by the wind.

Pasture: As a pasture plant, Red Clover is not surpassed by
any other legume. It is relished by all kinds of farm animals. On
account of the tenderness of the young plants and the necessity to
have them start the winter in good condition, it is not advisable in
the Prairie Provinces to pasture Red Clover the same year it is
sown. In some parts of Ontario, where it may grow rather rank the
latter part of the first year, the field is usually pastured; to what
extent depends upon conditions. Grazing too late in the fall or pas-
turing too close by sheep is apt to reduce the succeeding crop.
Grazing the second year may begin early in the spring and continue
until late in the fall.

When cattle and sheep are turned into a field of Red Clover,
there is always danger of bloating, especially if it is wet with dew
and the animals start grazing on empty stomachs.

Sowing for hay and pasture : In Ontario Red Clover is always
sown with a nurse crop. Tests at the experimental farms of Mani-
toba and Saskatchewan, particularly at Indian Head, indicate that
in the Prairie Provinces a nurse crop should not be used. In a dry
climate or on dry soils it acts as a robber rather than as a nurse in
depriving the young plants of moisture. The result is that the plants
are weak at the beginning of the winter and are more liable to be killed
by the frost. When sown alone, ten to twelve pounds of good seed
should be used to the acre.

Seed : Except in southwestern Ontario, Red Clover seed is only
grown to a very limited extent in Canada. Whether or not a field

RED CLOVER. 1 03

should be used for seed production depends on conditions. If these
are favourable, all or certain parts of the field are commonly left for
seed. Success depends on many factors. If the latter part of the
summer, when the seed is ripening, is rainy, there is far less chance
of producing good seed than if the weather is warm and dry. Cold,
stiff soils, which may produce luxuriant growth, are not as a rule
satisfactory for seed production. The best soils are sandy loams
with an abundance of lime and a fair supply of potash and phos-
phates. A thick stand of clover improves the quality of the hay
but produces only a scant amount of seed. A relatively thin crop
will give a heavier yield and the seed produced is of a better quality.
A smaller amount should therefore be sown for seed production than
for hay or pasture.

The first cut of Red Clover gives a small return of seed because
the bumble bees, which fertilize the blossoms, are less numerous
during the early part of the summer than later. For this reason the
first growth is cut for hay or pastured and the second growth left for
seed. By cutting or pasturing the first crop, the weeds are checked
and the second growth is cleaner.

Red Clover should be cut for seed when most of the heads have
turned brown and the stems begin to dry up. The seeds in most of
the heads are then ripe and of a pronounced colour. By cutting
earlier, a large proportion of the seeds will be immature and shrunken,
the vitality will be low and the general colour and appearance in-
ferior. It can be cut with an ordinary mowing machine. The heads
and flowers are easily broken by careless handling, especially in dry,
hot weather. Threshing should be done in cold, dry weather as it
is difficult to separate the seeds from the pods when it is damp.

Quality of seed : The colour of ordinary commercial Red Clover
seed is mixed, some seeds being yellow, others purple, and others
bright in one end and dark in the other. In some samples the bright
colours prevail while in others the dark seeds are most common.
It is a popular belief that bright coloured seeds are not fully mature
and that samples which contain a large proportion of them are in-
ferior. This, however, is an error. All seeds gathered from any
individual plant are of the same general colour. In some plants all
the seeds are yellow, in others deep violet, and in others uniformly
two-coloured. Bright yellow seeds are just as ripe as dark purple
ones. The mixed colour of the ordinary commercial sample there-
fore does not mean that the seeds are not uniformly ripe. It simply
means that it is composed of seeds of different types, each type having

IO4 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

its own colour. Although the darker seeds are more popular, the
colour should not be taken as an index of value as the most desirable
plant types may have pale yellow seeds.

Good Red Clover seed should have a shiny lustre and contain
only a small proportion of undeveloped, shrunken seeds. The legal
weight is sixty pounds per bushel.

Impurities: Red Clover seed too often contains noxious weed
seeds. Among the most troublesome are Ragweed, Night-flowering
Catchfly, Bladder Campion, Canada Thistle, Curled Dock and
Ribgrass. Other less harmful seeds are Green Foxtail, Lamb's
Quarters, Lady's Thumb, Pale Plantain, Yellow Foxtail, Sheep
Sorrel and Smart weed.

Diseases: Red Clover has many enemies. Insects are trouble-
some and often do considerable damage. Weevils and other insects
feed on the leaves and the clover root borer attacks the roots. The
latter, which fortunately does not seem to be prevalent in Canada,
eats out the central parts of the roots and is a serious pest where it
is abundant. The clover midge, which feeds on the young seeds,
frequently causes serious loss. Where it threatens to be troublesome
the clover should be pastured or cut early.

Various kinds of dodder live on Red Clover. The kind found
in commercial seed is chiefly determined by the place of the seed pro-
duction. It is most frequently introduced into Canada with Chilean
Red Clover seed. This dodder (the Latin name of which is Cuscuta,
racemosa Mart. var. chiliana Engelm.) is quite different from Alfalfa
dodder (see page 120). It is true that the dodders resemble each
other, but their effects on the plants are quite different. Although
introduced several times and widely distributed in the seed producing
districts of Ontario, the Chilean dodder seems unable to establish
itself and is practically harmless. Other species of dodder may be
introduced, however, and prove troublesome with Red Clover.

VARIETIES OF RED CLOVER.

Red Clover consists of thousands of types, differing in botanical
characteristics, biological behaviour and practical value. From a
botanical standpoint, two main types can be distinguished which
might be termed the American and the European. The latter has
smooth stems whereas the stems of the former have stiff, outstanding

RED CLOVER. IO5

hairs. This hairiness makes the American type somewhat inferior
for hay, as it is apt to be dusty. Within either type numerous vari-
eties can be recognized, differing in such practical qualities as yielding
power, hardiness, maturity, stooling after cutting and duration.
Most varieties are merely geographical ones. Such names as Chilean,
English, Swedish, French, South or North Russian Clover do not
mean that the varieties are botanically distinct, but simply that the
seed is of a certain origin and that the plants are adapted to the
countries for which they are named.

Mammoth Clover, called Cow Grass in England, is one of
the best known varieties. It has sometimes been called Trifolium
medium L., but this is not correct, Trifolium medium L. being a dis-
tinct species, clearly distinguished from Red Clover in many essen-
tials (see page 98). As indicated by its name, Mammoth Clover is
a large variety of Red. It is more decidedly perennial and has there-
fore been called Trifolium pratense var. perenne, or Peiennial Red
Clover. The stems are long, coarse and generally spreading. The
leaves usually lack the white blotch characteristic of common Red
Clover. This cannot, however, be used as a distinguishing mark,
as the common Red is often without the spot. Mammoth Clover
is decidedly later; it blooms from ten days to three weeks after
common Red Clover. It grows slowly after mowing and can generally
be cut only once in a season. It requires the same soil and climate
as Common Red, but on account of its stronger root system and
perennial tendency it is more apt to thrive under adverse conditions.
Its coarser growth makes the hay less relished by stock; on the other
hand, its greater luxuriance makes it a better soil improver.

It is not possible to separate seed of Mammoth Red Clover from
that of Common Red.

A modern improvement in this country is the laying their lands down with clover and trefoile
for two years, and keeping it fed well down with sheep, by which means many pernicious weeds which
used to trouble them greatly-ere got under, and their lands kept clean and in good order. — Arthur
Young, A Six Months Tour Through the North of England, 1769.

Store of Bees in a dry and warm Bee-house, comely made of Firboards, to sing, and sit, and
feede upon your flowers and sprouts, make a pleasant noyse and sight. For cleanly and innocent Bees,
of all other things, love and become, and thrive in an Orchard. If they thrive (as they must needs
if your Gardiner be skillfull, and love them: for they love their friends, and hate none but their
Enemies) they will besides the pleasure, yeeld great profit, to pay him his wages. Yea, the increase
of twenty Stocks, or Stooles with other fees, will keep your Orchard. You need not doubt their
stings, for they hurt not, whom they know, and they know their keeper and acquaintance. If you
like not to come amongst them, you neede not doubt them: for but neere their store, and in their
owne defence, they will not fight, and in that case onely (and who can blame themP they are manly
and fight desperately. — William Lawson, A New Orchard and Garden, 1618.
28549—12

1O6 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

WHITE CLOVER (Trifolium repens L.)

Plate 19; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 31.
Other English name: Dutch Clover.

Botanical description: White Clover is a perennial which in
its natural state grows in patches. The stems are creeping and root
at the joints. A single plant has thus the faculty of spreading over
a wide area. From the stems, trailing along the surface of the ground,
are developed upright leaves and flower-bearing heads, both pro-
vided with long stalks. In daytime and under normal conditions
the three leaflets of which each leaf consists spread on the same
level, giving the plant its well-known deep green shade. Toward
evening, however, the plants take on quite a different look. The
three-cleft leaves seem to have disappeared and to be replaced by
small leaves of a bluish grey colour. When the sun begins to set,
the two lateral leaflets move down toward the leaf stalk, at the same
time turning so as to stand finally face to face. The central leaflet
leans over, turning its bluish grey lower side upward so as to cover
the two lateral leaflets. When the lateral leaflets are face to face
and the central leaflet turned over their edge, the leaf is said to be
asleep. Similar movements may be observed in any of the common
species of clover and in a great number of other plants. They are
especially conspicuous in the Shamrock.

The heads of White Clover develop from the lower parts of the
stem, the heads of Alsike from the upper. White Clover heads are
smaller than those of Alsike and the flowers are pure white. As in
other clover species, the flowering starts from the base of the head.
As the blossoms turn brown and remain so without falling, the same
head may be white in the upper part and brown in the lower.

Biology of flower: White Clover is fertilized by insects which
carry pollen from one flower to another. Seeds will not develop
unless the flowers are fertilized by pollen from another plant. The
blossoms are rich in honey, and as this can be reached by the ordinary
honey bee, White Clover is of great importance to beekeepers. When
ripe the pods are oblong and contain three to five seeds.

Geographical distribution: White Clover is indigenous to all
Europe, southwestern Asia, Siberia and northern Africa. It is also
claimed to be native to Canada and the United States, but this is
doubtful. The locations where it occurs naturally in Canada are

Plate 19

WHITE- OR DUTCH CLOVER

(Trifoliuro repens JL .)

WHITE CLOVER. IO7

those in which it may have escaped from cultivation; and the fact
that all undoubtedly native species of Trifolium are found only in
British Columbia and that these form a group widely different from
the European ones indicates that White Clover is not indigenous to
this country but was introduced by the early settlers.

History: White Clover was first cultivated in Holland — hence
the name Dutch Clover. It is at present grown in all European
countries and practically all over North America.

Cultural conditions: It occurs naturally in meadows and pas-
tures, along roads and rivers, in valleys and on mountains. It will
grow on a great variety of soils, from sand and gravel to rich loam and
clay. It does best on moist, well-drained loams which contain lime
and humus. It will not succeed if the soil is too stiff or wet.

Climate: White Clover is especially adapted to a rather moist
and medium warm climate. When other conditions are favourable,
it will endure severe cold without injury. It is also able to stand a
long spell of drought, provided the subsoil retains some moisture.
It is true that most of the roots are rather superficial and that the
growth is therefore affected by dry weather; but the main taproot
penetrates to a considerable depth, and the plants will survive with
sufficient moisture in the subsoil. In Canada White Clover succeeds
best in the Maritime Provinces, in the Great Lakes region and on the
Pacific slope. It is not well adapted to the Prairie Provinces.

Habits of growth: When once established, it covers the ground
rapidly. The creeping stems branch freely, develop numerous roots
and readily form large patches. The heads produce many seeds which
fall to the ground and keep their vitality a long time. A few seeds
dropped on the ground are thus able within a few years to make
surprisingly large patches. This easy propagation accounts for
much White Clover in places where it has not been planted and
explains why it has been considered indigenous to Canada.

Development is slow in dry weather but growth starts quickly
when rain falls. If germinating early in spring, the plants generally
blossom in the fall of the same year. The second and following
years they produce an abundance of heads, which, if the plants are
kept back by grazing, continue to appear during practically the entire
season.

Agricultural value: On account of its low growth, White
Clover cannot be used to any extent as a hay plant. Its chief value

IO8 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

is for pasture, either alone or as bottom grass in mixtures. It is
remarkably well suited for the latter purpose. It covers the ground
quickly, providing a pasture of high nutritive value, relished by all
kinds of stock. It stands tramping well and close grazing, instead
of being harmful, stimulates it to a stronger growth. If the moisture
is sufficient, it gives good pasture from spring to late summer. On
account of being perennial, it is especially suited for permanent
pastures and lawns. Six to eight pounds of seed will cover an acre.

Seed : In reasonably moist seasons the production of White
Clover for seed is quite a profitable business, as the price is higher
than that of other clover seeds. In case of prolonged drought the
crop is light. The average yield is four or five bushels per acre.

When grown for seed, it is generally grazed down during the
spring; sometimes it is cut for hay early in the season to encourage
the production of heads, As the plants continue to blossom for a
long time, the ripening is somewhat uneven. The seed crop should
be cut when most of the heads have turned a dark brown and should
be handled with the greatest care.

Quality of seed: The seed of White Clover is yellowish red in
general appearance; any sample consists of a mixture of red and
yellow seeds. It is generally assumed that good seed is bright yellow
and that the red seeds are old and of a low germination. Tests made
with yellow and red seeds picked out of commercial samples have
shown, however, that there is no essential difference in the germin-
ation, provided the latter are plump and otherwise normally devel-
oped. The legal weight is sixty pounds per bushel.

ALSIKE CLOVER (Trifolium hybridum L.)
Plate 20; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 32.

Botanical description: Alsike Clover is perennial with erect
or generally ascending stems which do not root at the base as do
those of White Clover. They usually reach a height of one or two
feet and branch in their upper parts. The whole plant is hairless
and for this reason is brighter in colour than is Red Clover. The
leaflets are shorter and comparatively broader. The flowrer heads
have much longer stalks than those of Red Clover and in this way
are more like those of White Clover. They differ from the latter,

Plate 20

ALSIKE- CLOV&R

(TriFoliuro hybHduno /..)

ALSIKE CLOVER. IOQ

however, in coming from the upper parts of the stems, generally close
to the top of the branches. In colour the flowers are between those
of Red Clover and White. It must not be concluded from this fact,
however, that Alsike is a hybrid, although its Latin name suggests
the idea; the conclusion is entirely erroneous. The colour of the
flowers varies from white to rose, usually in the same head, because
they are white when young and gradually turn rose-coloured. In
all clover species the development of the flowers begins at the base
of the head. As Alsike flowers are rose-coloured when fully developed
and white when young, it is easy to understand how a blossoming
head is generally rose-coloured in its lower part and white toward
the top.

Biology of flower: Like other clovers, Alsike is fertilized by
insects. As the nectar is accessible to the ordinary honey bee, as
well as to the bumble bee, the former is of more importance to Alsike
than to Red Clover. When visited by a bee, the flower acts as
does that of Red Clover. It will not produce seed if it has access
only to its own pollen. Cross-fertilization between diferent plants
must therefore take place.

After blossoming the persistent flowers turn brown and bend
more or less downwards. The individual flowers easily fall off, es-
pecially when the heads are dry; in Red Clover the ripened flowers
are more firmly attached to the heads. The pod of Alsike is longer
than that of Red Clover. It protrudes a little above the top of the
flower and contains from two to four seeds.

Geographical distribution: It is indigenous to the Old World,
occurring from northern Italy to northern Sweden and from central
France to southern and central Russia. It is also found in south-
western Asia and in some parts of northern Africa. It grows naturally
along roads and streams, in moist meadows and on mountain sides.

History: Alsike Clover obtained its name from a small parish
in central Sweden, called Alsike, where its cultivation began about
a hundred years ago. It came into general use in Europe about the
middle of the nineteenth century and is now commonly grown in
practically all European countries except the most southern ones.
In Canada it is cultivated to a noteworthy extent only in the eastern
provinces. It frequently occurs, escaped from cultivation, in the
Maritime Provinces, Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.

IIO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

Cultural conditions: Alsike prefers localities where moisture
is abundant in the soil and in the air. The most suitable soil is a
moist clay loam or clay. Like Red Clover, it requires time for its
development. In central Ontario certain gravelly clay soils, rich in
lime, are especially well adapted to it. It can be grown to advantage
where the soil is too wet for ordinary Red Clover. On poorly drained
land, where Red Clover would be a certain failure, Alsike will succeed,
provided other conditions are suitable.

Climate: Alsike has not been successfully grown in Manitoba
and Saskatchewan. This may be due either to the severe winter or
to the dry growing season, or to both. European experience indi-
cates that the dry summers may be the chief cause of the failure of
Alsike in the Prairie Provinces. Prolonged drought prevents the
young plants from making a good growth before cold weather and thus
renders them susceptible to winter-killing. Even old, well-established
plants are more seriously affected by drought than is Red Clover.
This is doubtless due to the rather shallow root system of Alsike ; it is
not able to collect the moisture from the subsoil. In dry districts
which are irrigated good returns are obtained.

Habits of growth: Under favourable conditions Alsike will
flower late in the autumn of the season it is sown. Commonly,
however, the plants enter the winter in the same stage of develop-
ment as do those of Red Clover. The following spring the plants
start comparatively late and do not bloom as early as ordinary Red
Clover. Usually they are two weeks later and blossom about the
same time as Mammoth Clover. If cut for hay, the aftermath
develops quickly but is rarely sufficient to warrant a second cutting.

Agricultural value: When grown for hay Alsike is generally
mixed with Red Clover and grasses such as Timothy and Red Top;
on account of its spreading growth, it is liable to lodge if grown alone.
When in mixtures, the stronger-growing grasses and clovers support
the Alsike and the hay produced is of a finer quality. The common
mixture in Ontario is two pounds of Alsike, eight of Red Clover and
four of Timothy to the acre. As a rule ordinary Red Clover is used
although it is earlier than the other two. If the mixture is cut for
hay when Red Clover is at the proper stage, Alsike and Timothy are
not ready, and if cut when the latter are at their best the feeding
value of Red Clover has decreased. Alsike should be cut for hay
when it is in full bloom or a little later; that is, when the earliest
flowering heads begin to turn brown. Late cutting will not lessen
the value of Alsike hay as much as that of Red Clover, as Alsike

ALSIKE CLOVER. Ill

plants keep green and succulent for a comparatively long time.
Usually only one crop of hay can be taken in a season. Harvesting
can be done as for Red Clover. As a rule, however, the curing is
less difficult, especially if the Alsike is grown with grasses.

Pasture: Although not eaten with the same eagerness as is
Red Clover, Alsike is highly esteemed for pasture on account of its
high feeding value. Grazing can begin as soon as the plants have
made a good start and it should never be delayed long enough to
let them blossom. Given favourable weather, early grazing will
make the pasture last longer than if the plants are allowed to develop
more. On account of being perennial, it is preferable to Red Clover
for permanent pastures. When grown alone, six to eight pounds of
seed should be used to the acre.

Seed growing: Growing Alsike for seed is quite a profitable
business where conditions are favourable. The plants produce a
large number of heads and the flowers are pretty certain to be fer-
tilized as both bumble bees and ordinary honey bees are at work.
The soil should contain a reasonable amount of lime, potash and
phosphates and must not be too wet. Very moist soil produces
rank growth and plants liable to lodge. As a result the seed crop
wrill be comparatively light and of poor quality. The seed is gener-
ally secured from the first crop. Sometimes the fields are clipped
or pastured early in the season. This delays ripening but enables
the plants to be better stocked and to produce a larger amount of
seed. To prevent lodging, which lessens the seed on the prostrate
branches, as much as six pounds to the acre is sometimes sown with
good results. This heavy seeding is recommended by seed growers
for heavy, comparatively moist soil.

Alsike is ready to cut for seed when most of the heads are brown
and the flowers can be easily stripped off. As the blossoms fall off
separately when the seed is ripe, care in harvesting is necessary to
prevent shelling. The danger is greatest when the heads are per-
fectly dry and it is therefore advisable to cut when the plants are
wet with dew. For the same reason the subsequent handling of the
crop must be careful. The threshing should be done during dry
weather. As a rule, only one crop of seed is taken from a field;
sometimes, however, seed can be advantageously harvested for two
or even three successive years.

Quality of seed : Commercial seed in bulk is greenish or yellow-
ish, or sometimes very dark. Every sample contains different
coloured seeds; some of them are yellowish green, others almost black,

112 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

but the bulk is intermediate between these two extremes. As in Red
Clover, these different colours do not generally indicate that some
seeds are riper than others. Alsike, like Red Clover, consists of a
great number of types, which differ not only in the general appear-
ance of the plants but also in the colour of the seed. If all the seeds
from a single plant are collected, it will be found that, irrespective of
age, they are all the same colour. In some plants the seeds are
yellowish green, in some they are black, and in others they are green
at one end and greenish black at the other. The mixed colour of an
ordinary sample is therefore as a rule not due to the seed having been
gathered at different stages of development, but to the different types
that are mixed together.

The legal weight of a bushel is sixty pounds.

Impurities: Alsike as a rule contains more weed seeds than
does Red Clover, this being due to the fact that Alsike seed is taken
from the first crop, whereas Red Clover is secured from the second.
The noxious weed seeds found in Alsike are Night-flowering Catch-
fly, Bladder Campion, Canada Thistle, False Flax, Curled Dock and
Ribgrass. Other weeds common in it are Green Foxtail, Lamb's
Quarters, Sheep Sorrel, Mayweed and Chickweed. Although Black
Medick cannot be considered a noxious weed, it is an undesirable
impurity when itjs as common as it often is in Alsike.

WHITE SWEET GLOVER (Melilotus alba Desr.)

Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 33.
Other English name: Bokhara Clover.

Botanical description : Sweet Clover is biennial with a strong
taproot and numerous leafy stems. The latter, which are generally
much branched and spreading, reach a height of from two to five
feet. When the plants are young they look like Alfalfa, but are
readily recognized by their peculiar sweet odour. The leaves are
similar to those of Alfalfa but not so numerous. When in bloom
the plants are easily identified by their white flowers arranged in
long, narrow and spike-like racemes. The flowers are small and
more simple in construction than those of Red Clover and Alfalfa;
they are more open and consequently give easier access to pollen-
gathering insects. The pod is brown when ripe and generally con-
tains only one or two seeds. Like that of Trefoil it falls off without
breaking.

WHITE SWEET CLOVER. 113

The whole plant has a characteristic fragrance — hence the name
Sweet Clover — especially noticeable when in bloom and when the
stems and leaves are cured into hay.

Geographical distribution: Sweet Clover is a native of the
Old World where it occurs practically all over the temperate zone.
It was probably introduced into America with the early settlers and
is now spread all over the continent. It is common everywhere in
Canada, especially in the eastern provinces.

Cultural conditions : Sweet Clover is generally found in waste
places, along roads and railways, on river banks and in cultivated
fields. It grows readily on almost any soil and wrill do well where
practically nothing else will flourish. This ability to thrive almost
anywhere, combined with its faculty of reseeding itself abundantly,
is apt to give it the character of a troublesome weed where it is not
desired. It does well in almost any climate and will live under very
adverse conditions.

Agricultural value: When Sweet Clover is young it is succu-
lent, but as soon as it flowers the stems get woody and lose their
palatability. Its peculiar flavour is distasteful to stock, which will
eat it only when nothing else is available. Milk and butter obtained
from cows fed on green Sweet Clover have a peculiar taste disliked
by most people. Furthermore, as the yield of hay is not high, Sweet
Clover makes a poor forage plant. Its chief value is to enrich the
soil and to improve its mechanical condition. Like other leguminous
plants, the tubercles on its roots are filled with nitrogen-collecting
bacteria. There seems to be conclusive evidence that these bacteria
are identical with those of Alfalfa. At any rate, they act in exactly
the same way and can therefore be used for the inoculation of Alfalfa
fields. Six to eight pounds of seed are sufficient for an acre.

Seed: Sweet Clover seeds are common in commercial samples
of Red Clover and "Alfalfa and are sometimes found in Alsike. They
are dull yellow and very like those of Trefoil, from which they may
be distinguished by their larger size and a V-shaped light mark
running from the scar.

There is no seed more prolific than that of ocimum; it is generally recommended to sow it with
the utterance of curses and imprecations, the result being that it grows all the better for it; the earth
too, is rammed down when it is sown, and prayers offered that the seed may never come up. — Pliny,
Natural History, 23-79.

28549—13

114 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

ALFALFA (Medicago saliva L.)

Plate 21 ; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 34.
Other English name: Lucerne.

Botanical description: Alfalfa is a strongly perennial plant
which is able to live thirty years or more under favourable conditions.
It has a typical taproot; that is, the root system consists of a strong
main root from which secondary side roots branch off. As there are
no runners or creeping roots, all the overground branches start from
the uppermost part of the taproot which generally protrudes above
the ground and is known as the crown. With increasing age, the
crown is apt to split into two or more branches, the upper ends of
which are free and form a kind of tuft, sometimes of considerable
circumference. The main root, which when old is an inch or so
thick and rather woody, finds its way down to a considerable depth
if the soil permits. On the roots are found the nodules, typical of
the leguminous plants. They are on the finer branches and are
clustered together into irregular bunches. The stems, which in old
plants are exceedingly numerous, are generally from two to three feet
high at flowering time. As a rule, they are little branched, especially
when the stand is dense. They are round below, more or less angular
towards the top, and usually smooth. The leaves, which are alter-
nate (that is, solitary at each joint and scattered along the stem),
consist of three leaflets like those of Red Clover. The leaflets are
rather narrow, two to three times as long as broad, and sharply
toothed in their upper part. The middle one has a short stalk
whereas in the cultivated species of Trifolium the central leaflet has
no stalk. Occasionally leaves with four or five leaflets are found
but not so often as in Red Clover.

Biology of flower: The flowers are in a short and somewhat
one-sided cluster. Each cluster contains from ten to twenty purple
flowers of the ordinary leguminous shape, as described on page 15-
They are fertilized by means of insects, especially certain kinds of
bees. In all leguminous plants fertilized in this way, the stamens
may come into close contact with the body of the insect. A bumble
bee, for instance, visits Alfalfa. The nectar being in the bottom of
the flower, it has to poke its proboscis down to the bottom of the
flower tube. When it comes in contact with the lower part of the
blossom, it works like a touch on the trigger of a gun. The cluster
of stamens is set like a spring, and the touch throws the upper part
of stamens and pistil forward with a jerk. An insect sitting on the

Plate 21

ALPALPA OR LOC&RNE-

( Medicago sahva L,. )

ALFALFA. 1 15

flower will thus be hit and his body powdered with pollen. When
visiting another flower the same thing happens; the pistil comes in
contact with the pollen on the body of the insect. The pistil is thus
fertilized and more pollen is deposited on the insect. It is evident
that cross-fertilization must frequently occur. As an insect will
probably visit many flowers of a plant and travel from one plant to
another, an individual may be fertilized by its own pollen as well as
by pollen from another. Whether self- or cross-fertilization is most
beneficial has, however, not yet been proved. Should a flower not
be visited by any insect strong enough to open it, it will not be
fertilized, not being able to explode by itself. The production of
seed thus depends largely upon insects. The weather is also a factor,
the flowers being almost insensible in cold, rainy weather, whereas
in sunshine they will promptly respond to the slightest irritation.
In common Red Clover the stamens and pistil gradually resume their
original positions; as their elasticity is not affected by one or two
visits, there is always a chance for proper fertilization. In Alfalfa
there is no second chance; if an insect's first visit has no effect, the
flower will not produce seed. After the pollen has been discharged,
the pistil does not turn back to its original position ; its top remains
firmly appressed to the standard of the flower. It therefore develops
into a curved fruit, although it is perfectly straight so long as it is
enclosed within the flower. Its bending, which starts with the
explosion of the flower, increases with its growth, and when the fruit
is ripe it has the shape of a twisted shell.

Geographical distribution and history : The home of Alfalfa
is Asia, probably the southwestern parts. It has been grown in
Persia from time immemorial and is perhaps the oldest forage plant
in the world. It was highly esteemed as fodder for horses, its Persian
name meaning horse fodder. From Persia it was brought to Greece
about 500 B.C., whence it spread to Italy. It was introduced to
western Europe by way of northern Africa. The Arabs carried the
plant to Spain in the seventh century. From Spain it was intro-
duced into France. It is now grown in all European countries
except the most northern. It was introduced by the Spaniards into
Mexico, whence it spread to the western United States and to South
America, and by the English and other colonists to the eastern parts
of North America. It is now cultivated all over the United States.
In Canada it is confined to small areas, southern Ontario and southern
Alberta being the two districts where it is grown extensively.

Origin of name: Alfalfa is a Spanish version of the Arabian
"Alfacfacah" which means "The best sort of fodder." Some have

Il6 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

thought it to be derived from the Arabian "Al-chelfa," which means
"That which grows after something else," and is generally applied
to plants which thrive after the spring growth has disappeared.
The latter name would signify the ability of the plant to grow during
the hot summer and perhaps refer to its power of producing many
crops during the season. The first-mentioned derivation, however,
is probably the correct one, the Spanish "Alfalfa" having been iden-
tified with the Arabian "Alfacfacah" in the I5th century by Fray
Pedro de Alcala, a prominent specialist on the Arabian language.

In Europe Alfalfa is always called Lucerne. The origin of this
word is uncertain. It has nothing to do with the Swiss state as the
name was used before the plant was known in Switzerland. It is
not likely that it was derived from the Lucerna valley in northern
Italy, as is generally assumed by American authors. An old Spanish
name for the plant is "Userdas," which is possibly identical with
the name "Louzerdo," used in southern France. More likely the
name Lucerne comes from "lucerno," which is an old Provengal
word.

Varieties: A great many varieties of Alfalfa occur in the trade,
some of which are real botanical varieties; that is, they can be dis-
tinguished by fixed botanical characteristics. Turkestan Alfalfa, for
instance, has short, round leaflets and dull seeds. Others are only
geographical varieties; their names merely signify that the seed has
been grown in a certain country. Several, however, show decidedly
practical qualities, such as hardiness, resistance to drought and
disease, stooling power, seed production, etc. For Canada only
hardy varieties are of importance. Arabian or Peruvian Alfalfa, for
instance, will be winter-killed, and, generally speaking, varieties of
a southern origin will suffer. When buying seed the farmer should
therefore make sure that the variety offered him is suitable for the
climate. It is always advisable to choose a variety grown in a coun-
try with a climate similar to that where the plant is to be grown.

Cultural conditions: The proper development of Alfalfa
largely depends on the soil. It can be grown on many kinds, from
sand or sandy loams to heavy clays. It thrives best in deep loams
with open porous subsoil where the taproots are not hindered. As
the roots penetrate to a considerable depth, the quality of the sub-
soil is of great importance. If it is compact and impenetrable it will
be a serious obstacle to successful Alfalfa growing. For the same
reason, there is little chance of a good stand on shallow soil on rock

ALFALFA. Iiy

unless the roots can find their way through cracks. Alfalfa will
stand a certain amount of alkali in the ground, but it should be
leached out from the surface before the seed is sown, and afterwards
should be kept from five to six feet below by irrigation. Acidity
has always a detrimental influence. Where the soil is sour, an appli-
cation of lime will prove beneficial.

Climate: As the roots go deep, Alfalfa, although dwarfed in
growth, is not seriously affected by severe drought. It likes a
reasonable amount of moisture but is sensitive to an excess. If the
subsoil is impervious, so that after a heavy rain the surface water
cannot drain off rapidly, the accumulation will prove disastrous or
will at least reduce the vitality of the plants. The soil must
therefore be kept well drained, especially in early spring. In poorly
drained fields, Alfalfa will be injured and sometimes killed in the
low spots where water has accumulated. An excess of water in the
ground will at least keep the plants back and prevent them from
making an early start. Where the drainage is poor, alternate freez-
ing and thawing does more harm than in well drained land as the
heaving of the soil injures the root system. The strain is often so
great that the taproot is ruptured and the plant dies.

Inoculation: Like other leguminous plants, Alfalfa depends
for its vigorous development on the bacteria in the nodules of the
roots, which are closely related to, or perhaps identical with, those
on Sweet Clover; it thrives well on soil where Sweet Clover has been
grown.

Habits of growth: Alfalfa is generally sown in the spring.
The young plants are delicate and succeed best where there is no
competition. The land should therefore be as free as possible from
weed seeds. As the plants are rather tender the first y< ar, they
should be given every chance to become as strong as possible to
withstand the winter. It is therefore not advisable to cut or pasture
Alfalfa the first season. During the second and following years the
growth starts early "and continues until late in the fall, new branches
developing from the crown of the root. Under favourable conditions
Alfalfa reaches a great age and gives large returns.

Agricultural value: The feeding value of Alfalfa was recog"
nized in Persia long before the Christian era and it was highly es-
teemed by the Arabians. At present no fodder plant is known which
can compete with it in nutritive value and general importance for
feeding. It is relished by all kinds of stock, horses, cattle, sheep

Il8 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

and hogs eating it with eagerness. Even Red Clover is inferior to
it in nutritive value, the protein content being greater in Alfalfa. It
can be fed to greatest advantage to dairy cattle but is also important
for fattening all kinds of farm animals, especially sheep and hogs.

Fodder: Farmers sometimes say that Alfalfa does not make
good hay, but such statements are usually the result of cutting at
the wrong time. Its value for hay depends upon its nutritive value
and its power of producing a number of crops in the season. As with
most forage plants, the quality rapidly deteriorates after the plants
have begun to blossom. The stems then lose their succulence, be-
come hard and woody, and the leaves are apt to fall off. When the
plants begin to form their blossoms, new secondary stems are devel-
oped from buds at the crown. As it is upon this secondary growth
that the second cutting depends, the first cutting must be done before
the secondary stems have grown tall enough to be cut off by the
mower. For this reason it is advisable to cut a little earlier than
the nutritive value and yield of the hay demand. If it is cut at the
beginning of the flowering period, the yield of the first crop will be
a little lessened, but the second growth will develop more quickly
and the return will be greater. Early cutting gives a greater total
crop of better hay than late cutting. Where the season is long and
the weather favourable, five or six cuttings a year can be secured.
In northern countries such as Canada, two or three cuttings a year
may be expected. In irrigated districts or in places where hay-
making time is dry, it is not difficult to cure Alfalfa into bright green
hay of excellent quality. Where rains or heavy dews are frequent
after cutting, the hay is apt to turn yellow or brown. Its nutritive
value is considerably lessened and its palatability lost. Curing is
generally done in the same way as for Red Clover. Alfalfa should,
however, be handled more carefully, as the leaves easily fall off and
their shattering causes a considerable loss of fodder.

Pasture: When Alfalfa is grown for pasture, which is only done
to a limited extent in Canada, it is important to get the plants well
established before turning the stock into the field. It is never ad-
visable to pasture Alfalfa before the third year. Even in old fields
care must be taken to prevent the plants being killed in spots. Al-
falfa has a single taproot, the crown of which generally stands a little
above ground. Being thus exposed, it might easily be injured by
tramping, especially when the ground is soft from heavy rains. As
the new stems come from the crown, Alfalfa is liable to be seriously
damaged by close pasturing with sheep. It is not advisable to pasture

ALFALFA. IIQ

late in the fall, as that would leave the crown exposed and apt to be
winter-killed.

Like Red Clover, Alfalfa when pastured may cause bloating,
especially in cattle and sheep, if the animals do not become accus-
tomed to it gradually. The danger is especially great on wet days
or when the plants are moist with dew. It is highly esteemed as
a pasture for hogs. If the field is divided into two or three parts
and pastured in rotation, Alfalfa is given a chance to recover and a
large number of hogs can be fed without injury to the field.

Sowing for hay or pasture: Alfalfa can be sown with or
without a nurse crop, according to the climate and the soil. In
Ontario barley is generally used. Tests at the experimental farm at
Indian Head, Sask., show that in the Prairie Provinces it is advisable
to sow without any nurse crop, thus giving the plants the benefit
of all the moisture in the ground. The amount of seed to be sown
depends upon its quality and the soil, twenty to twenty-five pounds
to the acre being considered a reasonable amount. Good stands are
obtained by using a smaller amount of seed, but thick sowing will
produce hay and pasture of finer quality.

Seed: At present Alfalfa is grown for seed to only a compara-
tively small extent in Canada. Its successful cultivation depends
above all on the weather during flowering and ripening time. If
moisture is abundant the plant will make a strong development of
its vegetative organs and the seed will be insignificant and poor.
The heaviest production is obtained when there is only enough moist-
ure in the soil to allow the seed to mature fully. The plants also
require plenty of light and room and for this reason a smaller amount
of seed should be sown than for hay or pasture; ten to twelve pounds
of good seed gives the best results. Any one of the season's crops
can be used for seed, although there are several objections to the
first cutting. The insects which fertilize the flowers are less numerous
then than later, and the seed crop would therefore be rather light.
The flowering of the first crop is comparatively uneven, and the
quality of the seed is inferior. Leaving the first crop for seed means
a loss in hay, because after Alfalfa has produced seed the amount of
hay or pasture that can be secured is rather small. For these rea-
sons, it is advisable to cut the first crop for hay. Which of the
subsequent crops should be used for seed will depend upon the length
of the season and the weather. In Canada, the second crop will give
the best results.

I2O FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

Alfalfa is ready to cut for seed when about half of the pods
have turned brown and the seeds can be easily rubbed out. If al-
lowed to develop too far, some of the earliest ripened and most
valuable seeds will be lost by shattering.

Harvesting can be done as for Red Clover seed, the handling
of the crop being as careful as possible to avoid shattering. For
threshing, an ordinary threshing machine may be used, though a
clover huller is better.

Quality of seed: The seeds are kidney-shaped and yellowish
brown, about twice as long as broad. In ordinary Alfalfa their
surface is shiny; in the Turkestan variety, owing to a coat of waxy
substance which can be easily rubbed off, the surface is dull. The
standard weight is sixty pounds to a bushel.

Impurities : Alfalfa plants are very tender when young and are
easily crowded out by weeds. Running the mowing machine over
the field several times during the first season not only destroys the
weeds but also strengthens the young Alfalfa plants. Although in
old fields the plants are generally very vigorous, they are sometimes
choked out in spots by aggressive weeds. To avoid this, the seed
should be as clean as possible. The weed seeds most commonly
found in commercial Alfalfa are Green Foxtail, Ribgrass, Ragweed,
Lamb's Quarters, Chicory, Yellow Foxtail and Smartweed. Noxious
weed seeds less frequently found are Docks, Wild Mustard, Night-
flowering Catchfly, Bladder Campion, False Flax and Canada
Thistle.

Diseases: Alfalfa is less troubled with diseases than is Red
Clover. It worst enemy is Dodder. Alfalfa Dodder, which is
generally Cuscuta Epithymum Murr., is a yellowish parasite without
leaves, consisting of a mass of fine threads from which are developed
numerous roots called suckers. These suckers penetrate the Alfalfa
stems where they absorb the food ready for the use of the host plant.
The flowers are white and crowded into rounded clusters. Dodder
appears at first in insignificant patches scattered throughout the
field. These patches, however, steadily increase and after a few
years a field may be so badly infested that the crop is ruined. The
best way to avoid this pest is to secure seed absolutely free from it.
Should Dodder have established itself in a field, however, the infested
plants should be immediately destroyed. Mowing will only remove
the Dodder on the upper parts of the Alfalfa; it will not affect that
on or near the crown where it lives during the winter.

YELLOW LUCERNE. 121

This may explain its disastrous spreading. It is of course also
possible that those parts which are not removed by cutting have a
chance to set seed which makes new plants the next year. In which
of these two ways Alfalfa Dodder is spreading in Canada is not yet
known.

YELLOW LUCERNE (Medicago falcata L.)

Botanical description: Yellow Lucerne is closely related to
Alfalfa. It is strongly perennial with a deep taproot and numerous
stems. The stems are quite different from those of Alfalfa. They
are seldom strictly upright, but are ascending or often even decum-
bent. They are more slender than the stems of Alfalfa and more
woody, especially toward the base. The leaves are similar but gener-
ally have narrower leaflets. The flowers are in a cluster shaped like the
inflorescence of Alfalfa but generally shorter and containing a smaller
number of flowers. They are bright yellow and somewhat smaller
than Alfalfa blossoms. The fruit is not twisted like that of Alfalfa
but only slightly curved like a sickle — hence the name Sickle Medick,
sometimes used by English writers.

Geographical distribution: Yellow Lucerne is indigenous to
the Old World where it is rather common. It occurs in England,
through western and central Europe, in southern and central Scan-
dinavia and Russia, and in practically all parts of Asia north of
the Himalayas.

Habitat and cultural conditions: It generally occurs in poor,
sandy or gravelly soil and stands drought and severe cold better
than Alfalfa; it is thus better suited to an adverse climate and a
poor soil.

Agricultural value: It will never be as valuable as Alfalfa
because of its decumbent or even creeping tendency and its com-
paratively low yield... It is a poor seed producer as a rule, the small
quantity developed being considerably diminished by shattering.

Yellow Lucerne consists of a large number of different types
which vary greatly in their mode of growth and are therefore of dif-
ferent agricultural value. As, however, they all have the above-
mentioned drawbacks more or less pronounced, none of them, as far
as is known at present, can compete with Alfalfa. In spite of this,
Yellow Lucerne is of great agricultural importance, as will be readily
understood from the description of Variegated Alfalfa.

28549—14

122 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

VARIEGATED ALFALFA (Medicago falcata L. X saliva L.)

Other Latin names: Medicago media Pers., M. silvestris Fr.
Other English name: Sand Lucerne.

Botanical description: Yellow Lucerne, as indicated above,
is closely related to Alfalfa, and the two species have in fact been
regarded by some authors as only one, chiefly because there are
intermediates between them which seem to make separation difficult
or even impossible. These may all be included under the general
name Variegated Alfalfa. There is, however, no doubt that Yellow
Lucerne and Alfalfa are two distinct species which can be readily
distinguished by the colour of their flowers and the shape of their
fruits. Variegated Alfalfa, which might seem to contradict this
statement, is not a variety of either Alfalfa or of Yellow Lucerne.
It is a cross product of the two species, just as the mule is a cross pro-
duct of the horse and the ass.

On account of its hybrid origin, Variegated Alfalfa is like Alfalfa
in some ways and in others is like Yellow Lucerne. It is generally
easily distinguished by its flowers. Being a cross between a yellow
and a purple species, its flowers are a mixture of yellow and purple.
The blend results in a peculiar dirty yellowish green colour, which is
characteristic of the great bulk of the primary hybrid, or the product
obtained by crossing pure Alfalfa and pure Yellow Lucerne. In a
field of Variegated Alfalfa, however, the flowers are found in all colours
from yellow to dark greenish purple, depending to some extent on
their stage of development ; the same flower generally changes its
colour with age, so all shades may be represented in one plant. The
chief cause of the variation, however, is the manner in which the
blossoms are fertilized. Variegated Alfalfa is unlike most other
hybrid plants in being fertile; it is able to produce an abundance of
seed of good quality. The flowers of any plant of the primary
hybrid may be fertilized in many different ways; for instance, by
other flowers of the same plant, by flowers of another primary
hybrid, or by flowers of pure Alfalfa if it grows in the neighbourhood.
In any of these cases, the result will be a blending or re-combination
of the original colours.

Habitat: Variegated Alfalfa occurs naturally where ordinary
Alfalfa and Yellow Lucerne grow together.

VARIEGATED ALFALFA. 123

Cultural conditions: It is of agricultural value only where
the climate is too severe or the soil too poor for ordinary Alfalfa,
as it inherits some of the hardiness of Yellow Lucerne. Its European
name, Sand Lucerne, indicates that it is suitable for poor, dry soil.

Climate: Its fame has been established by its ability to stand
severe cold better than ordinary Alfalfa, which makes it of partic-
ular interest to Canada.

Agricultural value: The value of the primary hybrid for fodder
is inferior to that of the ordinary Alfalfa; the yield is lower and the
feeding quality is not so good. The decumbent growth which it often
inherits from Yellow Lucerne affects both yield and quality. The
danger of lodging is greater than with ordinary Alfalfa, especially
where the growth is rank. Its spreading habit makes it more difficult
to cut, the mower being often unable to get below the stems.

Varieties: On account of its hybrid origin, Variegated Alfalfa
varies extremely. There are many commercial "varieties" of a
somewhat different agricultural value. The most famous and at
present undoubtedly the most important of these is Grimm's Alfalfa,
which is hardy for the Alfalfa-growing districts of Canada and the
northern United States. Of special interest for Canada is Canadian
Variegated Alfalfa, which, according to experiments conducted by
Prof. C. A. Zavitz at the Ontario Agricultural College, is equal
to Grimm's Alfalfa and decidedly hardier than any ordinary variety.

Grimm's and Canadian Variegated Alfalfa, like all other varieties
of Variegated Alfalfa, are by no means uniform but include plants
of very different value. Some of them are like ordinary Alfalfa in
growth and yield, others are like Yellow Lucerne. On account of
this variation, there are great possibilities of obtaining by selection
high-yielding varieties that will combine the desirable qualities of
true Alfalfa with the hardiness of Yellow Lucerne.

Behold the Flowers are divers in Stature, in Quality, and Colour, and Smell, and Virtue; and
some are better than some: Also where the Gardener hath set them, there they stand, and quarrel
not one with another. — John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, 1628-88.

A noble plant suits not with a stubborn ground. — George Herbert, Jacula Prudenlum, or Out-
landish Proverbs, 1593-1632.

Nor do I think that men will ever reach the end and far-extended limits of the vegetable kingdom;
so incomprehensible is the variety it every day produces, of the most useful and admirable of all the
aspectable works of God. — John Evelyn, A Discourse of Sallels, 1620-1706.

124 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

YELLOW TREFOIL (Medicago lupulina L.)

Plate 22; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 35.
Other English name: Black Medick.

Botanical description: Trefoil is closely related to the
Lucernes but is shorter lived. It is generally biennial but sometimes
lives only one year. It has a taproot with comparatively few
branches, about a foot deep on an average. The stems, which are
developed in great number from the crown of the root, are decumbent
or ascending. They often creep along the surface of the soil but
do not produce secondary roots. The plants are therefore spreading
in habit, especially as the stems are usually much branched. The
leaves consist of three leaflets, each of which has a short stalk. The
flowers are yellow, much smaller than those of the other species of
Medicago mentioned, and in a short cylindrical head. Trefoil closely
resembles certain yellow-flowered species of clover (Trifolium) but
can be readily distinguished from them. In true clovers the blossoms
do not fall off when flowering is over, but remain, withered, until
the fruit is ripe, making the heads brown and hiding the pods. In
Trefoil the blossoms fall off as soon as flowering is passed and the
pods are therefore visible while ripening. They are small, kidney-
shaped, rough-ridged and black — hence the name Black Medick.
Each pod contains only one seed and falls off without breaking.

Geographical distribution: Trefoil is indigenous to all Europe
except its most northern parts, to northern Africa and to western
Asia. It is not a native of North America but is rather common
all over the continent, mostly growing like a weed.

History: It has been cultivated in England for about one
hundred and fifty years. From the beginning of the nineteenth
century it began to be better known as a forage plant over central
Europe. It is not cultivated in Canada to any extent. In the
eastern provinces it is commonly found as an impurity in Red Clover
and Alsike and must then be considered a weed, as it is overripe when
the clovers are ready to cut.

Cultural conditions: On account of its rather shallow root
system, Trefoil is more independent of the subsoil than the lucernes
and most clovers. It makes fairly good growth on rather poor land
but succeeds best on soils not too stiff and wet. Lime is necessary
for its proper development and a liberal amount of potash and
phosphoric acid are beneficial.

Plate 22 -
YELLOW TREFOIL OR BLACK ME-DICK

( Medicago lupuline* L.)

KIDNEY VETCH. 125

Climate: Although the roots are not very deep, Trefoil will
endure a certain amount of drought without serious injury. It is
only fairly resistant to cold weather. It prefers a medium warm
climate and makes a splendid growth where moisture is abundant
in the air and the soil.

Agricultural value: On account of its biennial or even annual
character, Trefoil is most suitable for short rotations. Its decumbent
branches and spreading habit make it of little value for hay as much
of the plant escapes the mower. Its chief value is for pasture. It
starts earlier than most pasture plants, grows up quickly, and pro-
duces quite a valuable green fodder. It stands close cropping re-
markably well and for this reason is good for sheep.

Its feeding value and yielding power being not comparable to
those of Alfalfa or Red Clover, it should not be grown where these
plants succeed. It should not be used alone for pastures and only
to a limited extent in mixtures; too large a proportion is apt to
prove detrimental to the other constituents. Although rather short-
lived, it produces abundant seed and may consequently choke out
other pasture plants. Twenty pounds of good seed are sufficient to
cover an acre.

Seed : The seed of Trefoil is relatively cheap and it is therefore
sometimes used to adulterate Red Clover. It is often found in
commercial samples of Red Clover, Alsike or Alfalfa. Its colour is
like that of Alfalfa seed, with which it is sometimes confused.
Black Medick seeds are thicker and shorter, being egg-shaped while
Alfalfa seed is kidney-shaped or sometimes irregularly angled.

The seed weighs sixty pounds per bushel.

KIDNEY VETCH (Anthyllis Vulneraria L.)
Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 36.

Botanical description: Kidney Vetch is perennial with a
short-branched rootstock from which numerous overground stems
arise, from one-half to one foot high. The leaves are numerous,
consisting of a number of leaflets in pairs and an odd one much
larger than the others. The flowers are in dense heads which are
generally in pairs. They are commonly yellow but sometimes white
or red. It is a honey plant frequently visited by insects which carry
pollen from one flower to another. But if the plants are isolated,
so as to make visits by insects impossible, the flowers are automatic-
ally fertilized by their own pollen.

126 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

Geographical distribution: It is indigenous to all Europe,
except the most northern parts, southwestern Asia and northern
Africa.

Habitat: It grows naturally in dry pastures, along roads and
paths, on hills and mountains and in open woods.

Cultural conditions: Kidney Vetch makes a good stand on
sandy or gravelly soil too poor for most leguminous plants. It
reaches its highest perfection on land rich in lime. It bears extreme
drought without injury and is little affected by alternate freezing
and thawing.

Agricultural value: In some parts of Europe, where the soil
is too poor for Red Clover, Kidney Vetch is quite valuable. It is
used for both hay and pasture and is relished by stock. The yield,
however, is rather low. Its suitability for Canada is not known.

SAINFOIN (Onobrychis saliva Lam.)

Plate 23; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 37.
Other English name: Esparsette.

Botanical description: Sainfoin is perennial with a vigorous
taproot which becomes rather woody and much branched. The
stems are numerous, erect or ascending, and reach a height of from
one to two feet. The leaves are compound and generally consist of
a great number of leaflets, which, with the exception of the terminal
odd one, are in pairs along the midrib. The flowers are in a rich,
spike-like inflorescence which gradually becomes long and thin. The
flowers, which are very showy, are pink with darker veins. They
are rich in honey and allow the ordinary honey bee and other
insects to reach the bottom of the tube where the nectar is stored.

Geographical distribution: Sainfoin is indigenous to tem-
perate Europe, from the Baltic in the north to the Mediterranean
in the south, from the Atlantic in the west to the border of Asia
in the east. It is also a native of southern Asia.

History: Sainfoin has been cultivated in France for more than
four hundred years, whence its cultivation spread to other European
countries, especially Italy, England, Switzerland and Germany,

Plafe 23

SAINFOIN

( Onobrychis sahiva,

SAINFOIN. 127

where it is now considered an important forage plant. It was intro-
duced into the United States about ninety years ago. The results
of fifteen years' work at the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa,
favour its introduction into certain parts of eastern Canada.

Cultural conditions: In central Europe Sainfoin grows nat
urally on dry, sunny hills, along borders of woods, etc., wherever the
soil is rich in lime. Lime is necessary to its development and it
can be successfully grown almost anywhere where the supply is
sufficient. It should succeed in many districts of eastern Canada
where there is a limestone foundation. It makes an excellent growth
on a deep, porous, well-drained loam containing a fair proportion of
lime. Heavy clays are less suitable as growth is generally too slow,
and low-lying land covered with water during any part of the season
is as bad as swampy land or land with a wet subsoil.

Climate: Sainfoin is best adapted to a temperate climate with
a medium amount of moisture. On account of its deep root system,
however, it is extremely resistant to drought and makes a surprisingly
good stand when most other forage plants would suffer severely from
lack of moisture. Once established, it stands the winters of the
Ottawa valley fairly well.

Habits of growth: It is sometimes difficult to obtain a good
stand of Sainfoin. The seed is often poor and yields only a small
percentage of strong, vigorous plants. Weeds are liable to crowd out
young Sainfoin and it is important that the land be kept clean.
When it is well established on suitable soil, it will produce crops for
many years. In Germany it is by no means rare to find fields
twenty years old. Tests at the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa,
however, indicate the advisability of allowing it to remain for three
years only.

Agricultural value: It can be best compared with Alfalfa,
but it has the advantage of making a better growth on poor land.
Its name, which is of French origin and was originally written Sain
foin,* means "Wholesome hay."

Fodder: Sainfoin should be cut for hay when in bloom. The
stems get woody after flowering is over and the hay is poorer. Oc-
casionally two crops can be taken the second year. After the last

* The name has sometimes been erroneously written Saint Foin and has thus led to
the misconception that it means " Holy hay."

128 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

cutting the plants should have time to produce a reasonable growth
for winter protection.

Pasture: Sainfoin starts very early in the season and can
therefore be pastured at least as soon as Alfalfa. It makes an ex-
cellent pasture, especially liked by sheep. It does not cause bloating
and is therefore preferable to Alfalfa for cows and sheep. When
grown for hay or pasture, three to five bushels of seed should be sown
to the acre.

Seed growing: Old fields which give a comparatively small
yield of hay give the best crop of seed. It is ready to cut when the
pods are bright brown. Late cutting causes considerable loss as
the old pods easily fall off, even with the most careful handling.

Quality of seed: Commercial seed is almost always unshelled;
that is, the seeds are enclosed in the pods. The pods are almost
semi-circular and somewhat flattened, about an eighth of an inch
long and a little less in width. Their surface is covered with a mesh-
like netting, which stands out in bold relief and is frequently armed
with scattered spines. The outer edge of the semi-circle is flattened
into a well-defined rim with strong, sharp teeth. Well-ripened pods
are reddish-brown and have a characteristic metallic lustre, espec-
ially when not too old. The unshelled seed weighs about twenty-six
pounds per bushel. The real seeds, of which there is only one in
each pod, are kidney-shaped and olive-brown to chestnut.

COMMON VETCH (Vicia saliva L.)

Plate 24; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 38.
Other English names: Tare, Spring Vetch.

Botanical description: Common Vetch is an annual plant
closely related to peas. The stems, which generally branch from
near the base, are on an average from two to three feet high, angular
and more or less hairy. The leaves are numerous and compound,
consisting of a number of separate leaflets arranged in pairs along
the midrib ; in the upper part only the midribs of the leaflets are de-
veloped. They are transformed into sensitive threads called tendrils,
which wind themselves round any object they come in contact with
and thus help to support the weak stems of the plant. The leaflets
are oblong, square at the end, with a minute narrow point. The

Plate 24

COMMON VETCH OR TARE-

( Vicia sah va L .)

COMMON VETCH. 129

flowers are in pairs at the base of the leaves. They have very short
or no stalks. They are generally purple to rose-coloured but are
sometimes entirely white. The fertilization, like that of pea flowers,
is independent of insects, the pistil of a flower being fertilized by the
pollen of the same flower. Vetches are seldom cross-fertilized.

Geographical distribution: Common Vetch is a native of
Europe where it is abundant except in the most northern parts.
It is also common in some parts of northern Africa and southwestern
Asia. It is not indigenous to North America but has been intro-
duced from Europe. Its value as a forage plant was realized by
the old Romans and it is now cultivated all over Europe. In Canada
it is grown to only a limited extent, principally in southwestern
Ontario.

Habits of growth: Although peas and vetches are closely
related, their development is remarkably different. The main stem
of the pea plant grows during the whole life of the plant, but the
branches are less vigorous. In a vetch the main stem soon stops
and strong side branches are developed from the base. In this respect
it acts like those plants which start growth late in the season, rest
during the winter and finish development the next year. They are
called winter annuals and require a period of rest in order to develop
properly. With Common Vetch, which is sown in spring on account
of its tenderness, the resting period is very short. However, if the
first part of the summer is cool, the plant may remain in a typical
seedling stage for many weeks, thus proving its relation to winter
annuals.

Varieties : Like peas, Common Vetch consists of a great number
of varieties, differing from each other in development, flowering
time, colour of flower and seed, etc.

Agricultural value: As fodder for dairy cows, green Common
Vetch is highly esteemed for its nutritive value and its quality of
increasing milk production. It has long been a common belief that
it checks milk production when fed ripe, but late experiments have
shown that it has no unfavourable influence on either the quantity
or quality of milk produced.

Seed: The seeds are round and flattened, black in most varieties
but grey, white or reddish in others.

28549—15

130 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

HAIRY VETCH (Vicia villosa Roth.)

Plate 25; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 39.
Other English name: Winter Vetch.

Botanical description: As indicated by its name, this plant
is a winter annual (see page 137). It grows from two to four feet
high, winding and trailing in all directions like Common Vetch, from
which plant it is easily distinguished, even if no flowers are developed,
by its hairiness, the whole plant being covered with long, soft, spread-
ing hairs which often give it a white-woolly appearance. The leaves
are compound, like those of Common Vetch, but the leaflets gradually
taper towards the apex and the tendrils are more branched. The
flowers are in rich, long-stalked clusters, smaller than those of Com-
mon Vetch and purple to pale blue in colour.

Geographical distribution: Hairy Vetch is indigenous to
Europe and southwestern Asia. Its cultivation in Europe began
about the middle of the nineteenth century, at about which time it
was introduced into North America. It is grown to a limited extent
in Canada, almost exclusively in the fruit-growing districts of southern
Ontario.

Cultural conditions: Hairy Vetch does not require as good
soil as does Common Vetch. It can be grown on poor, sandy soil,
but will of course give heavier returns on rich, well prepared land.
It is decidedly hardier than Common Vetch and stands southern
Ontario winters without injury.

Habits of growth: It is generally sown in the summer, the
exact time depending on the climate. The main object is to obtain
a good stand before the cold weather begins. The plants pass the
winter in southern Ontario without being killed and start growth
early in the spring.

Agricultural value: In Ontario it is grown almost exclusively
as a cover and green manure crop in orchards. It produces a great
bulk of green matter and is apt to grow too rank to be easily ploughed
under. Half a bushel of good seed per acre is sufficient to produce
a fair stand of plants. When grown for seed it is either sown alone
or with winter rye, which supports the vines and retards the splitting

Plate 25

HAIRY VE-TCtt

(Vicia villosa Roth.}

HORSE BEAN. 131

and curling of the early ripe pods because of which the yield of seed
is always relatively small. The high price of commercial seed makes
this desirable plant unpopular as a fodder crop.

Seed: The seeds are somewhat smaller than those of Common
Vetch, round, not flattened, varying in colour from dark brown to
greyish black.

HORSE BEAN (Faba vulgaris Moench.)

Botanical description: Horse Bean is an annual plant which
generally reaches a height of from two to three feet. It grows strictly
upright and is neither winding like beans nor climbing like peas
and vetches. The leaves are composed of from one to three pairs
of large broad leaflets. They have no tendrils. The flowers are
borne in clusters, two to five together. They are large and showy,
white with two large deep purple or black spots. The pods, which
are sometimes as much as five inches long, enclose five or six large
seeds separated from each other by a soft, spongy tissue.

History: Horse Bean is an old agricultural plant, the origin of
which is not known. It is said to be a native of Persia but the
evidence is not conclusive. It was grown in central Europe thou-
sands of years before the Christian era, and large quantities of seed
have been found in excavations at Troy. It is still of some import-
ance in southern and central Europe, England and Egypt, but is
being gradually replaced by other legumes.

Varieties: There are a number of varieties, chiefly distinguished
from one another by the size of the seeds.

Agricultural value: Horse Bean was grown by the old Greeks
and Romans and the seeds were used to make bread, cakes and por-
ridge. In those parts of Europe where its cultivation is of some
importance it is still used for human food as well as for fodder. In
Canada it is principally valuable as a cover crop in young orchards,
where, when sown in summer, it uses up the soil moisture and thus
checks the late growth of fruit-tree wood and forces the spring growth
to ripen before serious danger from frost. Being a nitrogen gatherer
it also enriches the soil, and although it is killed by autumn frosts
the stalks help to retain the snow.

Seed: In some varieties the seeds are almost three-quarters of
an inch long and half an inch broad, flat with a deep scar at one end.
They are generally reddish-brown.

132 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

GRASS PEA (Lathyrus sativus L.)
Seed, Plate 25, Fig. 40.

Botanical description: Grass Pea is an annual. The stems
are flattened and more slender than those of ordinary peas, reaching
a height of from two to three feet. The leaves consist of one or
two pairs of narrow, grass-like leaflets and have branched tendrils.
The flowers are solitary and white. The pods are about an inch
long and half an inch broad, flat, and contain three or four seeds.
The latter are sharply angular, generally yellow or yellowish green.

Geographical distribution: Grass Pea is a native of central
Europe. It is grown to some extent in southern Ontario.

Cultural conditions: It prefers a loamy soil, not too heavy,
and does best when moisture is not excessive.

Agricultural value: In some places it is used extensively as
a fodder plant, giving a healthy food that has never proved injurious
to stock. It resists the pea weevil and is therefore important when
the ordinary pea cannot be grown on account of this pest.

FLAT PEA (Lathyrus silvestris L.)

Botanical description: Flat Pea is perennial with a vigorous
root system consisting of a strong rootstock which sends out numer-
ous side branches and secondary roots. The stems, which reach a
height of from two to six feet, are decumbent or ascending, climbing
and winding in all directions. They are much branched, angular,
and provided with two broad wings. Each leaf consists of one pair
of leaflets and a group of tendrils at the end of the elongated midrib
of the leaf. The flowers are showy, dark rose-coloured and a trifle
smaller than those of ordinary peas.

Geographical distribution: Flat Pea is indigenous to Europe.
It grows naturally in woodlands, on stony hillsides, among shrubs,
at the borders of woods, in thickets, etc.

Cultural conditions: It does not require particularly good
soil but can be successfully grown on poor land. Sandy loam will

FLAT PEA. 133

produce the heaviest crop but good returns can be obtained from
stiff clay or sand. As the roots go deep, the character of the subsoil
is more important than that of the surface. A well drained subsoil
is necessary for the proper development of the plant and stagnant
water has always an injurious effect. The roots penetrate so far
that the Flat Pea is very resistant to drought.

Agricultural value: The wild plant has a bitter taste and is
not liked by stock. It is also claimed that it is apt to cause serious
illness. The cultivated variety has no bitter taste; it is richer in
nutritive constituents and its feeding value is much greater.

The agricultural value of Flat Pea is somewhat disputed. It
is claimed that it is a valuable forage plant, especially when used as
hay in mixtures, but the results obtained from experiments do not
encourage its being grown on a large scale. It cannot be recom-
mended for short rotations.

Fodder: When grown for hay it should be cut as soon as the
flowers begin to appear or the stems begin to lodge. As growth
starts early in spring and continues during the whole season, two
or three cuttings can be taken from the second year on.

Seed growing: The best results are obtained on light, sandy
soil, the crop reaching its full size during the third and fourth years.
Harvesting is difficult because the pods ripen unevenly and break up
in hot weather, scattering the seeds. They are generally hand picked
as soon as they are ripe.

Quality of seed: The seeds are about the same size and shape
as those of vetches, brown, their surface being finely roughened by
a delicate net-like system of curved and branched veins.

Husbandry is an art so gentle, so humane, that mistresslike she makes all those who look on her
or listen to her voice intelligent of herself at once. Many a lesson does she herself impart how best
to try conclusions with her. See, for instance, how the vine, making a ladder of the nearest tree
whereon to climb, informs us that it needs support. — Xenophon, The Economist, 434-355 B.C.

Methought I came to consider the wonderful actions which the Sovereign has commanded Nature
to perform, and amongst other things I gazed upon the branches of the vines, peas and gourds which
seemed to have some feeling and knowledge of their weakly nature; for being unable to support them-
selves, they threw out certain small arms, like threads, into the air, and finding some small branch or
bough, proceeded to bind and attach themselves to it, without separating from it again, in order to
support the parts of their weakly nature. — Bernard Palissy, Jardtn Delectable, 1508-89.

134 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

SOY or SOJA BEAN (Glycine hispida Maxim.)

Botanical description: Soy Bean is an annual. It resembles
ordinary field beans but can be easily recognized by its more or less
dense hairiness. The stems, which branch from the base, reach a
height of from one to four feet. They bear a great number of large
leaves, each consisting of three leaflets similar in size and shape to
those of ordinary beans. The flowers, which are in dense clusters,
are of the ordinary leguminous type and are whitish to purplish in
colour. The pods have short, stiff hairs and usually contain two or
three seeds.

Geographical distribution: Soy Bean is not known in the
wild state. It is probable that it has been developed from Glycine
Soja Sieb. et Zucc., a closely related species growing wild in Man-
churia, China and Cochin China. That its cultivation is very old
in China and Japan is evident from the fact that a great number of
varieties have been produced there. It has been grown to a small
extent for about a hundred years in southern Europe and was quite
recently introduced into the United States and Canada.

Agricultural value: In China and Japan it is used largely for
food. The beans are roasted or otherwise cooked or ground for
baking purposes.

Cultural conditions: Soy Beans do best on loams rich in
organic matter, well drained and free from acid. The soil should
be inoculated with the proper bacteria. The plants are not very
sensitive to drought.

Varieties: The numerous varieties differ in growth, time of
development, colour of flowers and seed, and in their adaptability
to climatic conditions. Medium Green, a high-yielding variety of
outstanding merit for hay as well as for seed production, is best
suited to Canada.

The plant got its name from Soy, a product obtained by a long
and complicated fermentation of a mixture of cooked Soy Beans,
ground wheat and steamed rice or barley, to which later is added
water and salt. Soy is the principal constituent of Worcester and
other sharp sauces.

RAPE. 135

Fodder: Soy Beans cannot compete with Red Clover as a hay
maker in the regular farm rotation but can be used in case some
spring crop fails. The hay is of high nutritive value if the crop is
cut at the proper stage. This is when the pods begin to develop.
If they are advanced, the hay will be woody and unpalatable and the
leaves, which constitute the most nutritious part, will be shattered.
From one and a half to two bushels of seed to the acre are required
when intended for hay.

Seed growing: If handled right, Soy Beans give a profitable
return when grown for seed. As the pods break up when fully ripe,
late cutting causes loss, especially with the Medium Green variety
which shatters the seed badly. The plants should be cut for seed
when the pods begin to turn yellow. One bushel of seed should be
sown to the acre.

Quality of seed: In some varieties the seeds are like peas in
shape and size, in others they are twice as large, and in still others
they are like small beans. The colour may be yellow, white, green,
brown or black. The seed is rich in protein and oil, and can be used
in the same way as other concentrated protein and oil feeds.

RAPE (Brassica Napus L.)

Botanical description: Rape, especially when young, looks
like varieties of Swedish turnips. Its root, however, is not fleshy
but is more like the root of a cabbage, penetrating the soil to a con-
siderable depth. The leaves are numerous, large and spreading,
bluish green, sweet, succulent and tender. The flowers are in a large
open inflorescence, bright yellow and about half an inch wide when
fully developed. They are fertilized by insects.

Geographical distribution: Wild Rape is indigenous to nor-
thern Europe, where it occurs especially along seashores. It is
grown practically all over Europe, in northern Asia, the United States
and eastern Canada.

Cultural conditions: Rape requires a good rich soil, well
cultivated and with sufficient moisture. Best results are obtained
on clay loams which contain large amounts of organic matter. On
light sandy soil or stiff clay the returns are generally small. It likes

136 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

a moist and not too hot climate but can be grown in comparatively
dry and hot regions if the soil is rich and holds some moisture.

Varieties: Rape is either annual or biennial. The annual
varieties are grown principally for their seed and are called summer
rape; winter rape, such as Dwarf Essex, is biennial. Only the
latter varieties are important as fodder plants for Canada.

Habits of growth: The development of Dwarf Essex and other
fodder varieties is not dissimilar to that of turnips. The seed should
be sown at about the same rate per acre — two to four pounds — and
at about the same time, either in drills or broadcast. The foliage
is ready for pasture during the autumn. If protected against severe
cold during the winter, the remaining stalks produce seed the follow-
ing year.

Agricultural value: Rape has a high feeding value for sheep,
pigs, store and fattening cattle. As it is very succulent — that is,
contains a large percentage of water — it is difficult to cure it into
hay and when cured it is of comparatively little value as the leaves
crumble to powder. It is principally used for pasture and to some
extent as a soiling crop. It is not much used for ensilage.

The rape is by no means difficult to please in soil, for it will grow almost anywhere, indeed where
nothing else can be sown. It readily derives nutriment from fogs and hoar-frosts, and grows to a
marvellous size; I have seen them weighing upwards of forty pounds. — Pliny, Natural History, 25-79.

With first approach of light we must be risen.
And at our pleasant labour, to reform

Yon flowery arbours, yonder alleys green,
*******

That mock our scant manuring, and require

More hands than ours to lop their wanton growth:

Those blossons also * * * *

That lie bestrown unsightly and unsmooth,

Ask riddance, if we mean to tread with ease. — Milton, Paradise Lost, 1669.

Some old men in Surrey report. That they knew the first Gardiners that came

into these parts, to plant Cabbages, Colleflowers, and to sowe Turnips, Carrels, and Parsnips, to sowe
Raith or (early ripe) Rape, Pease, all of which at that time were great rarities, we having few, or none
in England, but what came from Holland and Flanders. These Gardiners with much ado procured
a plot of good ground, and gave no lesse than 8 pound per Acre; yet the Gentleman was not content,
fearing they would spoil his ground ; because they did use to dig it. So ignorant were we of Gardening
in those dayes. — Samuel Hartlib, The Compleat Husbandman, 1659.

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GLOSSARY.

ACUTE —
ALTERNATE —

ANNUAL —

APEX —
APPENDAGE —

APPRESSED —
ASCENDING —
AWN —
AXIL —
BACTERIA —

BARREN —
BASAL —
BASE —

BIENNIAL —

BRISTLE —
COMPOUND —

COMPRESSED —
CORNEOUS —
COTYLEDON —
CREEPING —

Sharp at the end ; pointed.

(of leaves, etc.) — Not opposite each other but dis-
tributed at different heights along the stem or
branch.

Of only one year's duration. Winter annual, a
plant which sprouts in the fall, blooms the following
spring, fruits and then dies.

The top or tip of the leaf, flower, etc.

Something added to or accompanying a principal or
greater thing though not necessary to it.

Lying close and flat against.

Curving upward.

A bristle-like appendage.

The angle formed by a leaf or branch with the stem.

A class of extremely small plants visible only by the
aid of a microscope.

Fruitless ; incapable of bearing seeds.
Connected with or belonging to the base.

That extremity of a leaf, fruit, etc., at which it is
attached to its support.

A biennial plant requires two seasons to complete its
growth. The first is spent in collecting and storing
up nourishment and the second in producing flowers
and seeds, after which the plant dies.

A stiff, sharp, roundish hair.

Composed of two or more similar parts united into
one whole. Compound leaf, one divided into sepa-
rate leaflets.

Flattened.
Horny; horn-like.
See pages 8 and 13.

Running along at or near the surface of the ground
and rooting.

CROSS-FERTILI- The fertilization of a plant by pollen from another
ZATION — individual.

137

28549—16

I38
DECUMBENT —

EMBRYO —
ENDOSPERM —
ERECT —
FERTILIZE —
FERTILI z ATION-

GENUS —

GLABROUS —
GLAUCOUS —
GLUME —
HYBRID —

INDIGENOUS —
INFLORESCENCE

INOCULATE —
INTERNODE —
KEEL —
KNEE- BENT —
LATERAL —
LEAFLET —
LEGUME —

LEGUMINOUS —
LEMMA —
LIGULE —
MIDRIB —
NODE-
NODULE —
OVARY —
PALEA —

FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

Bending or lying down, but with the summit ascend-
ing.

The part of the seed which develops into a plant.
See page 8.
Straight; upright.
To make fruitful.

-The process by which the pollen renders the ovule
fertile; fruit-making.

An assemblage of species possessing certain charac-
teristics in common.

Smooth ; destitute of hairs.

Of a sea-green or grayish-blue color.

See page 10.

An animal or plant produced from the mixture of
two species.

Native to a certain country or district.

The flowering part of a plant, and especially the
mode of its arrangement.

To furnish the soil with certain kinds of bacteria.

The portion of a stem between two adjacent nodes.

A central ridge, like the keel of a boat ; see also page 16.

Bent so as to form an angle.

Proceeding from the side.

A single division of a compound leaf.

A single seed vessel, having the seeds attached along
one side only.

Pertaining to a legume or to the Leguminostz.

See page 10.

See page 9.

The central or main rib of a leaf.

The joint of a stem, or the part where a leaf or several
leaves are attached.

A little knot or lump.

The part of the pistil in which the seeds are formed.

See page 10.

GLOSSARY

139

PANICLE — A loose, irregularly-compound inflorescence with

flowers or groups of flowers on distinct stalks.

PERENNIAL — Lasting more than two years.

PETAL — See page 16.

PISTIL — See page 16.

POLLEN — The fecundating powder produced in the stamens.

RACEME — An inflorescence bearing stalked flowers along a

common, more or less elongated, main stalk.

RADICLE — Rootlet; see page 13.

ROOTSTOCK — Underground stem, rooting at the nodes and gener-
ally creeping near the surface.

RUNNER — A slender creeping branch, from the base of the stem

or from a rootstock, which is capable of forming
independent plants.

SELF-FERTILI-
ZATION— The fertilization of a plant by its own pollen.

SELF-STERILE — Unable to produce seed unless fertilized by another
individual.

SHEATH — A tubular envelope, as the lower part of the leaf in

grasses.

SPECIES — A class of individuals possessing the same forms and

properties which they transmit to their offspring.

SPIKELET — See page 10.

STAMEN — The male organ of a flower; see page 10.

STANDARD — See page 16.

STERILE — Barren; unable to produce seed.

STIPULE — See page 15.

TAPROOT— A root which is the prolongation downwards of the
stem.

TRIFOLIATE — Having three leaflets.
TUBERCLE — A nodule.

WHORL — An arrangement of leaves, etc., in a circle around

the stem.

INDEX

PAGE

Agricultural Value of Grasses 1 1

Agricultural Value of Leguminous

Plants 17

Agropyron occidentale 92

repens 93

Richardsonii 93

Smithii 92

tenerum 90

Agrostis alba 50

stolonifera 50

vulgaris 52

Alfalfa 114

Arabian 116

Canadian Variegated 123

Grimm's Variegated 123

Peruvian 116

Turkestan 1 16

Variegated 122

Alkali Grass 92

Alopecurus pratensis 48

Alsike 108

American Red Clover 104

Anthoxanthum odoratum 42

Anthyllis Vulneraria 125

Arabian Alfalfa 116

Arrhenatherum elatius 56

Austrian Brome Grass 82

Austrian Brome Hay 82

Awned Wheat Grass 93

Awnless Brome Grass 82

Bacteria 18

Bald Rye Grass 94

Bald Wheat Grass 90

Barnyard Grass 40

Barnyard Millet 40

Bean, Horse 131

Soja 134

Soy 134

Bent-grass, Creeping 50

White 50

Bird Grass 64

Black Medick 124

Blue Grass 64

Canada 62

Canadian 62

English 62

Kentucky 64

Smaller . . 62

PAGE

Blue Grass, Virginia 62

Blue-Joint 92

Blue-joint Grass 52

Bokhara Clover 112

Brassica Napus 135

Brome Grass 82

Austrian 82

Awnless 82

Field 84

Fringed 85

Hungarian 82

Smooth 82

Bromus arvensis 84

ciliatus 85

inermis 82

Calamagrostis canadensis 52

Canada Bent-grass 52

Canada Blue Grass 62

Canadian Blue Grass 62

Canadian Variegated Alfalfa 123

Chilean Clover 105

Claviceps 47

Clover, American Red 104

Alsike 108

Bokhara 112

Chilean 105

Crimson 96

Dutch 106

English 105

European Red 104

French 105

German 96

Italian 96

Mammoth 105

North Russian 105

Perennial Red 105

Red 98

Scarlet 96

South Russian 105

Swedish 105

Sweet 112

White 106

White Sweet 112

Zigzag 98

Clovers 13

Cocksfoot 58

Colorado Blue Stem 92

Common Darnel 86

Common Meadow Grass 64

140

INDEX

PAGE

Common Millet 36

Common Vetch 128

Corn 30

Dent 32

Flint 32

Indian 30

Pod 32

Pop 32

Soft 32

Starchy-sweet 33

Sweet 33

Couch Grass 93

Cow Grass 105

Creeping Bent-grass 50

Creeping Fescue 72

Creeping Poa 62

Crested Dog's Tail 60

Crimson Clover 96

Cuscuta Epithymum 120

racemosa var. Chiliana 104

Cynosurus cristatus 60

Dactylis glomerata 58

Dent Corn 32

Deyeuxia canadensis 52

Dodder 104, 120

Dog's Tail Grass 60

Dutch Clover 106

Dwarf Essex Rape 136

Echinochloa Crus-galli 40

Elymus virginicus 94

English Blue Grass 62

English Clover 105

English Grass 64

English Ray Grass 86

English Rye Grass 86

Ergot 47

Esparsette 126

European Red Clover 104

Evergreen Grass 78

Faba vulgaris . .~: 131

False Oat Grass 56

False Red Top 69

Fertilization of Grasses 10

Fertilization of Leguminous Plants 1 6

Festuca arundinacea 81

duriuscula 76

elatior 78

helerophylla 77

ovina 74

ovina var. duriuscula 76

PAGE

Festuca ovina var. tenuifolia 76

pratensis 78

rubra 72

Fescue, Creeping 72

Fine-leaved Sheep's 76

Hard 76

Meadow 78

Red 72

Reed 81

Sheep's 74

Tall 78,80

Various-leaved 77

Field Brome Grass 84

Fine-leaved Sheep's Fescue 76

Fiorin Grass 50

Flat Pea 132

Flint Corn 32

Flowers of Leguminous Plants 15

Fowl Meadow Grass 69

Foxtail Millet 38

French Clover 105

Fringed Brome Grass 85

Fruit of Grasses 1 1

Fruit of Leguminous Plants 17

German Clover 96

German Millet 38

Germination of Grasses 8

Germination of Leguminous Plants 13

Glyceria aquatica 70

grandis 71

Glycine hispida 134

Golden Oat Grass 54

Golden Wonder Millet 38

Gold Mine Millet 38

Grasses 8

Grass Pea 132

Green Grass 64

Grimm's Variegated Alfalfa 123

Hairy Vetch 130

Hard Fescue 76

Herd's Grass 44

Holy Terror Millet 38

Horse Bean 131

Hungarian Brome Grass ^ . . 82

Hungarian Fodder Grass 82

Hungarian Grass 38

Hungarian Millet 38

Implements 20

Indian Corn 30

Inflorescence of Grasses 9

142

FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS.

PAGE

Inflorescence of Leguminous Plants 15

I talian Clover 96

Italian Rye Grass 88

Ixophorus italicus 38

Japanese Millet 38

June Grass 64

Kentucky Blue Grass 64

Kidney Vetch 125

Knot Root Grass 43

Lalhyrus sativus 132

silvestris 132

Leaves of Grasses 9

Leaves of Leguminous Plants 14

Leguminous Plants 13

Lolium multiflorum 88

perenne 86

Lucerne 114

Sand 122

Yellow 121

Maize 30

Mammoth Clover 105

Meadow Cat's Tail 44

Meadow Fescue 78

Meadow Foxtail 48

Meadow Grass, Common 64

Fowl 69

Rough-stalked 66

Smooth-stalked 64

Water 70

Wood 68

Meadow Oat Grass 56

Tall 56

Meadows, Cutting 24

Development of 23

Duration of 28

Fertilizing 29

Re-seeding and renovating. ... 29

Winter protection 24

Medicago falcata 121

X saliva 122

lupulina 124

media 122

saliva 114

silveslris 122

Medick, Black 124

Sickle 121

Melilolus alba 112

Millet, Barnyard 40

Common 36

Foxtail 38

PAGE

Millet, German 38

Hungarian 38

Japanese 38

Pearl 39

Siberian 38

Millets 35

Muhlenbergia glomerala 43

racemosa 43

North Russian Clover 105

Nurse Crops 19

Oat Grass 56

False 56

Golden 54

Meadow 56

Tall 56

Tall Meadow 56

Yellow 54

Yellow False 54

Onobrychis saliva 126

Oplismenus Crus-galli 40

Orchard Grass 58

Panicum Crus-galli 40

miliaceum 36

Pastures, Duration of 28

Permanent 29

Re-seeding and renovating. ... 29

Pearl Millet 39

Penniselum lyphoideum 39

Perennial Red Clover 105

Perennial Rye Grass 86

Pea, Flat 132

Grass 132

Peruvian Alfalfa 116

Phalaris arundinacea 41

Phleum pratense 44

Phragmiles communis 53

Poa compressa 62

flav a 69

nemoralis 68

paluslris 69

pralensis 64

serolina 69

Iriflora 69

Irivialis 66

Pod Corn 32

Pop Corn 32

Randall Grass 75

Rape 138

Summer 136

Winter 136

INDEX.

PAGE

Red Clover 98

American 104

European 104

Mammoth 105

Perennial 105

Red Fescue 72

Red Top 50

False 69

Reed Canary Grass 41

Reed Fescue 81

Reed Grass 53

Root System of Grasses 8

Root System of Leguminous Plants 14
Rough-stalked Meadow Grass .... 66

Rye Grass, Bald 94

English 86

Italian 88

Perennial 86

Western 90

Sainfoin 126

Sand Grass 52

Sand Lucerne 122

Scarlet Clover 96

Schedonurus inermis 82

Sclerotia 47

Seeding to Fodder and Pasture

Plants 19

Seed of Grasses 8

Seed of Leguminous Plants 13

Setaria italica 38

Sheep's Fescue 74

Siberian Millet 38

Sickle Medick 121

Slender Wheat Grass 90

Small Reed Grass 52

Smaller Blue Grass 62

Smooth Brome Grass 82

Smooth-stalked Meadow Grass.. . . 64

Soft Corn 32

Soja Bean 134

South Russian Clover 105

Soy Bean ? 134

Spear Grass 64

Spikelets of Grasses 10

Spring Vetch 128

Starchy-sweet Corn 33

Stems of Grasses 9

Stems of Leguminous Plants 14

Summer Rape 136

Swedish Clover 105

Sweet Clover... . . 112

PAGE

Sweet Corn 33

Sweet Vernal Grass 42

Tall Fescue 78, 80

Tall Meadow Oat Grass 56

Tall Oat Grass 56

Tare 128

Terrell Grass 94

Timothy 44

Trefoil, Yellow 124

Trifolium hybridum 108

incarnatum 96

medium 98

pratense 98

repens 106

Trisetum flavescens 54

Turkestan Alfalfa 116

Variegated. Alfalfa 122

Various-leaved Fescue 77

Vetch, Commom 128

Hairy 130

Kidney 125

Spring 128

Winter 130

Vicia saliva 128

villosa 130

Virginia Blue Grass 62

Virginia Lyme Grass 94

Water Meadow Grass 70

Weed Seeds 22

Weeds, Effect on stock 27

Suppression in meadows.. . . 22

Western Rye Grass 90

Western Wheat Grass 92

Wheat Grasss 94

Awned 93

Bald 90

Slender 90

Western 92

White Bent-grass 50

White Clover 106

White Sweet Clover 112

Winter Rape 136

Winter Vetch 130

Wire Grass 62

Wood Meadow Grass 68

Yellow False Oat 54

Yellow Lucerne 121

Yellow Oat Grass 54

Yellow Trefoil 124

Zea Mays 30

Zigzag Clover 98

L U7IUO

322186

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