19 



BALING LEGUMES AND SORGHUMS. 



One experiment in baling legumes and sorghums, made this year, 

 is well worth particular mention. The seasons in this section are 

 very favorable as a rule to the devolo])meut of a vigorous growth of 

 pea and bean vines, although they do not always mature seeds. These 

 vines well cured make rich forage, but as the leaves fall off badly, 

 they have little commercial value. To determine if these crops would 

 bear baling several varieties were secured and planted in the grass 

 garden. They made vigorous growths, and bore heavy crops of peas 

 and beans. When the fruits were nearly full grown, and before they 

 began to turn yellow, the vines were cut and carefully cured as hay. 

 Later a few bales were made of each. Eecent examination showed that 

 the hay was as sweet as when first baled. Since very large yields of 

 these legumes can be grown in all parts of Texas nearly every year, 

 the crops can be given a decided commercial value if carefully cured 

 and baled. 



A similar experiment was tried with the sorghums and other coarse 

 forage crops, such as teosinte and pearl millet. When the stalks were 

 from 3 to 5 feet tall, aud while the seeds were " in the dough," several 

 bundles of each variety were cut, cured, and stacked, aud later baled, 

 to determine if they could be handled in that shape to advantage. 

 The bales have kept as sweet as those of the well recognized hay grasses 

 of this section, and, as in the case of the legumes, the experiment was 

 a decided success. 



FAIR EXHIBITS. 



In September last an exhibit was made of native and other grasses 

 and forage plants grown during the year. Several boxes of baled hay 

 were prepared for the exhibit at the Paris Exposition in 1900, and 53 

 bales of excellent hay, each representing a difterent variety, were made 

 up and turned over to the managers of the district fair held here in 

 October. The exhibit attracted a great deal of favorable attention 

 from farmers and stockmen of this section, who became much inter- 

 ested in the station work. Heretofore many of them have either known 

 nothing of such work or have paid but little attention to it. In the 

 future they will watch the experiments more closely. They are man- 

 ifesting especial interest in the work intended to improve the range 

 conditions by cultivation of the native pasture grasses. 



SUMMARY. 



In spite of the adverse conditions under which they have been con- 

 ducted, the experiments here have yielded results of great value. They 

 have demonstrated the availability of alfalfa (especially oasis alfalfa), 

 sulla, sainfoin, smooth brome, Canada rye grass, Terrell grass, and 

 others for use in permanent pastures and meadows; of the vetches, 

 cowi»eas, velvet bean, soy benn, teosinte, and a larger number of varie- 

 ties of the sorghums and millets for annual or temporary pastures, and 



