REPORT OF THE CHEMIST. 



171 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



LEOUMES. 



The leguminosre, to -which clover, pease, beans, vetches, &c., belong, are character- 

 ized by a high nitrogen content (protein), and consequently furnish fodder of greater 

 feeding value than grasses, roots and many other forage plants. Several members of 

 this facfily have from time to time been analysed in the Farm laboratories, and their 

 composition published. (The reader is referred especially to the report of the Chemical 

 Division for 1893). During the past summer further samples have been collected 

 from the ' grass plots ' of the farm and submitted to analysis. The data obtained are 

 given in the following table : — 



Analysis of Le^rumes — 1900. 



For the botanical information in the following paragraphs I am indebted to Dr. 

 James Fletcher, Botanist of the Experimental Farms. 



Wild Pea or Seaside Pea (Lathyrus maritimus), from North Bay. — A deep- 

 rooted, free-growing and very persistent perennial, stout and succulent, somewhat 

 fleshy leaves with 6 to 12 leaflets ; flowers, 6 to 10 inches long ; racemes, long, purple. 

 Judging from the analysis, this plant should afford a rich fodder, and since it gives 

 a large yield it is certainly worthy of trial. It is stated that cattle eat it with relish. 



Grass Pea, ChicMirLg Vetch {Lathyrus sativus). — An annual with a weak, winged 

 stem, with solitary flowers and compound leaves of four long and narrow leaflets. A 

 good fodder, either green or curred, especially for sheep, now extensively grown in 

 western Ontario on account of the seed being exempt from the attack of the pea 

 weevil. From the great length of its growing and flowering period, it should form 

 an excellent soiling crop. 



Wagner's Wood-pea (Lathyrus sylvestris Wagneri). — A fodder plant introduced 

 a few years ago, receiving extensive advertising and stated to do well even on poor 

 soils. It is a free-growing leafy i>ea. In its second year of growth at the Experi- 

 mental Farm, Ottawa, it produced a thick mass of leafy stems, nearly 4 feet in height. 

 Analysis shows it to be extremely rich in nitrogenous matter (protein). Though 

 cattle do not first evince a liking for it, it is said by English writers that they soon eat 

 it with relish, both in the green condition and as hay. On account of its high feeding 

 value and the large yield per acre to be obtained, it may become an important addi- 

 tion to our present list of forage and soiling crops. 



