270 EXPERIMENT STATION— BULLETINS. 



of cultivation are about the same as for peas. The growth of the plant is 

 slow until it blooms, when it rapidly increases in size and nutritive con- 

 stituents. The close of the blooming period (about September 1, in 

 Massachusetts) is the best time for cutting the crops. 



Director Armsby, of the Pennsylvania experiment station, reports " That 

 the plant yields about the same amount of starch and fat per acre as clover 

 hay, but much less of every other nutriment except the ash or mineral 

 elements, which were present in great abundance." 



Spergulum Maxama grew rapidly for a time, but was injured by the dry 

 weather. 



Sheep Fodder Vicia Velosa, a spreading plant that grows close to the 

 ground and resembles the vetch. 



Yelloiv Lupine made a good start, but made little growth afterward. 



Vetches. — These were still green Sept. 14 and had a few pods, but the 

 growth was small. 



Brazilian Flour Corn. — The field notes speak of this variety as looking 

 like common corn. Grew slowly and stooled more than common corn. The 

 leaves were narrow and rolled close with a rough inner surface. Sept. 14 it 

 was still green and the ears were just forming. 



Kaffir Corn. — A variety of sorghum, cultivated for both forage and grain. 

 Two rows were drilled and two planted in hills. It did not grow so well as 

 some of the other varieties. The drilled was the better during the entire 

 season. Grew to a height of five and one-half feet. The stalks were cov- 

 ered with a substance that rubbed off readily and looked and felt like flour. 

 No ears formed. 



Camaroon Corn. — This somewhat resembled millet and made a good 

 growth until July 23, when it seemed somewhat affected by the dry weather. 

 The stalks were about as large as an ordinary lead pencil. Averaged three 

 and one-half feet in height. A few soft, bushy heads, covered with red 

 hairs. Did not resemble any of the other varieties of corn. 



Teosinte {Euchloena luxurians). — Seed was sent from the United States 

 Department of Agriculture with the following description : "A luxuriant 

 forage plant which has not yet become sufficiently acclimated to produce 

 seed north of Florida or the thirty-first degree of latitude. An annual crop 

 of green or dry fodder or ensilage can be grown as far north as the fifty-first 

 parallel. ^ Stock of all kinds are exceedingly fond of it, either green or cured." 

 It grew to a height of four and one-half feet. Stalks were small with long, 

 narrow leaves. 



The Brazilian Flour, the Kaffir, the Camaroon corn and the Teosinte 

 were all sown too thick, and would doubtless have given better results with 

 less seed. 



The Caucasian Prichley Comfrey has been very highly spoken of as a for- 

 age plant by some of the stations. It, however, did not give promise of 

 great value here. Prof. Brown, of Guelph, Ontario, who has given it a 

 thorough trial, decided it was of little value to them. 



From the results obtained it will be seen that very few of these plants 

 merit another trial. 



The comparison of these plants with the ensilage corns, growing side by 

 side, taught very emphatically the lesson that with our climate and soil, corn 

 is far superior as a forage crop. 



The majority of evidence is in favor of corn for ensilage that is nearly, if 



