B. P. I. -.53-1. 



PRICKLY COMFREY AS A FORAGE CROP." 



INTRODUCTION. 



Prickh- coinfrey {Sympltntvrn asperrimum Donn) is a peroniiial 

 herbuceous plant, a native of the Caucasus region of Europe, whicli 

 was introduced into En<^land as early as 1801. Apparently it was 

 iirst grown in the United States near Richmond, Va., in 1S76. Tlie 

 only recorded importation of this plant by the Department of Agri- 

 culture was made in February, 1899, from France. In 1830 it 

 attracted attention in England as a forage plant, and from that date 

 until 187G or later some little interest was exhibited in its dissemina- 

 tion by agriculturists. Thomas Christy, jr., of London, was especially 

 prominent in its advertisement and published a lengthy article'' 

 descriptive of its value as a food for hogs, sheep, and dairy cows, 

 especially as a soiling crop and in the form of ensilage. 



Although prickly comfrey was grown rather extensively years ago 

 ill Europe and to some extent in the United States, it has never 

 attained any considerable importance in either country as a forage 

 crop. At the present time it is probably grown more generally in 

 (lerm.-iny than in any other country, and its success there may be 

 ascribed to the intensive methods of cultivation employed on small 

 farms, a practice which calls for some crop that will respond with 

 large yields to heavy applications of fertilizer. Only under such meth- 

 ods can the yields of forage mentioned in reports from Germany be 

 expected. None of the government experiment stations in European 

 countries have seen fit (o commend prickly comfrey in their reports 

 so far as noted. 



« Prickly comfrey has been grown as a forage crop to some extent in Europe, and in 

 -scattered instances with success in this country. Its general standing, however, has 

 not seemed to warrant an extended trial by the Department of Agricultm-e. Recently 

 advertisements making exaggerated claims regarding its value as a forage crop 

 have appeared in newspapers and circulars. It is therefore deemed advisable to pub- 

 lish in a concise form the results of tests of this croj) at several state experiment sta- 

 tions, together with a brief description of the plant and du-ections for its culture. This 

 will enable intending growers to draw their own conclusions as to its probable value 

 for their purposes.— B. T. Gallow.\y, Chief of Bureau. 



''Christy, Thomas, jr. Forage Plants and Their Economic Conservation by the 

 New System of "Ensilage," Part I. London, 1877. 



Hir. 47] 3 



