96 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



aud which .shouhl be phiiited in August or Sei)tember, about I' ft, apart 

 iu each direction. 



Bc{/(/ar weeil {])e,siit odium niolle). — Seed of this plant was hrst distrib- 

 uted by the Departmeut iu 1879, and it has jtroved to be of considerable 

 value for summer grazing, especially on the light sandy soils of Florida, 

 but is too coarse and woody for making hay. It is an annual whicli is 

 closely related to the eommon "beggar-ticks" but is much larger, often 

 reaching 8 or 10 ft. in height, has a larger proportion of leaves, and 

 the seeds are so nearly smooth that they do not stick to clothing- as do 

 the seeds of tlie native sorts. When used for hay it should be cut 

 when not more than 2 or 3 ft, high as, if allowed to grow larger, 

 the lower leaves droj) aud the stems become coarse, J. C Neal, for- 

 merly of the Florida Station, says it is especially valuable in Florida, 

 enriching the soil beyond any other crop, and that nothing is better to 

 restore health and vigor to a worn-out beast than a few weeks in a 

 beggar-weed pasture, R. J. Redding, of the Georgia Station, speaks well 

 of it for southern Georgia, but says it is not grown in the northern part 

 of that State. J. S, IsTewman, formerly of the Alabama Station, con- 

 demns it for that State; while W, C, Stubbs, of the Louisiana Station, 

 says thac "when sown thickly and cut early it produces a large amount 

 of fairly good hay," In Mississippi it has grown well and reseeded the 

 ground on sandy soils, but has not been satisfactory when planted on 

 heavy clay lands. It is valued most as a renovating crop for lands on 

 which clover can not be grown. 



Flat pea {Lathyru.s si/lvestris). — Extravagant claims have been made 

 for this by the dealers who introduced it, and who stated that the 

 plants would grow luxuriantly and give immense annual crops on the 

 driest and most barren soils, "lastiiig over 50 years aud giving £20 

 l)roiit each year." Tlie Departmeut procured a supply of the seed iu 

 1889, aud the i^lant has been thoroughly tested at each of the Southern 

 stations, and with uniformly disappointing- results. The seeds ger- 

 minate slowly, and if not cultivated carefully the young plants will 

 soon be choked out by the grass aud weeds. Few of the plants reach 

 more than G in, in height during the first season, but after that they 

 become stronger and at 4 years old give fair crops of excellent hay 

 and aftbrd good fall and spring grazing. Its growth is low and strag- 

 gling, but the stems are quite slender and are well covered with leaves, 

 and the whole plant is relished well by cattle and horses. The plants 

 remain almost dormant through the summer and are killed to the 

 ground by moderate frosts, and so yield nothing for pastures during 

 the summer or late winter. We have seen nothing to recommend it 

 for cultivation in the South. 



Soja hcan {ISoJa his}) Ida). — This has varied greatly with the soils 

 upon which it has been grown, and has not been generally satisfac- 

 tory. It is an upright annual, reaching- about 3 ft. in height on 

 good soil, and, under favorable conditions, producing an innnense 

 yield of seed. When well grown, its stems are too coarse aud heavy 



