" KuDZU." - 559 



by using well-iipeued wood and setting out xevy early m the 

 spring. 



Transplanting . — A new field of Kudzu is best established by 

 the transplanting of well-rooted plants. 



Grazing. — Kudzu may be utilized as pasture, but should not 

 be grazed too heavily ; two fields should be provided to graze 

 alternately. Some farmers allow the crop to grow until the dry 

 season of the fall, when other pasturage is likely to be scant. 

 There is some evidence that continuous lig'ht grazing will give 

 more feed than alternate heavy grazing. The crop is best 

 pastured by cattle, as hogs are inclined to dig out and eat the 

 starchy roots; indeed, hogs may thus be used io eradicate a field 

 of Kudzu when this becomes desirable. 



Soiling or Green Feeding. — Kudzu is excellent for soiling, 

 as was shown by the experience of the Louisiana Agricultural 

 Experiment Station. During an extremely dry period the only 

 green foliage available was furnished by the Kudzu fields. 



Hay. — Some fields in Northern Florida, after becoming well 

 established, have yielded three cuttings of hay a season, and 

 yields as high as 10 tons per acre have been reported. In other 

 fields the total yield has been smaller than that of velvet beans. 

 At Arlington Farm, Ya., Kudzu was harvested and cured in the 

 same manner as cowpeas. and an excellent quality of hay obtained. 

 Curing frames were used also, and if properly cocked Kudzu-hay 

 sheds rain without the use of any topping material. In fact some 

 of the hay was left in cocks all winter, and Avhen opened the 

 following spring was in excellent condition : only the outside 

 was brown and weathered, the forage within being of a bright- 

 green colour. Kudzu can be cut readily with a mower. The 

 hay cures more easily than most legumes, as the leaves are less 

 juicy. 



The first mowing of a field, however, is sometimes difficult, 

 as the first crop is more tangled than succeeding ones. A good 

 device to use in very tangled crops is an old scythe blade fastened 

 vertically to the end of the cutter bar. The fi"st Grop»produced 

 is also likely to be difficult to rake, as the trailing stems along' 

 the ground are still strong ; therefore it is often better to use a 

 fork and make piles or rolls not too large to pitch on to a wagou. 

 There is practically no shedding of the leaves in curing. 



Kudzu is said to make excellent hay and its feeding value is 

 about equal to clover and lucerne. Like most leguminous crops it is 

 a splendid soil renovator, enriching the poorest land, but even in the 

 United States it is only in the experimental stage, and Mr. Piper 

 lays special stress on the fact that though the value of the plant 

 both for hay and for grazing is acknowledged they have yet much 

 to learn about its habits and behaviour under varying conditions 

 before it can be pronounced on definitely. 



In South Africa, Kudzu is little known and few experiments 

 have been carried out \\\i\\ it. In 1915 the Division of Botany 

 obtained a small quantity of seed from the U.S.A., and this was 

 sown at the Experimental Station. Groenkloof. The seed germinated 



