582 Composition and Nutritive Value of 



tliey would produce in the shape of sainfoin oi- clover to which 

 tribe of plants it is akin. 



The cultivation of this crop has been attempted with some 

 degree of success in Norfolk, the county from which I obtained 

 the material for the subjoined analysis. More frequently than 

 in England the Anthyllis may be seen as a field-crop in France, 

 where it is grown much in the same way as the Trifolium incar- 

 iiatum, that is, well harrowed after harvest into the oat or wheat- 

 stubbles, it is then ready, for feeding the following summer, 

 coming in rather later as a green crop than the crimson clover 

 ( Trifolium ijicariiatum). 



I am not aware that this plant has been submitted before to an 

 analytical examination ; so, having received from Norfolk some 

 hay entirely composed of the kidney vetch, I took advantage of 

 the opportunity, and subjected it to a full analysis. 



The hay in question, as regards appearance, vv^as stalky and 

 coarse ; it must not be supposed, however, that the crop was 

 mown too late in the season, for most of the plants had just 

 done flowering, and some were still in full flower. 



The plan adopted in the following analysis was similar to 

 that described at some length in my paper " On the Composition 

 of Orange Globe Mangolds " in Vol. II,, Second Series, of this 

 Journal, I need not, therefore, mention in detail the mode in 

 which the several determinations were made, but give at once 

 the general composition of the hay, as follows : 



Dried 

 ; at 212° Fahr 



Moisture 10-40 



^Organic substances soluble in water .. 26*47 .... 29'56 

 Organic substances insoluble iu water) Kj-gn r4-T 



(crude fibre) - .. .< f 



Mineral matter (ash) 5-08 .... 5-68 



100-00 100-00 



♦Containing nitrogen 1"19 .... 1*33 



Equal to albuminous compounds (flesh-) -.„g g,r,K 



forming matters) / 



Hay usually contains from 14 to 16 per cent, of moisture, or 

 4 to 6 per cent, more than the Anthyllis hay at the time when 

 the analysis was made. The day on which I received the hay 

 was very warm ; the small sample coming into my hand probably 

 was drier than the bulk is likely to be at the time of stacking ; 

 in some measure, however, I believe that the small amount of 

 moisture Avas due to the deficiency of small leaves (which attract 

 moisture readily), the want of juice, and the prevalence of dry 

 woody stems in the Anthyllis hay. 



