LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 17 
spite of their humble appearance and secluded position, insects are 
attracted by the fragrance of the blossoms. 
A brief description of the fertilization, which varies in different 
genera, is given in connection with Alfalfa on page 114, and with 
Red Clover on page 99. 
Fruit: The fruit is a pod; that is, a narrow fruit with leathery or 
papery walls. When ripe and dry, the pod splits its entire length and 
lets the seeds out. Its two halves often twist like a corkscrew, some 
times with such violence that the seeds are thrown a considerable 
distance. In some species and genera there is only one seed, when the 
pod falls off without breaking up, but generally the seeds are numerous. 
Agricultural value: On well prepared land, stored with a fair 
supply of plant food, especially potash and phosphoric acid, legu- 
minous plants yield heavy crops of great nutritive value, relished 
by all kinds of stock. Putting aside their value for soiling, legumin- 
ous plants can be used to advantage for either hay or pasture. Their 
suitability for fodder depends largely on their mode of development. 
As a rule their nutritive value is highest when they are in bloom or 
shortly before. If intended for hay they should therefore not be 
cut too late. It is true that sometimes the crop is larger if cutting 
is delayed until shortly after the plants have completed flowering; 
but, on the other hand, the hay is coarse and more or less woody. 
It lacks palatability and fat and milk producing constituents, and 
in spite of its larger quantity it is of smaller total value thanif cut 
at the proper time. Late cutting also spoils the second growth. 
When Red Clover and Alfalfa, for instance, begin to bloom, new 
shoots start from the crown of the root. If cutting is delayed until 
these shoots are high enough to be caught by the mower, it is evi- 
dent that the second growth will be seriously affected. 
Some species, like White Clover, are suitable for pasture, as the 
tramping of stock encourages the plants to new growth. Others 
like Red Clover and Alfalfa, with a crown a little above the ground, 
must be pastured more carefully, tramping being apt to injure the 
plants if the soil is not in the proper condition. As the new growth 
starts from the crown, the plants should not be pastured too close, 
at any rate not late in the fall. 
It is well known that leguminous plants enrich the soil. This 
faculty used to be attributed to their rather deep root system. It 
was claimed that the taproots gathered from the subsoil great quan- 
tities of food inaccessible to plants with shallower roots. The sub- 
stances thus removed from the subsoil were said to be used in building 
53334—2 
