GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. 



213 



It will not, however, grow well in limestone lands where the lime lies in layers. It is a 

 strong feeder, adapted only to rich soils, which must have their fertility kept up. It will 

 soon run out all other plants in lands where it is sown. It will not thrive in regions where 

 there are frequent rain-storms, clouds, and fogs, but will do best, other conditions being 

 eqxial, in those localities that have the greatest number of cloudless days. 



Some sow it with oats, barley, or peas, or, on light lands, with buckwheat; but it is better 

 to sow it alone and in drills, that it may be cultivated frequently during the first year. It is 

 sometimes sown broadcast, but this method is not generally recommended. When sown in 

 this manner, however, from twenty to twenty-five pounds per acre will be required. 



One of the ablest authorities on the cultivation of this plant says: &quot; If seeds are more 

 than a year old, they germinate very imperfectly. They should be kidney-form, the plumper 

 the better, and of a yellowish drab color; the browner they are, the less likely they are to 

 germinate. I counted 10,432 seeds in an ounce, of which 544 seeds were defective; though 

 this was from a very excellent sample, yet one seed in twenty was defective. 



As soon as the plants are half an inch above the ground, the rows should be run 

 through with a cultivator. All that now remains to be done is to keep the weeds down. It 

 can be mowed four times a year, taking care to cut it always before it flowers, otherwise it 

 becomes too woody. The next spring it should be sown with a coat of plaster, which 

 answers quite as well for lucerne as it does for clover. It should receive a top-dressing of 

 some kind every year, but it is better to change each year. Guano mixed with plaster is 

 excellent; after three or four years a dressing of stable manure is desirable. A mulch of any 

 kind of straw, late in the fall, will add much to the luxuriance of the crop. It will pay well 

 to harrow it thoroughly in the spring; the deeper the harrow goes down the better, as there 

 is no danger of injury to the roots. After the first year the plants will not require any other 

 attention than vigorous harrowing and top-dressing in the spring. If this is done, it will 

 last from ten to fifteen years, and be cut from three to five times per year, according to the 

 quality of the soil. 



An acre of it will furnish sufficient food for three or four cows during the soiling season, 

 always, as before stated, taking care to cut it before it comes into bloom. Sheep should 

 never be allowed to graze on lucerne, as they gnaw it off below the crown, and thus speedily 

 kill it. 



There is no known plant that will yield as much nutriment from a given acre, as can be 

 furnished by lucerne. The seed is more easily threshed than that of clover, but the yield is 

 less abundant.&quot; 



Professor S. &quot;W. Johnson (in How Crops Grow) gives the following analysis of green 

 lucerne : 



Water, 



Organic matter, 

 Ash, . 



Albuminoids, 

 Carbohydrates, 

 Crude fiber, . 

 Fat, . 



He gives the composition of the hay of lucerne as follows, from Professor &quot;Wolff s analy 

 sis, in 100 parts: 



Water, 



Organic matter, 

 Ash, . 

 Albuminoids, 

 Carbohydrates, 

 Crude fiber, . 

 Fat, . 



