250 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



and skim milk to pigs 100 Ibs. of apples equaled 9 to 15 Ibs. of concen- 

 trates. Wilson of the Arizona Station 30 reports satisfactory gains with 

 lambs fed ripe waste olives and alfalfa hay. 



386. Spurrey, Spergula sativa. On sandy land in northern Europe 

 spurrey, which requires a cool, moist, growing season, is used as a catch 

 crop for soilage and for green manure. The plant has proved of little 

 value in this country, not being adapted to our hot summers. 



387. Prickly comfrey, Symphytum asperrimum. This plant, occa- 

 sionally exploited by advertisers, is inferior to the standard forage 

 plants. 31 When carefully cultivated it gives fair returns of forage which 

 at first is not relished by cattle. 



388. Mexican clover, Richardsonia scabra. This annual, which is not 

 a legume, is abundant on sandy land in sections of Florida and along 

 the Gulf Coast, where it springs up spontaneously each summer after the 

 manner of crab grass. It furnishes pasturage and, tho rather succulent, 

 may be cured into hay. 



389. Purslane, Portulaca oleracea. The succulent weed of the garden, 

 purslane, can often be used to advantage with swine. Plumb of the 

 Indiana Station 32 fed brood sows 9 Ibs. of purslane each daily, along 

 with wheat shorts and hominy meal, and secured fair daily gains. 



390. Tree leaves and twigs; hydrolized sawdust. The small branches 

 and leaves of trees are regularly fed to farm animals in the mountain 

 regions of Europe where herbage is scarce, and in case of a shortage of 

 feed they have been extensively used elsewhere. Tree leaves are more 

 digestible than twigs, and the better kinds compare favorably with or- 

 dinary hay in feeding value. Leaves of the ash, birch, linden, and elder 

 are valued in the order given. They are eaten with relish, especially by 

 goats and sheep. These statements apply only to leaves gathered at the 

 right stage and cured like hay. Leaves which turn brown and drop from 

 the trees in autumn are worthless for feeding farm animals. Brush feed, 

 consisting of ground and crushed twigs, stems, and leaves, is used in 

 certain mixed feeds as an absorbent for molasses. (288) 



Recent experiments have shown that by heating sawdust with dilute 

 acid under pressure, a portion of the crude fiber is converted into more 

 soluble compounds, including sugars. This hydrolized sawdust has con- 

 siderable feeding value, at least for cattle. (627) 



III. PLANTS OP THE DESERT 



Sagebrush, saltbush, and greasewood flourish on the plains of western 

 America where alkali and common salt shut out many or even all of the 

 ordinary forage plants. 



391. Sagebrush and salt bush. Writing of the Red Desert of Wyo- 

 ming, Nelson 33 says: "The amount of sagebrush, Artemisia, spp., con- 

 sumed in the desert, is simply amazing Whole bands (of sheep) will 



^Ariz. Rpt. 19. 32 Ind. Bui. 82. 



31 Wis. Rpt. 1889. *U. S. Dept. Agr., Div. Agros., Bui. 13. 



