GORSE IN PASTURES 333 



English ryegrass, 1.6; tall oatgrass, 1.6; Hungarian mil- 

 let, .32 ; German millet, .8 ; hairy vetch, .8 ; spring vetch, 

 .24, and alfalfa, 800. 



What Might Be Introduced into Pastures. In Nor- 

 mandy and parts of southwestern England apple trees 

 are grown in pastures, not so much for the purpose of 

 feeding the animals as for making cider. Still, I have 

 often thought that if sweet apples were grown in pas- 

 tures there would be good profit resulting, and the idea 

 is worth thought in regions where apples grow easily. 

 Persimmons grow spontaneously in all the region south 

 of the 4Oth parallel, and their fruit is relished by pigs 

 and sheep, so in clearing pastures in the South I have 

 directed that persimmon trees be spared, but thinned 

 somewhat. Mention has been made of the black locust 

 tree, the leaves of which seem to enrich poor soils and 

 make bluegrass come. The best grass on many a hill- 

 side in Kentucky and the . Virginias is in the groves of 

 locust trees. I am acquainted with no other tree which 

 has so much helpfulness. Most trees are "poison" to 

 atmospheric nitrogen; they are giant clovers. I should, 

 if I lived in a climate as mild as that of Virginia or 

 Kentucky, introduce the furze or gorse plant, and get 

 it growing on my poorest hillsides, as it does so freely 

 on poor hillsides in Europe. Gorse is a leguminous, spiny 

 shrub, with tender, nourishing young stems in the spring 

 and during the growing season. It affords much brows- 

 ing for cattle and sheep, enriches land somewhat and 

 beautifies a landscape when blooming in spring. In 

 Scotland there is a saying that "when the gorse is out 

 of blossom, then love is out of fashion," but in Scotland 



