ESSENTIALS OF FORAGE 257 



Forage plants are also important as soil renovators, 

 adding large quantities of vegetable matter to the soil in the 

 form of decaying roots and stems. The perennial legumi- 

 nous plants penetrate to a great depth and loosen and aerate 

 the subsoil, as well as bring up plant food from greater depths 

 than annual crops. A part of this plant food remains near 

 the surface when the roots and stubble decay, or it is returned 

 to the land in the form of manure. In this and in other ways, 

 forage crops add to the fertility or improve the physical con- 

 dition of the soil. Such annual crops as fodder corn and 

 millet, however, draw rather heavily on the available supply 

 of plant food and leave little vegetable matter behind, while 

 they may injure the physical condition of the soil by reduc- 

 ing the moisture supply late in the season. The grasses and 

 clovers, particularly the more permanent kinds, serve as 

 cover crops to prevent the washing and erosion of the soil, 

 thus preventing loss of fertility. On hillsides, embankments, 

 and similar locations, they thus perform a very valuable 

 work. Certain kinds also add much to the beauty of the 

 landscape and to the home surroundings in the city as well 

 as in the country, by covering the earth with a carpet of 

 green during the summer season. 



329. Essentials of a Forage Crop. One of the most 

 important essentials of a forage crop is that it must be 

 nutritious; that is, it must contain a considerable quantity 

 of food for animals. Though the proportion of nutriment is 

 less than in the grains, forage crops add bulk to the ration of 

 ruminants, and aid in the digestion of more concentrated 

 feeds. A good forage crop must also be palatable; for, no 

 matter how nutritious it is, if it is not readily eaten by 

 animals, it is valueless for the purpose. Some plants have a 

 pecuUar and offensive odor, or the stems and leaves are 

 covered with hairs, or for some other reason animals do not 

 eat them readily, though they may possess every other req- 

 uisite of a good forage crop. Productiveness is likewise 



