4 FORAGE CROPS. 



But little attention has been given to the grow- 

 ing of this class of forage crops in the past, and for 

 manifest reasons. The history of our agriculture has 

 been largely one of occupancy. Men have taken pos- 

 session of the soil and tilled it after the most primi- 

 tive fashion. Such, at least, has been its history in 

 all the west. While it is true that some progress has 

 been made in intensive cultivation in the east, such 

 farming has been greatly hampered by the tide of 

 agricultural products which has flowed eastward in 

 great volume from the cheap and fertile lands of the 

 Mississippi basin. On every hand, however, there 

 are indications of change. The unoccupied tillable 

 domain is only a fraction of what it was. And this 

 means that the great grazing lands of the tillable 

 prairies are only a fraction of what they once were. 

 There is no further west. Populations are increasing 

 at a very rapid rate, and, therefore, a more intensive 

 cultivation will soon become a necessity in all parts 

 of the continent. And with the increase of intensive 

 cultivation, as surely as the sun goes down in the 

 evening, increased attention will be given to the 

 growing of these forage crops, some of the reasons 

 for which will be stated below. 



Why Forage Crops Should be Grown. Forage 

 crops, other than grasses and clovers, should be 

 grown because of the many benefits which they bring 

 to those who grow them. Chief among these are the 

 following : First, they may be made to supplement 

 pasture crops that are more permanent, that is to say, 

 perennial in character, when the area of these is insuf- 

 ficient, or when from any cause or causes they may fail 

 to produce plentifully. Second, many of them may be 

 grown as catch crops where other crops have failed 



