146 FORAGE CROPS. 



The rape plant has been grown for forage in 

 Great Britain and some other countries of Europe for 

 about 200 years. It is also probable that for many 

 years it has been grown for a similar use in limited 

 areas of the United States, but not to any great 

 extent until quite recently. Its superlative value as a 

 fodder plant for sheep is even now not known to one 

 among a thousand of our farmers. The isolated 

 few who grew it did so mainly as an aid in 

 preparing their sheep for competing at the live 

 stock fairs. Many of them did so in a sort of 

 secretive way. So long as their competitors did 

 not know its value, the growers of rape felt 

 that in the show rings they would have an advan- 

 tage over their rivals who were ignorant of the 

 virtues of the plant. 



In Wellington and two or three of the other 

 counties of Ontario, rape has been grown in con- 

 siderable quantities for nearly a quarter of a cen- 

 tury, if not indeed for a longer period, but except 

 in these counties rape does not seem to have been 

 grown elsewhere in Canada prior to the experiments 

 conducted with it by the author at the Ontario gov- 

 ernment farm at Guelph. These experiments began 

 in 1889. The first bulletin based upon them 

 appeared in 1890. At that time it was affirmed by 

 leading seedsmen who were in a position to know 

 that there were not 500 pounds of rape seed sold per 

 annum to provide sheep pasture in all the United 

 States. The same authorities have expressed the 

 opinion that in 1897 not ^ ess tnan 500,000 pounds of 

 rape seed were sold by the seedsmen of the 

 same, that is to say, enough to sow 125,000 to 

 150,000 acres. It would now be hazardous to 



