MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 247 



companionship of many noxious weeds and since it 

 is an enricher of the soil, its merits are not to be 

 overlooked. 



The very best methods of growing it do not as 

 yet appear to have been wrought out, but it can be 

 grown by sowing the seed broadcast or in drills and 

 cultivating it. The former method will probably be 

 preferable when it is grown for pasture. Because of 

 the branching nature of its growth and of the 

 strength of the stems when not crowded, the seeds 

 should be sown thickly. And since they germinate 

 slowly when encircled by the outer covering they 

 should be sown in the fall rather than in the spring 

 where the winters are not too severe. This plant 

 should also be more easily harvested for fodder than 

 cowpeas. It is not probable that beggar's ticks will 

 render much service north of the Ohio river, but in 

 many sections of the south it is certainly well worthy 

 of most careful testing. 



AUSTRALIAN SALTBUSH. 



The Australian saltbush is of many species. 

 The most useful of these that have yet been 

 tried under American conditions is that known 

 as Atriplex semibaccata, introduced into Califor- 

 nia in 1888. This plant is a child of semi-arid 

 regions. It is possessed of peculiar power to 

 grow in soils strongly impregnated with alkali. It 

 furnishes both pasture and. hay which are more or 

 less relished by domestic animals. It has given 

 encouraging returns in certain areas of California 

 where the rainfall was less than five inches per 

 annum. And, since it is easily established under suit- 



