214 THE FORAGE AND FIBER CROPS IN AMERICA 



IX. SAINFOIN 



251. SAINFOIN or esparsette (OnobrycJiis sativa Link.) is an erect, leafy 

 perennial one to two feet high, bearing from the axils of the leaves clusters 

 of many bright rose-red flowers in spike-like racemes on long flower stalks. 

 Its roots are said to penetrate two to three times as deeply as alfalfa 

 roots. (130) There are six to twelve pairs of lateral leaflets with an odd 

 terminal one, imparipinnate. The one-seeded, compressed, reddish-brown pods, 

 about one-fourth inch in the longest diameter, do not open readily. The 

 upper margin of the pod is straight and thick; the lower thin and curved with 

 sharp teeth. The seeds are kidney-shaped with the radicle one-third the length 

 of the seed. There are about 22,500 seeds to the pound. The power of 

 germination, which they lose after one year, is generally rather low. 



In Europe it has been possible, by the cultivation of sainfoin, "to utilize 

 large tracts of land which formerly were almost valueless. It is the most 

 important fodder plant for dry and barren calcareous hills. It withstands 

 extreme drought, thrives without manure, and is of long duration. It is 

 not rare to see fields of sainfoin 20 years old which, even now, are doing 

 well." x While it thrives in the older parts of Germany, it is suited to tem- 

 perate rather than to cold climates. Young plants are liable to be killed in 

 the winter if not protected. Old sainfoin is little affected by the winter, but 

 wet and cold summers diminish the yield and kill some of the plants. It has 

 been widely tested by the stations of the United States without as yet having 

 been found to have any adaptation to American conditions. Where it can be 

 grown it has the same place in the agricultural economy as alfalfa, which it 

 resembles in methods of culture and harvesting. The seed is usually sown 

 in the pods, Stebler recommending 78 pounds per acre or half this amount 

 if hulled seed. It is usually sown without a nurse crop, and is rarely mixed 

 with grasses or other legumes. 



X. KIDNEY VETCH 



252. KIDNEY VETCH (Anthyllis vulneraria L.) is a perennial, having erect 

 or spreading stems 8 to 16 inches long with comparatively little foliage. The 

 yellow flowers are borne in rather large clusters. The side leaflets consist of 

 one or more pairs or may, on the basal leaves, be entirely absent, while the 

 odd and terminal leaflet is much larger. The one-seeded pod is about one- 

 fourth inch long and is enclosed in the persistent calyx, which acts as a seed 

 distributer. The seeds are somewhat oval, not unlike black medic in form, 

 but larger and mottled with yellow and green. There are about 150,000 seeds 

 to the pound. 



This plant was brought into cultivation in northern Germany about the 

 middle of the last century on sandy or calcareous soils too light to grow red 

 clover. It is but little affected by drought or by cold. It may, therefore, be 

 sown in the fall with rye at the rate of 15 to 20 pounds of seed per acre. 



1 Stebler and Schroter: The Best Fcrafe Hants, p. 95. 



