164 



ARID AGRICULTURE. 



KOHLRABI 



GRASS FOB 



PASTURE 



twelve to twenty-four hours after they are first 

 fresh, but in a day or two they develop most un- 

 pleasant odors and flavors where rape is pas- 

 tured. Rape is an annual plant, so it is neces- 

 sary to sow it each year. Stock will sometimes 

 eat too much of it if turned into a field when 

 hungry, and in such case it causes bloat. Sow 

 rape any time up to the first of July. No doubt 

 the fattening qualities of rape have been exag- 

 gerated, but as pasture or a forage to be used in 

 connection with other feeds, it will give good re- 

 turns for the cost of raising. 



As yet Kohlrabi is little known in the West, 

 but it is a crop which will be valuable for stock 

 forage. It is usually grown in gardens and used 

 as a table vegetable. Kohlrabi is one of the 

 more drouth-resistant plants of the cabbage 

 family, which produces thickened stems above 

 the ground. The thickened stem and leaves are 

 valuable stock feed. It grows with comparative- 

 ly little moisture, and may be either harvested 

 and fed to stock for soiling or pastured in the 

 fall. The seed should be planted the same as 

 turnips, preferably in drills, and may be planted 

 in the early spring in the open ground or the 

 plants raised in boxes and transplanted. 



In the farming sections of the West, where 

 alfalfa is largely grown, there is increasing in- 

 terest in grass pastures for cattle and sheep, 



