CHAPTER IX 



LEGUMES 



Description of legumes. 

 Uses of legumes. 

 Legumes for forage. 



Red clover, alsike clover, crimson clover, white clover, alfalfa, 



bur clovers, cowpeas, soybeans, field peas, vetches, Japan 



clover, peanuts. 



WHEN studying soils we learned the great value of legumes 

 for soil improvement by reason of the nitrogen that is converted 

 into an available form by the bacteria on the roots. As hay 

 and pasture plants, also, the legumes rank high and when grown 

 with grasses, especially in pastures, the mixture makes a feed 

 much relished by live-stock, and the food value is high. Many 

 of the leguminous crops yield important human food, as lentils 

 and the different kinds of beans and peas. The value of leg- 

 umes both from the soil-improvement and the crop-producing 

 standpoint is indeed very high and farmers could ill afford to 

 do without them. The role of the legumes in nitrogen-gather- 

 ing is one of the most fascinating of modern contributions to 

 agriculture. 



105. Description. The legumes, or pulse plants, are among 

 the most useful of the cultivated plants. There are some 

 ten thousand species, varying in size from small herbs to large 

 trees. Those of most importance to the farmer are herbaceous 

 plants that belong to the Papilionacese, or pea, sub-family. 

 This name was given because of the resemblance of the flowers 

 to a butterfly, the Latin name of the butterfly being papilio. 



The flowers are arranged differently in the various species. 

 They may be single as in the cowpea, distributed along the 



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