MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 23! 



Fresh shoots are sent up every year however, to take 

 the place of the old ones. The most extravagant 

 statements have been made by certain American 

 seedsmen regarding the great value of this plant for 

 forage. They represented it as possessed of special 

 adaptation for semi-arid climates, as being capable 

 of producing several cuttings of foliage every year, 

 aggregating enormous yields, and as being able thus 

 to produce for an indefinite period. 



Sacaline has been tested however by nearly all 

 the experiment stations in this country and they are 

 almost a unit in the verdict that it has no important 

 mission to fill on this continent. It does not grow 

 nearly so rapidly as was represented, and the stems 

 become so woody at an early period of their growth 

 that they cannot be eaten by live stock. In no trial 

 made by the Author at the Minnesota Experiment 

 station did the animals show any fondness for even 

 the leaves of this plant. It is propagated chiefly by 

 root cuttings. It is recommended to plant these 

 in rows far enough apart to admit of cultivating the 

 plants. But the agricultural value of sacaline would 

 seem to be so low that to describe further the 

 methods of growing it would be only a waste of 

 space. 



