138 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



flated, from one-half to three-fourths of an inch long. Each pod 

 contains one, or very rarely two, large seeds, which are wrinkled and 

 bear a fanciful resemblance to a ram's horn, whence the Latin name 

 arietinum. It is a valuable addition to the list of forage plants suit- 

 able to semiarid regions. 



Comfrey (Symphytum asperrimum). A coarse, rank-growing 

 perennial herb, with purple flowers in nodding one-sided clusters, 

 and large, rough leaves, widely introduced and recommended as a 

 forage plant for rich soils. It has been claimed that an enormous 

 quantity of forage may be cut from an acre, but after extended trials 

 it is considered of less value than the clovers, and is now rarely grown. 

 It is propagated from the roots, which are set in rows 18 inches apart, 

 and 16 inches in the rows. Its cultivation is not recommended, ex- 

 cept when it is desired to procure an enormous bulk of forage from 

 a small amount of very rich land. Prickly comfrey has proved a 

 success only in New York, Michigan, and Florida, in the latter State 

 having been recommended as a good forage plant for waste, swampy 

 lands. Cinquefoil or Five-finger (Potentilla) . There are a number 

 of species native to the prairie regions which contribute some value to 

 the native pastures ; they belong to the Rose family and are closely 

 related to the strawberry, which they resemble in foliage and habit 

 of growth. Creeping Bush Clover (Lespedeza procumbens) . A slen- 

 der prostrate plant, in dry, sandy soils throughout the Eastern United 

 States, of value as a pasture plant. Creeping Kidney Bean (Phaseo- 

 lus diver si jolius) . An annual, with prostrate, spreading leafy stems, 

 common on the prairies and cedar glades of the Southern States. 

 The foliage is eaten by cattle and sheep. 



Dakota Vetch (Lotus americanus). The Dakota Vetch grows 

 throughout the northern prairie region from Kansas to Montana, 

 and is abundant on the Pacific Coast. Ranchmen in the Upper 

 Missouri Valley consider the Dakota Vetch one of the best forage 

 plants on the range. Where it is abundant, cattle are sure to get fat. 

 It has been cultivated to some extent on plowed lands. Analyses of 

 South Dakota grown hay, consisting entirely of this vetch, gave 17.6 

 pounds of crude protein in each hundredweight of hay. The per 

 cent digestible has not been determined, but it is undoubtedly high, 

 as cattle become "seal fat" where Dakota Vetch is abundant. The 

 Dakota Vetch seeds freely in good seasons. In times of drought or 

 shortage stock eat it down closely and prevent its ripening seed. 

 Hence, the stand on the open range varies greatly, depending on the 

 abundance or scarcity of other feed. Dandelion (Taraxacum dens- 

 leonis). A widely distributed weed; its leaves furnish a scant, but 

 nutritious, early forage for sheep and the seed is therefore sometimes 

 used in pasture mixtures. Deerwood (Lotus glaber) . This bush or 

 weedy herb is a native of the mesas, mountains, and desert of south- 

 ern California; it grows on the driest and most sterile soils, and is an 

 excellent forage plant. Dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum). This 

 grows in the humid prairie region ; although this is supposed to be 

 poisonous, dogbane is eaten by cattle both in pasture and when it 

 occurs in prairie hay. Dwarf Broom-weed (Guteirrezia microce- 



