146 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



animals ; it is suited for cultivation in cold climates and in the moun- 

 tains at high elevations. Lesquerella (Lesquerella gordoni). A 

 yellow-flowered crucifer which appears early in spring and is much 

 sought after by sheep on the Southwestern ranges. Lippia (Lippia 

 ligustrina) . A spiny shrub 3 to 10 feet high ; the leaves and twigs 

 are eaten by cattle; it grows on rocky slopes in Texas. Long or 

 Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides). An epiphyte belonging to 

 the pineapple family, abundant in Florida and the Gulf States; 

 cattle eat it greedily. In times of drought when there is a shortage 

 of other food it is stripped from the trees and fed ; besides being of 

 value for forage, the moss is useful for a variety of purposes, notably 

 as a fiber substitute for hair in stuffing mattresses and furniture. 

 Long-stalked Clover (Trifolium longipes). A native clover of the 

 northern Kocky Mountains; sheep and cattle are very fond of it. 

 Louisiana Vetch (Vicia ludoviciana) . A wild vetch occurring in 

 the South ; it is reported to have been successfully cultivated, showing 

 it to be a promising native vetch. Low-land Clover (Trifolium 

 microcephalum) . A wild species well liked by stock, common on 

 lowlands in southern California. Lupine (Lupinus laziflorus). A 

 common and important sheep forage in the Cascade Mountains of 

 Oregon. 



Madder (Rubia). The foliage of this prickly dye plant makes 

 forage of fair quality if cut the second season, before the plants 

 have commenced to blossom. Many-leafed Vetch (Lathyrus poly- 

 phyllus). A robust vetch, common on the sands along the coast 

 of Oregon ; the pods and coarse forage are eaten by cattle. Meadow 

 Rush (Scirpus atrovirens). A sedge with rather stout triangular 

 stems; widely distributed through the upper prairie and lake regions 

 in wet, boggy meadows. It is readily eaten by stock. Mesquite Bean 

 (Prosopis juliflora). There are two well-known varieties of the 

 email tree that produces this bean. The pods or beans are not only 

 eaten by all classes of stock, but the Mexicans and Indians use them 

 as a food. The pods are straight or curved. In one variety the bark 

 of tiie tree is much rougher than in the other, and the bean is bright 

 yellow when ripe and much sweeter to the taste, the color of the 

 other being reddish rather than yellow. The mesquite bean is a 

 thorny, leguminous shrub, growing in favored localities to a tree 

 from 20 to 40 feet high, with a trunk sometimes reaching 2^ feet 

 in diameter, but usually not more than 10 or 15 feet high. It is 

 widely distributed from Texas to southern California, through tropi- 

 cal America to Argentina. The leaves are very good browsing for 

 horses and cattle. It bears two or more crops of beans a year, which 

 are equal to barley for fattening horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs. 

 Metcalfe Bean (Phaseolus retusus). In the Southwest there is a 

 great variety of wild beans. They are scattered through every moun- 

 tain canyon, on wooded slopes, and through the little parks along 

 the streams. Formerly they were much more abundant, but are now 

 relegated to cliffs and canyon walls, or to dry valleys, far from 

 living water. Mexican Clover (Richardsonia scabra). An annual 

 which has been introduced into the Southern States and has now 



