156 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



It will withstand slight frosts, but is killed if the roots are frozen. 

 It has been introduced into this country for trial in Florida and the 

 Gulf States. The practice is to sow the seeds in September or October, 

 on land that has been deeply plowed and thoroughly pulverized, 

 either alone or with winter oats or wheat. After the latter has been 

 taken off the field, a crop of sulla 4 to 6 feet high springs up and is 

 ready to cut from the latter part of May to July. In feeding value 

 it compares very favorably with alfalfa, and is better adapted to 

 tropical or subtropical climates, provided seed is sown on well-drained 

 and well-prepared land. If the seed bed is only given a shallow cul- 

 tivation in preparation for sowing, it will require a full year before 

 one crop can be taken from the land. The same precautions are 

 necessary in using sulla as a soiling crop as with clover and alfalfa, 

 to prevent loss of cattle through bloating. Sulla has not proved so 

 successful as alfalfa in the South. Sulphur Vetch (Lathyrus sul- 

 phureus) A perennial vetch much resembling the flat pea, but 

 more leafy; rather common east of the mountains in Washington 

 and Oregon. A very useful species; the forage is eaten by cattle. 

 Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) The sunflower is a well-known 

 annual weed, which has become widely spread throughout the United 

 States; its leaves and heads make good green fodder for cattle and 

 horses, and its oily seeds, which are produced at the rate of from 20 

 to 50 bushels to the acre, furnish an oil cake which is a valuable 

 stable food. Swamp Horn Clover (Lotus uliginosus} This is a 

 slender, branching clover with heads of rather large, yellow flowers 

 and slender, elongated pods. It is now cultivated in Wisconsin and 

 Minnesota on sour, peaty, or muck soils. Sweet Clover (Melilotus 

 alba) This is a weedy biennial, concerning which extravagant 

 claims have been made. It is chiefly valuable in the Southern States 

 for early pasturage and for green manure. The long taproots de- 

 scend deeply into the soil, and when the crop is turned under, a very 

 large amount of available plant food is left for the benefit of suc- 

 ceeding crops. Because of its strong odor, stock will not eat it until 

 they have acquired the taste, but if they are turned into a field of 

 sweet clover in early spring, before the other clovers have com- 

 menced to come up, they will quickly learn to eat it. The seed should 

 be sown alone in August, or in February, at the rate of half a bushel 

 to the acre. If sown in spring, a crop may be cut in autumn, and 

 two or three crops the second season. It ought never be allowed to 

 go to seed. Sweet clover is a good green manuring crop to use in 

 bringing up the value of old fields and barren or washed surfaces 

 where a large bulk of nitrogenous organic matter is desired. Sweet 

 Potato (Convolvulus edulis). The fleshy roots are used in many 

 parts of the Southern States as feed for cattle, and the vines are 

 cured on racks like cowpeas and used for hay. 



Tallow Weed (Actinella linearifolia) An annual or biennial 

 wild tansy, occuring in the southern prairie region from central 

 Texas to New Mexico. Valuable for early spring grazing on the 

 ranges. The basal rosette of strap-shaped leaves appears long before 

 the native grasses commence to grow. The bright yellow flowers 



