CONTENTS 



PAGE 



CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . 1 



Definitions. Knowledge of Forage Crops Compared with 

 Other Crops. Forage Crops and Civilization. Forage 

 Crops in Europe and America. Perennial Hay Plants 

 in Europe and America. Botany of Forage Crops. Ag- 

 gressiveness Necessary in Perennial Forage Crops. Char- 

 acteristics of Grasses. Legumes. Root Nodules. The 

 Nodule Organism. Forms of Root Nodules. Natural 

 Inoculation. Artificial Inoculation. Dependence of Leg- 

 umes on Root Nodules. 



CHAPTER II. PRESERVATION OF FORAGE. .... 21 



Preservation of Forage. Time of Cutting. Haymaking 

 in Dry Weather. Curing of Hay. Haymaking under 

 Humid Conditions. Special Devices to Facilitate Hay 

 Curing. Completion of Curing. Shrinkage of Stored 

 Hay. Loss of Hay or Fodder in the Field. Relation of 

 Green Weight to Dry Weight. Loss of Substance from 

 Growing Plants. Hay Stacks. Spontaneous Combustion. 

 Statistics of Hay Yields. Brown Hay. Silage. The 

 Nature of Silage Fermentation. Advantages of Silage. 

 Crops Adapted to Ensiling. Soiling or Soilage. Soiling 

 Systems. 



CHAPTER III. CHOICE OF FORAGE CROPS . . . . 47 



What Determines the Choice of a Forage Crop. Special 

 Purposes for which Forage Crops are Grown. Adaptation 

 to Conditions. Yield. Yields under Irrigation. -Cost of 

 Seeding. Time of Harvesting. Ease of Harvesting and 

 Curing. Demands or Prejudices of the User. Feeding 

 Values. Feeding Experiments. Chemical Analyses. 

 Chemical Composition as Affected by Soil Fertility and by 

 Fertilizers. Chemical Composition as Affected by Stage of 

 Maturity. Variation in Chemical Composition from Un- 

 ascertained Causes. Digestible Nutrients. Net Energy 

 Values, r Starch Values. Comparison of Feeding Values, 

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