FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



value. Concentrates include grains, or products thereof, oil 

 meal, and for hogs tankage and similar products. Rough- 

 age includes hay, fodder, straw, silage, roots, pasturage. 



Roughages have been considered to be made up of 

 two or three general classes. Very commonly two such 

 classes are recognized, one composed of the grass hays, 

 roots, silage and stover, which are low in protein; the 

 other composed of the legumes and also grass in the form 

 of pasturage and rowen, which differ in having a higher 

 protein content. 



Another classification recognizes three groups ; namely, 

 1. legumes; 2. mixed legumes and grasses; 3. grasses 

 (including corn). Perhaps a fourth group should be 

 added ; namely, the straws, which, however, are very 

 variable in value. 



A meadow on a farm is a field planted to grasses or 

 legumes or both for hay. Commonly the term implies 

 perennial meadows, but the phrase " annual meadows " 

 is occasionally used. In northern regions the word 

 meadow is also used for natural grass areas, especially if wet. 



The second growth of most grasses, especially those 

 which bloom but once a season is called aftermath or rowen. 



Grass. Besides its use in a purely botanical sense, 

 the word grass is often used in agriculture to mean any 

 plant growing for hay or pasture. The crop in a rotation 

 is thus called grass even if it be clover or alfalfa. 



A pasture is a field in which animals graze on herba- 

 ceous plants. Any crop thus utilized is spoken of as 

 a pasture crop. Permanent pastures are such as can be 

 grazed upon for several years and contain perennial plants 

 or a succession of annuals, or both. 



Browsing is sometimes used as synonymous with graz- 

 ing, but usually the word browse is restricted to shrubs 

 of which animals eat the leaves or twigs. 



