568 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



683. Goat's rue (Galega officinalis) is native from south- 

 east Europe to Persia, and came into agricultural use in 

 Germany in the latter part of the eighteenth century. 

 It seems never to have been much grown, and is not now 

 important except in special localities. Goat's rue has 

 succeeded well in small trials at many places in the United 

 States, but has never come into agricultural use. 



The plant is a deep-rooted perennial with abundant 

 stout stems three to four feet high, each terminated by a 

 raceme of pale violet flowers, but white-flowered and rose- 

 flowered varieties occur. The leaves are numerous and 

 pinnately compound. 



Two cuttings are obtained under favorable conditions 

 in Europe, and this has also been the experience at Arling- 

 ton Farm, Virginia. The plant is too coarse to make good 

 hay, and so is used mainly for soiling. In good soil, the 

 yield of green substance is said to equal that of alfalfa. 

 It is usually sown in spring, and is best grown in cultivated 

 rows, never in mixtures. The seeds are rather large, one 

 pound containing 62,000, and 22 pounds an acre is the 

 rate of seeding. The Utah Experiment Station records 

 yields of 4490 pounds of hay to the acre. 



One instance in France is recorded where 54 sheep died 

 and 84 were badly affected from eating goat's rue. In 

 further tests it was found that 7 pounds of the plant would 

 kill a sheep. 



684. Bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) is native 

 to much of temperate Europe and Asia. It is a low- 

 growing perennial with a stout root and bearing numerous 

 slender, ascending or spreading branches 6 to 18 inches 

 long. The leaves bear five small leaflets. The bright 

 yellow, showy flowers are in umbels of 2 to 6. 



In northern Europe bird's-foot trefoil is considered 



