MISCELLANEOUS PERENNIAL LEGUMES 569 



a valuable constituent in pasture lands, and is sometimes 

 sown in hay mixtures, but it is too small to be of much 

 value for such purpose. 



Bird's-foot trefoil has succeeded well enough in trials 

 in nearly all the humid portions of the United States, 

 except the extreme south, but its growth is too small to 

 warrant its cultivation, and it has not shown any aggres- 

 siveness in becoming established. It is nowhere really 

 naturalized in North America. 



The seed weighs 60 pounds to the bushel and 11 pounds 

 to the acre is seeded, if sown alone. It is expensive to har- 

 vest, and this has perhaps prevented the greater use of the 

 plant. 



Two varieties of Lotus corniculatus are also utilized 

 agriculturally and sold by seedsmen ; namely, var. tenui- 

 folius with narrow leaves, and var. villosus with pubescent 

 foliage. Another species, Lotus uliginosus, is also offered 

 by seedsmen, and not infrequently under the name vil- 

 losus, according to Stebler. 



685. Astragalus falcatus is native to the Caucasus region 

 and utilized to a small extent in Europe for forage, espe- 

 cially in Russia and France. It is a deep-rooted, long- 

 lived perennial ; leaves pinnate with 15 to 20 pairs of 

 leaflets ; flowers yellowish in a spike-like panicle. This 

 species is very hardy and probably will withstand as 

 severe conditions as alfalfa. In France it is said not to 

 be able to compete with alfalfa on good soil, but to be val- 

 uable on poor, dry lands. It begins its growth very early 

 in spring, and in France may be cut three times. It is 

 mostly fed green, and animals eat it readily. 



This astragalus has grown well at Arlington Farm, Vir- 

 ginia ; Pullman, Washington ; and Akron, Colorado. Well- 

 grown plants become a foot or more in diameter and 2 to 



