570 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



2J feet high. The commercial seed is not high priced, but 

 much of it is " hard " and does not germinate. The crop 

 is worthy of further investigation in connection with dry 

 farming. 



686. Furze ( Ulex europceus). Furze or gorse is a 

 spiny leguminous shrub native to northern Europe. 

 The leaves are very small, and with the twigs are evergreen. 

 The handsome yellow blossoms are much ike those of the 

 Scotch broom. 



Furze has never been cultivated for forage in America, 

 but it has become established in places along the New 

 England coast, and on the Pacific coast in Washington 

 and British Columbia. Its adaptation to these regions 

 may in time lead to its utilization for forage. 



In Europe it is planted more or less on sandy or rocky 

 land, and the crops either cut and fed green in winter, or 

 browsed with sheep and cattle. Where cultivated it is cut 

 every year, as the year-old branches become quite woody. 



