SOME FORAGE PLANTS l8l 



hay. Sorghum endures drought better than most annual 

 grasses. It greatly exhausts the soil and hence should 

 generally be followed by a legume. 



Kafir. This plant, also called kafir corn, is a kind of 

 sorghum without sweet juice. It is used in Oklahoma and 

 Texas, both as a grain crop and for forage. It endures 

 drought better than corn, and hence in dry climates it 

 largely takes the place of corn. 



Kafir for grain is planted in rows wide enough to permit 

 cultivation. The plants are usually harvested by machinery 

 and cured in shocks. 



EXERCISE. Write in your notebook a list of names of all varieties 

 of cowpeas (southern " field pea ") grown near your home. Write a 

 description of the seed of varieties of cowpeas that you know or that 

 you can examine. If you can find specimens of any of the plants men- 

 tioned in this section, carry them to the teacher. Would you like to 

 make an acre of land rich by sowing on it inoculated crimson clover 

 seed ? 



NOTE TO THE TEACHER. Most experiment stations, as well as 

 the U. S. Department of Agriculture, have published bulletins on some 

 of these forage plants, and these bulletins are generally sent free to 

 applicants. If you succeed in interesting your pupils in these soil- 

 improving plants, you may be the means of greatly increasing the pros- 

 perity of the community. 



