24<^ FORAGE CROPS. 



greater if they have previously been accustomed to 

 dry pasture only. It is ready for being grazed off 

 when the plants are forming flower buds. And it 

 should be eaten down quickly because of the short- 

 ness of the period which it requires to mature. 



THE LUPINE. 



There are many species of the lupine genus. It 

 belongs to the Pulse or Leguminosac family. Sev- 

 eral species were known to the ancients and culti- 

 vated by them as food for man and beast. In the 

 United States the species are numerous, and they 

 are found chiefly west of the Rocky mountains. 

 Their agricultural value does not appear as yet to 

 have been determined. In the eastern states there 

 are several species, with flowers ranging from blue 

 to white in color, and some of these are cultivated 

 in gardens. 



Of the sorts now grown in Europe, the 

 white lupine (Lupinus albus) is by far the most val- 

 uable. It is still extensively cultivated in Italy, 

 Sicily, and other Mediterranean countries for forage, 

 for plowing in to enrich the land and for its round, 

 flat seeds, which form an article of food. The cul- 

 tivation of the lupine in Portugal has proved a great 

 national blessing, and has regenerated large tracts 

 of wornout land. In Germany and other countries 

 of western Europe, great use is made of this plant in 

 bringing fertility to poor, sandy lands too poor to 

 grow other food crops profitably, until so renewed. 



The white lupine is an annual. It derives its 

 name from htptis, a wolf, in allusion to its voracious 

 qualities, that is to say, to the greedy way in which 



