^4^ FORAGE CROPS. 



also measurably true of portions of the Gulf states, 

 and lupines may also have a mission in renovating 

 worn soils in the same areas. The agricultural 

 experiment stations can soon determine this question. 



SACALINE. 



Sacaline (Polygonum Sachalinense) has been 

 given more attention by experimenters in our agri- 

 cultural colleges than many other plants more 

 deserving of investigation. In field experiments at 

 the experiment stations, the claims of some plants 

 for investigation would seem to come at high tide, 

 while the claims of some other plants rich in promise 

 have been but little heeded. The experiments thus 

 made with sacaline, however, have been valuable in 

 determining so quickly the comparative worthless- 

 ness of sacaline as a forage plant or as a fodder 

 plant in the United States. In this finding the 

 reports are practically unanimous. 



Only two or three years ago certain of the seeds- 

 men were extravagant in their recommendations of 

 sacaline. They claimed that it was a most vigorous 

 grower, that it would flourish in almost any kind of 

 soil, wet or dry, loamy or tenacious, light or heavy, 

 rich or poor ; that it would furnish several cuttings 

 a year; that it was highly nutritious, and that live 

 stock were fond of it. No one of these claims has 

 been verified in any considerable degree by the 

 reports that have been published regarding it by the 

 various experiment stations on this continent. At 

 the Minnesota University experiment station, the 

 growth made in any one season has been inconsider- 

 able. The plants soon became woody, and the live 

 stock could not be induced to eat it. 



