CLASSIFICATION OF ANGIOSPERMS. 577 



acre may run as high as 40 bushels. As a forage crop it yields 

 as high as 2 to 3 tons of cured hay per acre. The seeds contain 

 about 5 per cent, of starch and nearly 50 per cent, protein sub- 

 stances. The seeds are therefore very nutritive and are exten- 

 sively used in feeding of live stock. In Japan the seeds are 

 known as " Soy," being derived from the Japanese word " Shoyu," 

 in allusion to a preparation made from the seeds. In Europe it is 

 also used to a limited extent as a food. In this country it is used 

 to some extent as a food for persons suffering from diabetes. 



ALFALFA or Lucerne (Medicago sativa) is one of the most val- 

 uable forage plants known to man. It is a perennial herb with 

 obovate-oblong leaves, bluish purple flowers occurring in 

 racemes, and twisted pods. Alfalfa is extensively cultivated in 

 all parts of the United States. It is an exceptionally deep-rooted 

 leguminous plant and under the best conditions is long lived, 

 growing in the arid lands of the West as well as in the rich soils 

 of the East. In many essentials and in feeding for stock alfalfa 

 resembles the clover. The alfalfa is relatively somewhat richer in 

 digestible protein than the clover but considerably lower in fat. 



VEGETABLE BEZOARS are concretions formed in the stomachs 

 of ruminating animals. They consist of the hairs of crimson 

 clover and the awns of oats, barley arid other cereal grains. They 

 are spherical in shape, of a yellowish-brown color, with smooth, 

 even surfaces, of a firm texture, and saturated with intestinal 

 juices. The balls when dried shrink but little and vary from 10 to 

 12 cm. in diameter. Since the introduction into the United States 

 of crimson clover as a forage plant or green manure, there have 

 been numerous deaths reported among horses and other cattle 

 due to their eating crimson clover, which leads to the formation 

 of bezoars caused by the undigested hairs matting together. An 

 examination of these bezoars shows that the hairs of which they 

 are composed, lie with the broken or basal end toward the center 

 of the ball, the sharp summit being directed toward the surface. 



XVI. ORDER GERANIALES. 



This order includes a number of families of economic impor- 

 tance. The sepals are mostly distinct ; the stamens are few ; the 

 carpels are united, and the ovules are pendulous (epitropous). 

 37 



