Forage Plants at the South. 



meadows without the cost of hay making. 

 In the whole range of Southern agriculture 

 there is no crop on which manure pays as 

 well as on winter pastures. 



The annual weeds are no serious injury to 

 artificial meadows or pastures. The first year 

 their shade is rather valuable than otherwise ; 

 afterward most of them require the ground to 

 be stirred to induce vegetation. Mowing the 

 grass will destroy those which do vegetate by 

 preventing their going to seed. 



On the whole the drawbacks to successful 

 grass culture at the South are as few and as 

 easily removable as in any portion of Chris- 

 tendom. 



FORAGE PLANTS. 



By the term Forage Plants, is meant any 

 plant not a grain or grass which is cut and 

 cured for food for the domestic animals. A 

 great variety of these plants are cultivated in 

 different parts of Europe. Most of these are 

 not adapted to the climate of the South. 

 Among them are Chicory, Burnett or Pimper- 

 nel, Scabius, Spurry, Lupin,and Sainfoin. Very 

 careful experiments were made with each of 

 these plants. They were tried on upland and 

 lowland, with and without lime, with and with- 

 out manure The first seeds were obtained 

 from England. When they failed, seeds were 

 ordered direct from France and Italy. The 

 seeds " vegetated in each case, but the plants 

 were not found to be practically useful. Chi- 

 cory grows at the South with great vigor, but 

 it requires too much labor in cultivation. 

 The experiments with Sainfoin were varied 

 and persistent. It was abandoned with reluc- 

 tance. It is so valuable in England, and 

 especially in France, in a climate very much 

 like our own, that great results were hoped 

 from it. The Sainfoin grew, but never became 

 tall enough to mow. It is said to flourish in 

 Europe best in sandy, calcareous soils. Possibly 

 it may thrive in what are called rotten lime- 

 stone lands. It is well worthy of experiment in 

 these soils, as where it thrives well it is placed 

 at the head of forage plants. Its name, " sa- 

 cred grass," indicates the value which is 

 attached to it. 



It is proper to say that all of these experi- 

 ments were made in the blue limestone lands 

 of northwestern Georgia. In this section we 

 do not hesitate to say thfrt trials of all the 

 above-mentioned plants have been unsuccess- 

 ful In view of this failure it is unnecessary 

 to enter into a description of their cultivation 

 and use. 



LUCERNE. 



As a forage plant at the South, lucerne is 

 very far superior to all others. It is used for 

 two purposes. First, for feeding green or 

 soiling ; used in this way, it is best to cut the 

 lucerne a day in advance, so as to feed it in a 

 wilted state. It must never be pastured. Live 



stock pasturing it, bifce out the crowns of the 

 plants and kill them. When fed green, it may 

 be given to horses, cattle and hogs. Horses 

 fed upon it when not at work need no grain-^ 

 when at work one good feed of grain a day 

 is sufficient. Hogs will keep in good order 

 on green lucerne cut and thrown to them. 



Lucerne hay is extremely nutritious, and is 

 relished by horses, cattle and sheep. So far 

 as the observation of the writer extends, it is 

 preferred by the domestic animals to any other 

 kind of hay. 



The product of lucerne is enormous. Five 

 tons of excellent hay may be cut from one 

 acre of ground planted in lucerne- It is esti- 

 mated that fodder, green and dry, may be ob- 

 tained from an acre of lucerne for the support 

 of five horses during the entire year this 

 includes the great bulk of green food during 

 the spring, summer and autumn. 



In this latitude lucerne is not green during 

 0le months of December, January, and part of 

 February. In the low country it would prob- 

 ably be green all the year. In this section it 

 commences its growth during the latter part 

 of February, and gives its first cutting early 

 in April, even before the wild grass begins to 

 spring. It is ready to cut fully a month in 

 advance of red clover. The rapidity of its 

 growth is excelled only by asparagus. 



The root is perennial, lasting ten or fifteen, 

 or perhaps more years. These roots become 

 as large as small-sized carrots. Five acres of 

 lucerne on this farm were destroyed during 

 the war by being grazed by Sherman's horses 

 and cattle. After that, the ground was left 

 riddled with holes, giving it the appearance 

 of a locust year. The succeeding crop of corn 

 was very heavy. This might have been ex- 

 pected in view of the fact stated by Ville, 

 that lucerne absorbs more ammonia from the 

 atmosphere than any other plant whatsoever. 

 This is a point, however, of little practical 

 utility, as no one having a field of lucerne 

 would plough it up for any other crop. Great 

 care must be taken in saving lucerne hay. If 

 it is too much exposed to a hot sun, the leaves 

 crumble and fall off. The prevention is to 

 put the lucerne cut in the morning into small 

 cocks in the afternoon, open them for a little 

 while the next morning after the dew is off, 

 and haul immediately to the barn. These 

 cocks should be not more than six feet tall, 

 and as small round as can be made to 

 stand. The hay is cured as it were in the 

 shade, the wind or air circulating through 

 the cocks. 



Whenever lucerne turns yellow, it should 

 be mowed, no matter if it has not attained its 

 full height. The yellow color is an evidence 

 of disease, or the ravages of some small in- 

 sect. Lucerne should be cut as soon as it is 

 in blossom, after this the stems become hard 

 and woody. It does not reach perfection until 

 the third year. The yield is, however, heavy 



