36 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



as the French, red French and nog millets, are all appa- 

 rently of the same species as the Japanese panicle millet, 

 viz., Panicum miliaceimiy and are all much inferior to the 

 Japanese in productive capacity, and inferior, I believe, 

 also, to Hungarian grass. 



Leguminoufi Fodder and (jfreen Manuring Crops. 



Most of the species and varieties, 26 in mmiber, coming 

 under this class, have been named, described and commented 

 upon in previous reports, and require no further mention at 

 this time. Of a few it is necessary to speak briefly. 



1. Flat Pea (^Lathyrus sylvestris). — Of all the crops 

 which have been urged upon the attention of the American 

 farming public in recent years, few have been so highly 

 praised as this. I am compelled to conclude, after three 

 years' trial, and in view also of the experience of others, 

 that it is not a cro}) which can prove valuable among us. 

 The princii)al })oints against it are the following : — 



(«) The seed germinates with extreme slowness and un- 

 certainty, making this a difficult and expensive crop to start. 

 It would hardly be })ossible to stock a field with it, except 

 by starting the plants in a bed and then transplanting to the 

 field. 



{h) The ])lants are not perfectly hardy under average 

 conditions. 



(c) The [)lants in growing sprawl over the ground in 

 such a manner as to make this a difficult cro]) to cut. 



(cZ) The forage is not relished by cattle. This state- 

 ment is based largely upon distinguished German authority.* 



In conclusion, I may state that this crop does not appear 

 to have made any important place for itself in the land of 

 its origin, Germany. 



2. ^^ Sweet Clover" {Melilotus alba). — Two plats in 

 Field B, each of one-tenth of an acre, were sown with this 

 clover, as it was thought possible that it might prove useful 

 for the silo or for green manuring. These plats are desig- 

 nated by numbers 10 and 11. Both received ground and 

 steamed bone meal at the rate of 600 pounds per acre ; 



* Dr. Max Maercker and Dr. Julius Kuelin. 



