PRODUCTION OF FORAGE 



273 



ing crops, though they may occasionally be utilized as 

 temporary pastures. They include the millets and sor- 

 ghums, and also the cereals that are sown for hay production 

 in some sections of the United States. The leguminous for- 

 age plants may also be divided into perennials and annuals, 

 the former class including such plants as alfalfa and the 

 clovers 1 , and the latter the cowpea, soy bean, field pea, and 

 vetch. A few miscellaneous forage crops, usually used for 

 soiling or pasture purposes, are included in the mustard 

 family, the Crucifereae. These are rape, kale, cabbage, 

 and kohl-rabi. Other plants are occasionally used as forage 

 crops, but they are comparatively unimportant. 



341. Forage Production in the United States. The more 

 important kinds of forage are indicated in Table XV, which 

 shows the acreage, production, and value of the different 

 classes of forage produced in the United States in 1909. 

 This table shows that the most important class of forage is 

 mixed timothy and clover hay. Next to this in acreage 

 and production ranks the class known as wild, salt, and 



Table XIV. Total acreage, production, and value of hay and other 

 forage in the United States, Census of 1910. 



!Red clover is ordinarily a biennial. 



