192 FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



is cheaper and the vines grow less tangled. The vetches yield from 

 1.5 to 2.5 tons or more of hay per acre and furnish excellent pasturage 

 for cattle, sheep, and swine. 



Lespedeza. — Japan clover, commonly called lespedeza in the South, 

 is a summer annual which has now spread over most of the territory 

 from central New Jersey westward to central Kansas and south to the 

 Gulf. Here, even on the poorest soils, it appears spontaneously in 

 mixed pastures, and unless closely grazed reseeds freely. On the 

 poorer lands of the cotton belt lespedeza is perhaps the most valuable 

 pasture plant, adding nitrogen to the soil, binding it together, pre- 

 venting washing, and furnishing pasturage well-liked by all stock. 

 This legume has not been known to cause bloat. Only on rich soil 

 does it grow tall enough for hay. 



Velvet beans. — The tropical velvet bean flourishes south of a line 

 drawn from Savannah, Georgia, to Austin, Texas. The vines, which 

 run on the ground from 15 to 75 feet, are difficult to cure into hay, 

 and are mostly used for grazing. As high as 30 bushels of shelled 

 beans per acre have been secured. The beans are commonly fed in 

 the pod, 1.5 tons of pod beans being worth as much as 1 ton of cot- 

 tonseed meal for dairy cows. When fed exclusively, velvet beans 

 produce poor quality pork. 



Beggar weed. — This annual legume, which has rather woody stalks 

 3 to 10 feet high bearing abundant leafage, is used for green forage 

 and hay production in the sub-tropical regions of our country. Cut 

 at the beginning of bloom, when 3 to 4 feet high, it yields from 2.25 

 to 4 tons of excellent hay per acre. 



QUESTIONS 



1. What are the advantages of leguminous roughages? 



2. Compare alfalfa hay with timothy hay and discuss its importance for 

 stock feeding. 



3. How would you use alfalfa for pasture? 



4. Discuss the use of alfalfa for soilage; for silage. 



5. What is the value of alfalfa meal? 



6. Summarize the advantages of red clover in farming and stock feeding. 



7. Treat briefly of the value of the other clovers — mammoth, alsike, white, 

 sweet, crimson, and bur. 



8. How are field peas used as a forage plant? 



9. Discuss the value and uses of cowpeas, soybeans, vetch, lespedeza, and velvet 

 beans. 



