LEGUMES AND OTHER FORAGE PLANTS 319 



These ferns reach a height of 6 to 20 feet or more, rarely 50 

 feet, and a trunk diameter of 6 to 12 inches. These immense 

 trunks are filled with a soft starchy pulp. An analysis of 

 the common tree fern of Hawaii (Cibotium chamissoi) shows 

 that the trunk contains 69.38 per cent, moisture, 1.12 per cent, 

 protein, 4.23 per cent, sugar, and 20.9 per cent, starch. 



In the region about the volcano Kilauea large forests of 

 these tree ferns occur and in this region a rather novel use 

 has been made of the trunks, particularly in feeding pigs. It 

 was well known that the trunks were not particularly palatable 

 in an uncooked condition. Large cooking vats were con- 

 structed and put in use for preparing this material as a hog 

 feed. For a distance of 3 or 4 miles about the living crater 

 of the volcano there are numerous cracks from which live 

 steam issues constantly. It was soon found that by preparing 

 a grill and placing it across one of these cracks the immense 

 fern trunks could be placed upon the grill and allowed to 

 remain until they were thoroughly cooked in live steam. The 

 value of fern roots as a pig feed is well understood in Oregon 

 and Washington, where pigs are pastured on the large areas 

 of cut-over lands in which the bracken fern grows profusely. 



In all sugar-cane districts, cane tops or cane trash are an 

 important source of forage. When the sticks of cane are cut 

 and cleaned for the mill, the leaves and tips of the stems are 

 cut off. This material contains 74.47 per cent, of water, 1.54 

 per cent, of protein, 0.42 per cent, of fat, 14.71 per cent, of 

 nitrogen-free extract, 7.31 per cent, of fiber, and 1.55 per 

 cent, of ash. The ratio of the weight of cane tops and cane 

 trash to the weight of the sticks of cane has never been very 

 accurately determined, and under different conditions varies 

 considerably. It may be fairly estimated, however, that with 

 a yield of 50 tons of cane per acre there are from 10 to 25 

 tons of cane tops and leaves. This indicates at once the 

 enormous amount of forage material which is available in the 

 neighborhood of sugar-cane plantations. 



