310 



FORAGE CROPS 



FORAGE CROPS 



time it was thought that the rapid spread of the 

 pest would render farming impossible west of the 

 Mississippi, but at present it is considered harmless 

 and perhaps of some value as a forage plant when 

 fed early. 



Fie. 421. Prickly comfrey (.Symphytum aeperrimmn). 



Sacaline (Polygonum Saehalinense). Polygonaeece. 

 A tall bushy perennial (6-12 ft.) forage plant that 

 gives little promise. It does not grow well from 

 seeds, but may be propagated by root-cuttings. 

 The stems are woody when two to three feet high ; 

 leaves broad and heart-shaped. It is not drought- 

 resistant. It met with some success in Florida, 

 where the succulent young stems were relished by 

 stock. It forms a great mass of roots and is tena- 

 cious. Once much advertised as a forage plant. 

 (Fig. 1881, Cycle. Sort.) 



Samphire {Salieornia herbaeea). Chenopodiaceos. 

 A succulent annual plant with leafless, jointed, 

 branching stems six inches to two feet high. It 

 belongs to the goosefoot or pigweed family. It is 

 abundant along the coast from Anticosti south to 

 Georgia ; it is also found in salt marshes in the 

 interior from Manitoba to Utah. It is much relished 

 by cattle. Not in cultivation. 



Scotch broom (Cytisus seoparius). Leguminosoe. 

 A leguminous shrub, with yellow pea-like flowers 

 on nearly leafless green stiff branches, native to 

 Europe. (Fig. 423.) It is naturalized in this 

 country, growing on stony or sterile soils and 

 establishing itself in open woodlands. The slender 

 twigs are used in parts of Europe as a sheep for- 



age, being said to be more valuable than furze. It 

 appears not to have attracted much attention as a 

 forage plant in North America. As a naturalized 

 plant it occurs mostly from New Jersey, southward 

 in the seaboard region, and it is reported in Massa- 

 chusetts and Nova Scotia ; also on Vancouver 

 Island. 



Shad scale (Atripkx canescens). Chenopodiacem. 

 The most important of the American saltbushes, of 

 which there are about fifty species in the western 

 part of North America. Shad scale is a scurfy, 

 branching, shrubby perennial growing four to ten 

 feet high. The fruit has four broad thin wings 

 looking somewhat like shad scales. It is native of 

 the high valleys and plains of Wyoming, Nevada, 

 Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas. The 

 leaves and branches are eaten by cattle. Seeds are 

 produced in great abundance, often a half bushel 

 or more on a single plant. These are readily eaten 

 by sheep and are considered very fattening. In the 

 Southwest shad scale is found on alkaline soils, and 

 even withstands small amounts of the black alkali. 

 Its resistance to cold adds greatly to its value. 

 (See Farmers' Bulletin, No. 108, U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture ; also article on Scdfbushes.) 



Square-pod pea (Lotus tetragoTwbbus). Legumi- 

 nosoe. A quick-growing annual, native of southern 

 Europe, where it is grown for ornament and for 

 salad. It is notable for its heavy production of 

 root-tubercles, making it a valuable soil-renovator. 

 It makes an unusually heavy growth of herbage, 

 having yielded in test plats at the California Sta- 

 tion, where it was introduced, at the rate of 

 twenty-four to twenty-six tons per acre, equal to 

 about five tons of air-dry hay. The seeds are 

 rather large, and are borne in four-sided, winged 

 pods. It has been disappointing, however, as it is 

 unable to withstand frost and brief intervals of 

 drought in the winter season, rendering it unfit for 

 field growth. 



Sulla {Hedysarum coronarium). Leguminosoe. A 

 strongly-rooted, vigorous perennial legume with 

 numerous very succulent radical compound leaves 



Fig. 422. Russian thistle (SaUola Tragus). 



one to six feet high, according to soil and climatic 

 conditions. It is a native of southern Europe. In 

 the dry climate of Algeria in soil not irrigated, 

 sulla was the most satisfactory plant grown for 

 feeding and green-manuring. It failed in North 

 Carolina, and was of no value in Michigan. It 

 grows vigorously in early spring, but is tender. 



