46 



J. S. Newman, director Experiment Station, Agricultural and Mechan- 

 ical College, Auburn, Ala.: 



First introduced into the cotton States, as far as I know, by the late Bishop George 

 Pierce, from California, about 1867, and rdanted at his home in Hancock County, 

 Georgia. It has since become quite popular in some localities. 



Desmodium. 



Desmodium is a genus belonging to the same family as the pea and 

 clover, and like them is rich in nutritious material. There are about 

 forty species native in the United States, many of them hard and woody, 

 but several of them furnishing valuable woods pasture to wild and do- 

 mestic animals. They are often called beggar-tick, beggar-lice, beggar- 

 weed, or tick-seed, from the tendency of the seed-pods to cling to the 

 clothing of persons or the hair of animals. The same or similar names, 

 however, are applied to other plants. 



The species of perhaps the most importance is Desmodium tortuosum, 

 which is confined to Florida or the vicinity of the G-ulf coast. Seeds of 

 this species were distributed by the Department of Agriculture in 1879 

 under the name of Desmodium molle, and a number of favorable reports 

 have been received from those who have tried it in the southern- portion 

 of the Gulf States. It is valued most as a renovating crop for lands 

 where clover cannot be successfully grown. It is also of considerable 

 value as pasture, and has sometimes been used for hay. 



J. G. Knapp, Limona, Fla. : 



Few forage plants bear a better reputation here than Desmodium molle (tortuosum), 

 commonly known as beggar- weed. Horses prefer it to any other growing plant. It 

 comes as a volunteer in fields planted with other crops. When the'stalks are 30 or 40' 

 inches high it may be cut for hay, and as many as 2 tons secured from an acre. The 

 stubble will put forth new shoots and mature sufficient seed to restock the field. It 

 will thrive on the poorest sandy soil, and in a few years, if turned under when ma- 

 tured, will render them rich and productive. 



J. 0. Eeal, Archer, Fla,: 



It is especially valuable to Florida, as it enriches the soil beyond any other crop 

 and is not in the way of the corn crop, germinating after corn is laid by. Cattle and 

 horses fatten on this plant rapidly; in fact, nothing is better to restore health and 

 vigor to a worn-out beast than a few weeks in a beggar- weed patch. It is of no value 

 for hay or winter forage. 



J. A. Stockford, Oaryville, Fla. : 



It is at home in Middle Florida, and is being introduced in "Western Florida by some 

 enterprising farmers who have had a chance to test its value in Middle Florida while 

 farming there. Those who have condemned it have usually done so without appar- 

 ent reason. 



D. S. Denmark, Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia : 



We have a plant here known as beggar- weed that grows on cultivated lands, and 

 when once seeded always seeds itself. It is a fine summer and fall forage plant ; also 

 fine for hay, and for renovating worn-out lands, but difficult to exterminate. It 

 grows only in South Georgia and in Florida. 





