56 



1491. Scabiosa succisa. Scabious. 



From France. Eeceived through Mr. W. T. Swingle, December, 1898. (2 pack- 

 ages ) 



"Scabieuse succise." 

 See No. 1490. 



1492. Glycine hispida. Soy bean. 



From France. Eeceived through Mr. W. T. Swingle, December, 1898. (2 pack- 

 ages.) 



"An erect annual legume, with hairy stems and leaves, which has been cultivated in 

 China and Japan from remote antiquity. It was long grown in botanic gardens, but 

 when the facts concerning its use as a human food by oriental nations came to light 

 about twenty years ago, it was largely introduced into this country and Europe, 

 where thorough trials of its forage and food value have been made There are a 

 large number of named varieties, which vary in the color of their seeds and the 

 length of time which the plants require to come to maturity. The seed is planted 

 at the rate of half a bushel to the acre, in drills 2£ to 3 feet apart, and cultivated 

 about the same as Indian corn. In Virginia soy beans are planted between the 

 hills of corn, so that two crops are produced on the same fielll at the same time. 

 The yields of seed are often enormous. Soy beans are fed to stock green as silage, 

 or as hay. The stems are rather woody and do not make the best quality of hay, 

 but as either ensilage or green forage they are unsurpassed. The hay contains from 

 14 to 15 per cent crude protein and 3 to 6 per cent of fat. The beans contain from 

 32 to 42 per cent protein, and from 12 to 21 per cent of fat in fresh material. When 

 fed to milch cows, a ration of soy beans increases the yield of milk, improves the 

 quantity of the butter, and causes the animal to grow rapidly in weight, It is an 

 excellent addition to a ration for feeding cattle. In China and Japan, where the 

 soy bean is an article of diet, substances similar to butter, oil, and cheese, as well 

 as a variety of dishes, are prepared from it. The yield of green forage amounts to 

 from 6 to 8 tons per acre, and the beans from 40 to 100 bushels. The feeding value 

 of the bean has been found to be greater than that of any other known forage plant 

 except the peanut." (Jared G. Smith. ) 



1493. Glycine hispida. Soy bean. 



From France. Received through Mr. W. T. Swingle, December, 1898. (1 pack- 

 age.) 



"Soja hispida a grain noir" (black-seeded Soja hispida). 



1494. Spergula arvensis. Spurrey. 



From France. Received through Mr. W. T. Swingle, December, 1898. (13 

 packages. ) 



"Spergule ordinaire." 



"An annual, producing a low tangled mass of succulent stems with numerous 

 whorled linear leaves. It produces a crop in eight or ten weeks, and is valuable as 

 a catch crop in short seasons and for soiling sheep and milch cows. It has been 

 especially recommended as a first crop on the pine barrens of Michigan to turn over 

 for green manure. The air-dried hav contains about 12 per cent of crude protein." 

 {Jared G. Smith.) 



"Small annual plant of moist and sandy soils; excellent green forage, especially 

 for cows, it is hardly possible to use it in any other than the fresh state. The but- 

 ter produced from the milk of cows fed on 1his plant is called 'Spurrey butter/ and 

 is considered in Holland and Belgium of a superior quality. Dry hay is rarely made 

 of it, nevertheless the straw left after beating out the seed forms a good fodder for 

 cows and sheep May succeed in stubble fields; good vegetable fertilizer to be 

 plowed under green; maybe cultivated on moist, light, sandy, or clayey-siliceous 

 soils; it prefers foggy and humid climates. To be sown from March to May, but 

 especially upon stubble after the harvest in August, to obtain one or two cuttings or 

 to plow under as green fertilizer early in the winter. Sometimes the plant is allowed 

 to run to seed, and in this case it may become biennial by reseeding with the seed 

 falling out. naturally before or during the harvesting. Spurrey is sometimes used in 

 mixtures for green cutting." ( Vilmorin.) 



The seed weighs about 46J pounds per bushel; 18 to 27 pounds, or, according to 

 some, 45 to 54 pounds, is to be sown per acre. 



