26 



CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



It seems proper to conclude that when sericea is cut at the 

 right stage and well cured it will make a hay little, if any, less 

 efficient in feeding value than a f alia. If allowed to become too 

 old the value of sericea hay may fall to about 80 percent of 

 that of alfalfa, but even then it is not a bad maintenance ration 

 on wh.ch to carry cattle and horses through the winter. It should 

 not be forgotten that a comparison of sericea grown on poor land 

 and alfalfa grown on fertile land is scarcely fair. Sericea hay 

 should be compared with that of annual lespedeza or with Bermuda 

 grass hay grown on land of low fertility. 



Tannin in Sericea Hay 



id 



All species of lespedeza so far studied contain some tannin. 

 Almost nothing is known of the quality of this tannin, and 

 different methods of analys s give varying results as to the 

 quantity. About 3 to 4 percent of tannin has been found in the 

 annual lespedezas. Oak leaves, which frequently serve as browse 

 in the west, contain tannin. 



The seasonal variation in tannin in sericea lespedeza has been 

 studied by Clarke, Frey, and Hyland (3). Tannin analyses were 

 made beginning May 29 through July 31, at approximately weekly 

 intervals, of the leaves and stems of sericea hay produced at the 

 Arlington Experiment Farm, Arlington, Va. Table 7 shows the 

 proportion of leaves and stems and the tannin content at the 

 different stages of growth. The material studied was about 15 

 inches high when the first cutting was made on May 29. It is 

 evident from these data that most of the tannin is in the leaves 



Table 7. — Proportion of leaves and stems in designated cuttings 

 of Lespedeza cuneata, moisture-free plant, and tannin content 

 in the leaves, stems, and ivhole hay, Arlington Experiment 

 Farm, Va.,1935 1 





[American Leathei 



Chemists Association meth 



od] 









Proportion of 

 plant in — 



Tannin in — 





Proportion of 

 plant in — 



Ta 



nnin in 



— 



Date of 







Date of 



cutting 











cutting 

























Leaves 



Stems 



Leaves 



Stems 



Whole 

 hay 





Leaves 



Stems 



Leaves 



Stems 



Whole 

 hay 





Per- 



Per- 



Per- 



Per- 



Per- 





Per- 



Per- 



Per- 



Per- 



Per- 





cent 



cent 



cent 



cent 



cent 





cent 



cent 



cent 



cent 



cent 



May 29 



61.6 



38.4 



7.5 



1.2 



5.1 



July 3 



48.2 



51.8 



15.5 



1.0 



8.0 



June 5 



65.5 



34.5 



11.0 



1.4 



7.7 



10 



43.8 



56.2 



16.6 



1.0 



7.8 



12 



50.9 



49.1 



12.3 



1.1 



6.8 



17 



44.6 



55.4 



17.7 



1.3 



8.6 



20 



55.8 



44.2 



14.8 



1.6 



9.0 



24 



44.5 



55.5 



17.8 



1.3 



8.6 



26 



49.6 



50.4 



15.4 



1.0 



8.1 



31 



42.8 



57.2 



18.0 



1.2 



8.0 



1 From Clark, Frey, and Hyland (3). The tannin content of whole hay 

 was calculated from the figures for the leaf and stem portions. 



10 From cooperative studies on the tannin content of lespedezas by the Indus- 

 trial Farm Products Research Division, Bureau of Chemistry and Soils, and 

 the Division of Forage Crops and Diseases, Bureau of Plant Industry. 



