20 



CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Table 3. — Chemical analyses (moisture-free basis) of Lespedeza 

 cuneata, strain 04730, leaves, stems, and whole plant, cut from 

 a 4-year-old stand at various stages of growth, Arlington Experi- 

 ment Farm, Va. f 19 3 5 1 



Date of 

 cutting 



May 29 

 June 5 

 12 

 20 

 26 

 July 3 

 10 

 17 

 24 

 31 



Proportion of 

 plant in — 



Percent 



61.6 

 65.5 

 50.9 

 55.8 

 49.6 

 48.2 

 43.8 

 44.6 

 44.5 

 42.8 



Stems 



Percent 



38.4 

 34.5 



49.1 

 44.2 

 50.4 

 51.8 

 56.2 

 55.4 

 55.5 

 57.2 



Crude protein 



Leaves 



Percent 



20.5 

 18.4 

 19.3 

 19.1 

 17.8 

 17.5 

 16.8 

 15.8 

 15.8 

 14.5 



Stems 



Percent 



15.4 

 10.7 

 10.9 

 9.4 

 8.5 

 8.2 

 7.6 

 6.5 

 7.3 

 7.2 



Whole 

 plant 



Percent 



18.5 

 15.7 

 15.2 

 14.8 

 13.1 

 12.7 

 11.6 

 10.6 

 11.1 

 10.3 



Crude fiber 



Leaves 



Percent 



27.8 

 26.2 

 24.2 

 22.8 

 22.8 

 22.4 

 21.9 

 21.6 

 22.2 

 21.1 



Stems 



Whole 

 plant 



Percent 



40.6 

 49.6 

 52.3 

 52.7 

 54.7 

 54.7 

 54.3 

 54.5 

 55.7 

 53.6 



Percent 



32.7 

 34.3 

 38.0 

 36.0 

 38.9 

 39.1 

 40.1 

 39.8 

 40.8 

 39.7 



Date of 



cutting- 



Ether extract 



Nitrogen-free extract 



Ash 



Leaves 



Stems 



Whole 

 plant 



Leaves 



Stems 



Whole 

 plant 



Leaves 



Stems 



Whole 

 plant 



May 29__ 

 June 5__ 

 12__ 

 20__ 

 26__ 

 July 3__ 

 10_^ 

 17__ 

 24__ 

 31__ 



Percent 



2.31 



2.73 

 2.75 

 2.99 

 2.96 

 3.31 

 4.09 

 4.39 

 4.58 

 5.22 



Percent 



1.70 

 1.44 

 1.60 

 1.03 

 1.09 

 1.15 

 1.38 

 1.41 

 1.27 

 1.52 



Percent 



2.08 

 2.28 

 2.19 

 2.12 

 2.02 

 2.19 

 2.57 

 2.74 

 2.74 

 3.10 



Percent 



42.8 

 46.4 

 47.8 

 49.7 

 51.1 

 51.5 

 52.2 

 53.3 

 52.6 

 54.2 



Percent 



36.1 

 33.7 

 31.4 

 33.6 

 32.6 

 33.0 

 33.9 

 34.9 

 32.9 

 35.2 



Percent 



40.2 

 42.0 

 39.7 

 42.6 

 41.8 

 41.9 

 41.9 

 43.1 

 41.7 

 43.3 



Percent 



6.54 

 6.22 

 5.90 

 5.45 

 5.36 

 5.31 

 4.96 

 4.89 

 4.78 

 4.94 



Percent 



6.22 

 4.56 

 3.83 

 3.29 

 3.08 

 2.96 

 2.80 

 2.64 

 2.60 

 2.53 



Percent 



6.42 

 5.65 

 4.88 

 4.50 

 4.21 

 4.09 

 3.75 

 3.64 

 3.57 

 3.56 



1 Analyses by Division of Hay, Feed, and Seed, Bureau of Agricultural Eco- 

 nomics. Separate analyses were made of leaves and stems. The figures for 

 whole hay above were calculated from those analyses and the percentage of 

 leaves and stems. 



Morrison (2 %) gives the average protein content of perennial 

 lespedeza as 14.9 percent and the average digestible protein as 

 10.7 percent. Unfortunately, feeding trials with sericea are so 

 few that figures on the digestibility of the various constituents 

 must be considered as tentative. It is probable that the digesti- 

 bility of the protein in the more mature cuts is less than that in the 

 younger, and this would tend to increase the spread in value 

 between hay cut when the plants are in the first flush of growth 

 and that cut at a later date. This will also be the case for the 

 fiber. When cut at about a foot high, the hay of sericea contains 

 little lignin; when cut later most of the cells in the stems are 

 woody and this lowers the digestibility of the fiber. 



