10 



CIRCULAR 62 5, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



the United States. Yields between 200 and 300 pounds per acre have 

 been reported from France, but it is probable that these were maximum 

 yields. 



PASTURAGE 



Birdsfoot trefoil and big trefoil serve well in pastures in sections to 

 which they are adapted. The plants are palatable and nutritious 

 and seem to be particularly well suited for growing with grasses. 

 Being long-lived perennials when once established in pasture mixtures 

 they endure for a, term of years. In western Oregon big trefoil has 

 been in experimental plots that have been grazed and cut for hay 



Figure 4. — Dairy cows on birdsfoot trefoil and grass pasture. 



for nearly 20 years, and the stand and growth are still good. In 

 eastern New York farmers are grazing birdsfoot trefoil and report 

 entirely satisfactory results. The plants stand trampling and graz- 

 ing well and livestock have done well on birdsfoot trefoil pasture 

 (fig. 4). No experimental data are available on the comparative 

 value of birdsfoot trefoil for pasturage, but general information indi- 

 cates that it is probably equal to alfalfa, clover, and other standard 

 legumes. 



European writers differ in some minor details regarding the value 

 of birdsfoot trefoil for pasturage, but all agree that it is a valuable 

 plant. Some of the features stressed by these writers are disease 

 resistance, drought resistance, longevity, and the fact that it will 

 grow under conditions where clover fails. It is also pointed out that 

 birdsfoot trefoil furnishes succulent pasturage in mid to late summer 

 at a time when most other plants are making little or no growth. 

 This latter characteristic appeals strongly to those in the United 



