86 RICHARD FROTSCHER’S ALMANAC AND GARDEN MANUAL 
feet high, are gracefully bending the weight 
of the diffuse panicle with its many pedicelled 
flattened spikelets, each an inch or more long 
and with twelve to sixteen flowers. 
I would not, however, advise sowing this 
grass on poor land with the expectation of 
getting a remunerative return. 
abundantly under favorable conditions. 
It tillers 
JAPAN CLOVER. 
(Lespedeza Striata. ) 
There is now so much enquiry about. this 
plant, so much confusion, lack of knowledge 
and confounding with or mistaking for it an- 
other worthless species, and also the same 
errors in regard to a small genuine clover, that 
it is deemed proper to give some correct in- 
formation on the subject. 
HISTORY. 
To botanists this plant has been known for 
many generations in its native habitat in China 
and other eastern parts of Asia. Finding its 
way to Japan it encountered congenial climate 
and soil, and rapidly spréad over the entire 
country occupying all waste places, which it 
has continued to possess and improve for 
much more than acentury. Here, as on the 
continent it was of dwarfish habit and received 
a name indicative of the fact. 
Finally a few seeds, arriving in the United 
States, germinated, contested a few feet of 
soil with other native and exotic plants that 
had long pre-occupied the land. 
It gained strength and increased in yield of 
seed till becoming somewhat abundant, it 
commenced its westward invasion, simultane- 
ously extending its conquests northward and 
southward, firmly holding all conquered ter- 
ritory. Since 1870 its strides westward have 
been immense. It now extends from the 
Atlantic seaboard across the Mississippi, and 
its out-posts are pushed far towards the 
western border of ‘Texas. 
Denuded, soil-less hill tops, sandy plains, 
gravelly slopes, bottoms and banks of washes 
and gullies, pine thickets, open woods, fields, 
dry and damp soils, all seem as if specially 
created for its home. It seizes upon all with 
equal facility. 
It maintains its dwarfish habit on sands, 
gravels and other spots too poor to produce 
any other vegetation, densely covering the 
surface with its green robe and affording de- 
lighted live stock with delicious nutritious 
crazing for four to eight months of the year. 
But on richer soils it doffs the dwarf and dons 
the tree-style, justifying the American name 
of ‘‘bush-clover,” sending its long tap root 
deep down in the subsoil and its stem two to 
three feet up into the light and air, with its 
many branches thickly set with leaves, in- 
viting tooth and blade. 
It attains here on rich or medium soil, 
protected from live stock, a magnitude that 
could not have been imagined by one seeing 
it in its far eastern home. It takes possession 
not only of unoccupied land and pine thickets, 
but grows among sedges, grasses, briers and 
weeds, completely eradicating many species 
of noxious grasses and weeds. It subdues 
even broom grass and holds equal contest with 
Bermuda grass; in some localities one yielding, 
in other localities the other succumbing, while 
in other spots both maintain equal possession; 
| or one year one may seem to rule, and the 
next year the other. 
VALUE. 
On sands, gravels, or denuded clay hill tops 
no other plants known to me is so valuable for 
erazing. Taking a succession of ten years, 
the same assertion would not be far out of the 
way for rich lands while few forage plants on 
these would yield so much or so valuable hay. 
The analysis of red clover gives 16 per cent. 
albuminoids and 41 carbohydrates. The average 
of two analyses of Japan clover gives 15.85 
albuminoids and 56 carbchydrates, placing it 
above red clover in nutritive value. It is 
SUPERIOR TO OTHER FORAGE PLANTS 
in several important particulars not generally 
observed by the careless stock-man. 1. The 
growing plant contains less moisture than 
any other very valuable forage plant with 
perhaps a single exception. Hence we never 
hear of animals having hoven or bloat or 
scours from eating this plant as when they 
have free access to red clover, peas and many 
grasses. 2. We have never yet found on the 
Japan Clover any fungous growths. which are 
so common on other plants as to cause many 
deaths annually among animals grazing on 
them or fed with the hay. 3. Heavy grazing 
for a few weeks destroys the clovers, lucerne 
and most of the grasses, while this plant may 
be grazed however closely, whether the season 
be wet or prolonged drouth prevail, without 
damage. 4. There is less difficulty of ob- 
Japan Clover. 
