MANUAL OF CATTLE-FEEDIITG- 313 



snxted for a light, dry soil ; yields a comparatively large 

 quantity of nutrients even in dry years, wlien most crops 

 are " bmnied up ; " tliat the fodder made from it is very 

 wliolosome; that it resists frosts well; and that in tlie fall 

 it may be pastured without injury to the next year's crop. 

 It is eaten willingly by sheep and cattle, either green or as 

 hay, and horses soon become accustomed to it. 



The esparsette or sainfoin {Onobryclds satha) seems, 

 according to our present knowledge, to at least equal red 

 clover in its percentage of protein, and to retain its pala- 

 tability and digestibility to a somewhat later stage of 

 growth. 



Anotlier plant cultivated on sandy soils — the seradella 

 {Oniithopics sativum) — ^yields an especially fine, palatable, 

 and easily-digestible fodder, which has the advantage over 

 other forage plants that it retains its full value to the end 

 of the flowering period. 



It gives comparatively small crops, however, and in cur- 

 ing, the leaves, i. <?., the most valuable part, ai*e easily 

 lost. Tliese last two crops, which seem to be but little cul- 

 tivated in this country, are ranked by some authorities as 

 of equal value with clover, and as even superior to it in a 

 dietetic point of view, since they are not ^' heating." Like 

 the kidney-vetch just spoken of, they withstand drought 

 much bettor than clover, and it is claimed that a new va- 

 riety of esparsette has been produced which yields larger 

 crops. 



This is not the place for a description of the plants or of 

 their cultivation, but it would certainly be of interest to 

 experiment on their cultivation in this country. 



NoN- Protein in T\m Lkoitmks,^ — On page 21)9 attention 

 has already been called to the fact that the proportion of 

 non-protein in the hay from legxmiinous plants is generally 

 U 



