1.906.] 



Sainfoin Seed. 



147 



SAINFOIN SEED. 



Sainfoin {Oiiobryc/ns sativa) has been known and cultivated 

 as a fodder crop for over 200 years, having been introduced into 

 this country about the middle of the seventeenth century from 

 France, under the name of" Finger-grass " ; the name " Sainfoin," 

 by which it is commonly known, seems to be a corruption of 

 " Saint-foin " or " holy hay." Sainfoin is a deep-rooting peren- 

 nial plant indigenous to dry chalky soils, and is a member of 

 that most valuable natural order of plants known as Legiimi- 



Fig. I. — Sainfoin Seed. (Magnified four diameters.) 



noses. The agricultural importance and various characteristics; 

 of the seeds of the most important members of this family have 

 been considered in recent issues of \\\\?, Journal.^ On light soils,, 

 suitable to its growth, the primary root descends to a great 

 depth, .and, in consequence, the plant is able to withstand the 

 severest drought and be, in a sense, independent both of surface 

 moisture and manure. Although sainfoin has been found to 

 succeed on any soil sufficiently dry, it is only on light, calcareous 

 soils that the highest yields are obtained. 



Grown under conditions where the surface soil is clean, in good 

 heart, and the subsoil light and readily penetrated by the tap- 



* Red Clover, March, 1906 (p. 7i6j; White and Alsike Clover, April, 1906 

 (p. 7) ; Lucerne and Trefoil, May, 1906 (p. 82). 



N 2 



