On Grem or Fodder Crops. 
143 
in' being so well suited to plant odd spots, which, if not thus 
occupied, would only produce weeds. One serious objection 
to planting comfrey into good land in the open field appears to 
be that, once there, it is most difficult to eradicate again, being 
equally tenacious of life, and as fond of retaining dominion over 
land once held as the Jerusalem artichoke. 
Mr. W. Stevens, 'of Broadclyst (Sir Thomas Acland's chief 
local manager), has furnished me with the following particulars 
on the growth of comfrey at the home farm, Killerton : — 
"We liave grown a small quantity of comfrey during the last four years. 
I am inclined to think it will be found a useful crop, although not so well 
liked by cattle as cabbage. We get three cuttings a year, and the crop pro- 
duced is a heavy one. The cattle like it best just as it begins to come into 
flower. Growers will find it important to attend to this, as, if allowed to 
stand too long, the stems get hard and tough, and much is wasted." 
Probably the true reason of the repugnance of stock to comfrey, 
in some instances at least, may be that it is not gathered at the 
right time. At all events there is very conflicting evidence as to 
the likings and dislikings of the same kind of animals for the 
produce of the plant. In the following interesting statement, 
which a Cornish clergyman has been good enough to send me, 
it will be seen that comfrey food is adverted to as being relished 
well by the stock to which it was given. 
The Rev. E. Highton, of Bude, Cornwall, writes : — 
" I am very pleased to give you my experience of comfrey growing, 
although I must state that it is quite on a small scale. I only keep a couple 
of cows and a few breeding sows, and the whole extent of my comfrey is not 
a quarter of an acre. The land where it grows is to a great extent shaded by 
large trees, and I could not previously get anything to thrive there satisfac- 
torily. On this account I consider my growth is below what it would be 
under more favourable circumstances. Four years since, in November, I 
obtained about 200 roots from Messrs. Sutton and Sons, Reading. After 
,i digging holes about eighteen inches deep, and the same in diameter, I filled 
i| them with good half-rotted manure, covering it up with the soil taken out. 
Ij Into each of these hillocks, of which there were fifty to the square rod — 
II about 2j feet apart each way — I put a single set, which was covered with 
!| about two inches of soil over the top. In May, the following year, I got a 
|| fair cutting, and three more during the season. Every year since I have cut 
1' four times, and sometimes five. The first two cuttings are heaviest. After 
each cutting, well-rotted manure is put round the root. With reference to 
ji the weight, I find this note in my diary of April 24th, 1880: — ' Cut a head 
I of comfrey weighing 61 lbs., an average-sized head, fifty to the square rod.' 
' A few days after this, each head weighed considerably more ; but I belie^'c 
that as great a weight of fodder is obtained in the course of the year when cut 
before it runs to flowering stalk, and the animals eat it much better. At a 
low computation, I should think an average of 4 lbs. a head for each of four 
I cuttings, is got here, which would give 16 lbs. a head for the year, or nearly 
I 60 tons per acre. My comfrey is partly on damp ground, occasionally over- 
flowed with water, and partly in very dry, rather strong ground. The piece 
