4 2 
HAGI AS A FORAGE CROP. 
A few more words may be added regarding the mode of 
cultivating and curing hagi. If roots are at hand on uncultiva¬ 
ted land, they may be collected towards the end of winter and 
planted at distances of 8 —io inches, a month or two after the 
field has received a dressing of slaked lime, 25—50 kuwamme 
per tan. This manner of cultivation is particularly preferable, 
if the field for hagi is newly broken land liable to be infected 
by the seeds of weeds, or on which the remains of preceding 
plants would oppress the tiny seedlings developing from hagi 
seeds. Some observations of ours seem also to show that 
strong hagi plants develop from the woody stems, if the latter 
are cut at the close of the winter and completely buried in a 
horizontal position in the soil about 2 inches deep. On land 
free from weeds hagi can be well raised from seeds collected 
in November or December. The seeds of this plant are, 
however, very hard, and after being sown resist the entrance 
of moisture so strongly that the germination is very irregular 
and, with many seeds, takes place not before 5—15 months. 
It is therefore advisable to put the seeds together with a 2—3 
fold volume of coarse sand into a strong bag and to strike the 
latter vigorously with a heavy stick in order to scratch the 
cuticle of the seeds. By such treatment the absorption of 
water is facilitated and regular germination ensured. Anyhow, 
last year in our farm on behalf of Mr. S. Harada, a graduate of the college 
now on the staff of the Imperial Department of Agriculture and Commerce, 
who recorded the results of the trial in the Official Gazette (Tokyo) of De¬ 
cember gth, i8go. The seeds were sown on May 2nd in rows of 12 inches 
distance after the application of some superphosphate, bone dust, and straw 
ash. Yahazu sö was cut on the 5th, mamba yahazu sô on the 20th of 
September. There was obtained, kilograms per tan: 
Green fodder. Hay. 
Yahazu so. 126g. 2 320.3 
Maruba yahazu sö .1485.5 351.9 
The yield is accordingly far inferior to that obtained in our experiments 
with liagi, but may be certainly somewhat increased by sowing broad-cast. 
Judging from the appearance of the two varieties, their percentage content 
of digestible nutrients will be larger than that of hagi. 
