Donated by,- The Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, For use as a reference book on fodder and pasture plants and to remain the property of,- Main Lib r,PlC, OFPT. DOMINION OF CANADA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BY GEO. H. CLARK, B.S.A. AND M. OSCAR MALTE, Ph. D. WITH WATER COLOUR ILLUSTRATIONS BY NORMAN GRIDDLE Published by direction of The Honourable Martin Burrell, Minister of Agriculture Ottawa, 191? AVAILABLE AT THE OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF STATIONERY GOVERNMENT PRINTING BUREAU, OTTAWA Price, 50 Cents v*>- TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE 1 , Preface 5 Introductory 7 Grasses 8 Leguminous Plants 13 Seeding to Fodder and Pasture Plants 19 Corn 30 Millets 35 Common Millet 36 Foxtail Millet 38 Pearl Millet 39 Barnyard Millet 40 Reed Canary Grass 41 Sweet Vernal Grass 42 Knot Root Grass 43 Timothy 44 Meadow Foxtail 48 Red Top 50 Blue-joint Grass 52 Yellow Oat Grass 54 Tall Oat Grass 56 Orchard Grass 58 Crested Dog's Tail 60 Canadian Blue Grass 62 Kentucky Blue Grass 64 Rough-stalked 66 Wood Meadow Grass 68 Fowl Meadow Grass 69 Water Meadow Grass 70 Red Fescue 72 Sheep's Fescue 74 Fine-leaved Fescue 76 Hard Fescue \ 76 Various-leaved Fescue 77- Meadow Fescue 78 Tall Fescue 78 Reed Fescue 81 Awnless Brome Grass 82 Field Brome Grass 84 Fringed Brome Grass . 85 Perennial Rye Grass 86 Italian Rye Grass 88 Western Rye Grass 90 28549 1J 323186 TABLE OF CONTENTS Concluded. PAGE. Western Wheat Grass 92 Awned Wheat Grass 93 Couch Grass 93 Virginia Lyme Grass 94 Crimson Clover 96 Red Clover 98 White Clover 106 Alsike Clover 108 White Sweet Clover 112 Alfalfa 114 Yellow Lucerne 121 Variegated Alfalfa 122 Yellow Trefoil ' 124 Kidney Vetch 125 Sainfoin 126 Common Vetch 128 Hairy Vetch 130 Horse Bean 131 Grass Pea 132 Flat Pea 132 Soy or Soja Bean 134 Rape 135 Glossary 137 Index 140 PREFACE. Agriculture is an art that renders those who understand it rich, but leaves those who do not understand it, however much they may labour in it, to live in poverty. Xenophon, 434-355, B.C. When we consider that about one-third of the improved land in Canada is under fodder and forage crops, the importance of dis- seminating information respecting fodder and pasture plants must be apparent to all. That the interest taken in these plants really is very great is amply illustrated by the numerous inquiries that have been received during recent years by the Department of Agriculture. It is, therefore, the purpose of this book to provide, in a form convenient for reference, fairly comprehensive information about those grasses, clovers and other fodder and pasture plants that are generally acknowledged to be of value in Canada. The introduction into Canada from time to time of different fodder and pasture plants which are of more or less importance in different parts of Europe has induced the authors also to deal with a number of plants that are not as yet well known in Canada, but for some reason or other might prove in future to be of general or local value. The aim of the book being to present only well-established facts and practices, no attempt has been made to advance or support new or questionable ideas or theories. It has been the endeavour to bring together only a summary of authentic information that may prove interesting and helpful to farmers, students of agriculture and others who may be interested in the development of the vast agricul- tural resources of Canada. As the book has been written with the intention to make its contents intelligible to all classes of readers, the use of technical terms has been avoided as much as possible. It has, however, been found necessary to append a glossary in which technical or semi- technical terms contained in the text are listed. 5 6 , ' \ -.-' PREFACE. In the introductory part of the book, the principal groups of fodder and pasture plants have been dealt with in a half-scientific way. The plants have been arranged chiefly in accordance with the system followed in the last edition of Gray's Manual of Botany. The authors are greatly indebted to Leonard S. Klinck, B.S.A., Professor of Field Husbandry at Macdonald College, Que., who kindly consented to examine and criticise the manuscript, and to C. A. Zavitz, B.S.A., Professor of Field Husbandry at the Ontario Agricultural College at Guelph, who has given the authors much valuable information on fodder and pasture plants that are of interest to the province of Ontario. The helpful suggestions given by these well-known authorities have been most encouraging and are greatly appreciated. Recognition for much arduous detail work in correcting the proof is due to Mr. E. D. Eddy, B.S.A. Miss A. L. Brown, who also com- piled the quotations from old writings which are inserted where the space would otherwise be unoccupied, as the text is paged to suit the arrangement of the plates. G. H. C. M. O. M. M. B. Without forage no cattle; without cattle no manure; without manure no crops. Flemish Proverb. Keep the dry provender which you have laid up for winter and think how long a winter it may be. Cato, 95-46 B.C. A. Furius Chresimus, a freedman, having found himself able, from a very small piece of land, to raise far more abundant harvests than his neighbours could from the largest farms, became the object of very considerable jealousy among them, and was accordingly accused of enticing away the crops of others by the practice of sorcery Apprehensive of being condemned, he had all his implements of husbandry brought into the Forum, together with his farm servants, robust, well- conditioned, and well clad people, Piso says. The iron tools were of first rate quality, the mattocks were stout and strong, the plough-shares ponderous and substantial, and the oxen sleek and in prime condition. When all this had been done, "Here, Roman citizens", said he, "are my implements of magic; but it is impossible for me to exhibit to your view, or to bring into this Forum, those midnight toils of mine, those early watchings, those sweats, and those fatigues." Upon this, by the unani- mous voice of the people, he was immediately acquitted. Pliny, Natural Histcry, 23-79. Fodder and Pasture Plants. INTRODUCTORY. THE dawn of civilization is closely associated with primitive agriculture. If we try to unveil the history of a race we often find it hidden in myths and legends. When it is accessible, we see that a people, after slumbering for centuries in the night of barbarism, advances slowly to the realization of higher ideals. The awakening is always connected with the cultivation of the soil, and agriculture is therefore the foundation upon which the progress of humanity rests. Its development depends upon the climate and the natural possibilities of a people. Climate is largely responsible for the fact that some tribes still follow the migrating life of the nomad, while others have settled down in fixed dwellings. In the warmer parts of the world, where it is easy to grow cereals and other plants, agriculture is much older than far north, where climatic conditions are less favourable. At first only such plants were grown as would serve for human food; natural meadows and pastures provided for domestic animals. Even now there are large areas where no special efforts are made to secure food for stock. With increasing population, however, more ground must be devoted to cereals for human food, and the value of land rises. Natural pastures largely disappear and the farmer must grow other crops as food for stock during different seasons. The cultivation of fodder and pasture plants has reached its greatest perfection in temperate regions, where the animals cannot graze during the winter. Compared with the cultivation of cereals, the introduction of artificial meadows is very recent. The oldest known were those of the Romans. Clovers, which form their most essential part, came into general use as late as the sixteenth century, since which time the importance of forage plants has been more and more realized. Two groups of plants are used for fodder and pasture, viz., the grasses and the leguminous plants, representing two large families botanically known as Graminea and Leguminosa. All the plants dealt with in this book, except Rape, belong to one of these families. Rape belongs to the Mustard family, Cruciferce. 8 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. GRASSES. Name: When speaking of grasses one often includes such plants as Rib Grass, Poverty Grass and Cotton Grass, which botanically have none of the characteristics of true grasses. On the other hand, many people do not regard Corn and Millet as true grasses. Agricul- turally a distinction is made between cereals and grasses, but botan- ically such a distinction is impossible, rye, barley, oats and wheat being grasses as truly as Meadow Fescue, Red Top and Timothy. Seed: If with a sharp knife we cut through a corn grain, parallel to its broadest side, we s ee that a great portion of it consists of a white or yellow mass, in which the naked eye cannot discover any distinct structure. This part of the grain, which in Fig. I is marked End. is called endosperm and pro- vides food for the young seedling. The remaining part of the grain is dull-coloured, and the naked eye can discern three dis- tinct sections. This is the embryo or young plant before germination. It con- sists of a so-called cotyledon (Fig. I, Cot.) which lies close to the endosperm, a ter- minal bud (Fig. i, B.) from which the stem and leaves of the germinating plant de- velop, and a radicle (Fig. I, Rad.) from which the first root is formed. The por- tion lying between the radicle and the terminal bud is the stem of the embryo. Fig. 1. Section through a grain of Corn. Four times natural size. End. Endosperm . Cot. Cotyledon. B Bud. Rad. Radicle. Germination : When corn germinates the cotyledon acts as a sucker, turning the food in the endosperm over to the embryo ; it remains enclosed in the grain during germination. The other parts of the embryo soon become visible. The radicle develops into a root and the bud soon displays a number of green leaves. The primary root soon dies and its function is taken by secondary roots, which sprout from the lower parts of the stem. The essential features of this process of germination are characteristic of all grasses. Root System: Most fodder and pasture grasses are perennial; that is, their underground parts survive from year to year. These surviving parts consist of underground stems, from which roots and overground stems develop. Sometimes they are creeping with long GRASSES. Q internodes, when the overground stems appear scattered and the whole plant forms a more or less spreading mat, as in Red Fescue. In other cases the internodes are very short. The overground stems- are then close together and the plant develops into one of the bunch grass type, such as Sheep's Fescue. Although characteristic of a certain species, the type may be modified by the soil. Thus, stiff, compact soil is apt to prevent the development of creeping rootstocks, and the plant may assume a more or less bunchy appear- ance. On the other hand, bunchy plants often develop looser tufts in open, loose soil than in stiff clay. Sterns: The stems of the grasses, generally called culms, are hollow, except in corn, in which they are solid, but are closed at intervals by variously coloured swollen parts called nodes or joints. The parts of the stems between the nodes are called internodes. Immediately above the nodes a small portion of the stem remains soft and continues to grow during almost the whole life of the plant, but the upper part of the internode soon becomes firm and stops growth. This enables the stems, if they are not too old, to regain their upright position when lodged by wind or rain. Leaves: The leaves consist of two distinct parts. The lower encloses the stem like a tight case, usually open along one side. It is called the sheath. The upper part, the blade, is generally long and narrow. Where the plants have sufficient moisture the blades are flat; during drought they are often rolled together and bristle-like, turning their upper surface outward. A plant which during excessive drought has bristle-like leaves may display flat ones if moisture becomes abundant in either air or soil. As the moisture secured by the root evaporates chiefly through the lower surface of the leaf, the rolling together of the blade during drought prevents loss of moisture and thus saves the plant from perishing Fig. 2-Sheath and of thirst. Where the blade is attached to the sheath lower partjrf leaf tnere j s g en fe ra n y a tn in membranous appendage, of Natural size. varying size and shape, called the ligule (Fig. 2, L.). L. Ligule. Inflorescence: The flowers are in inflorescences which, however different they may look, are always constructed on the same prin- ciple. That of Kentucky Blue Grass is typical (Plate 10). It consists of branches arranged in whorls at the upper joints of the main stem. When the branches are elongated, as in the Blue Grasses, 10 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. Red Top, Fescues, Oats, etc., the inflorescence is called a panicle. When they are very short, as in the Foxtail Millets, the inflorescence has the appearance of a spike. Timothy (Plate 3) and Meadow Foxtail (Plate 4) inflorescences are extremely like regular spikes, but even in these the type is that of the ordinary panicle. This is proven by the fact that branched inflorescences occasionally occur in Timothy. Even an ear of corn is a modification of a panicle, characterized by extremely short branches from a fleshy main stem. The panicles of many grasses are differently shaped at different stages of development. Thus, in Red Top and Sheep's Fescue the branches spread during flowering and the inflorescence is therefore open and broad. When flowering is over, the branches close in to- ward the main stem, making the inflorescence contracted and narrow. -JL Spikelets: The ultimate branches of the inflor- escence end with so-called spikelets, a kind of partial inflorescence (Fig. 3). At the base of the spikelet are two sterile glumes (Fig. 3, Gl.), though Italian and Perennial Rye Grass have only one. Above them are a number of fertile glumes, called lemmas (Fig. 3, L.), which carry a flower in their axils. Each flower is Fig. s. Spikeiet enclosed by a delicate glume called palea (Fig. 4, Pa.) of Awnkss Brome anc j consists chiefly of three stamens (Fig. 4, St.) and Natural size. a pistil with two feathery branched stigmas (Fig. 4, P.). c^ Sterile The numDer o f flowers varies in different grasses; L Lemma. Awnless Brome has seven to nine in each spikelet, whereas Red Top has only one. In the latter the whole spikelet consists of the two sterile glumes (Fig. 3, Gl.), the lemma (Fig. 4, L.) and the palea (Fig. 4, Pa.) enclosing the flower proper. Fertilization: Before blossoming the glumes tightly enclose the flowers, and nothing is seen of the stamens and pistil. At flowering time the glumes generally open wide and the stamens and pistil are visible (Fig. 4). Dustlike masses are soon produced from the stamens and carried away by the wind. This is the pollen, which, when caught by the branches of Fig. 4. Flower with enclosing the stigmas, induces the lower part of the FouSmes nlil siz^ rass ' pistil or ovar y ( Fi S- 4> to develop into L. Lemma. p. Stigma, fruit. In wheat, oats and barley the pollen Pa Palea. O Ovary. . , . St. Stamen. is generally transported to the stigmas be- fore the glumes of the spikelet begin to separate; each flower is con- GRASSES. 1 1 sequently fertilized by its own pollen. This is never the case with the grasses dealt with in the present publication. The stamens are not ready to shed their pollen until after the glumes have separated, and there is thus always a chance for the pistil to be fertilized by pollen from another flower. In many grasses such a cross-fertilization is favoured by the fact that the stamens and pistil of one flower are not ripe at the same time. Fruit: After fertilization the ovary of the grasses develops into a fruit enclosing a single seed. Properly speaking, the grains of corn, wheat and rye are fruits containing a seed, just as the hazel nut is a fruit enclosing the seed. The hulled seed of Timothy is in reality a fruit containing a single seed. In most grasses the fruit remains enclosed in the glumes and the whole thing is termed seed. This is the case, for instance, in Rye Grasses, Fescues, Blue Grasses, Red Top, unhulled Timothy, etc., the seed of which, properly speaking, is a fruit enclosed in the glumes. The term "seed" being generally ap- plied, it has been used in the description of the grasses to designate the fruit enclosed by the glumes, as it is generally found in commerce. Agricultural Value: Practically any wild grass will serve, in one stage or another, as food for stock. Even the grasses of deserts, or other inhospitable localities, which are dry, woody and unpalatable the greater part of the year, may, when young or when refreshed by rain, furnish nutritious fodder or pasture. The value of wild grasses, however, is generally considerably lower than that of the cultivated sorts. The latter are better cared for, have readier access to food, less of a struggle for existence, and so are apt to grow more luxuriantly and yield a better quality of hay or fodder. When attempting to cultivate a wild grass, or when growing a cultivated variety, one should consider its suitability to the climate and soil and to the purpose for which it is grown. Different grasses make different demands. All of course require sufficient food and water, but what is enough for one may bring another to the point of starvation. A water supply which produces luxuriant growth in a certain grass may prove injurious to another, perhaps closely re- iated, species. Thus Sheep v s Fescue can make a comfortable living where Meadow Fescue would surfer seriously. On the other hand, Meadow Fescue and Orchard Grass would languish in wet and sour soil, where Blue-joint Grass, Meadow Foxtail and Fowl Meadow Grass would grow luxuriantly. It is therefore important to choose varieties to suit the locality. Such grasses as Red Top, which have a creeping root system and grow from early spring to late fall if the weather is favourable, are especially fitted for pasture, as they stand tramping and provide 12 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. green food the whole season. On the other hand, they are not good for hay, as most of the leaves are rather close to the ground. Timothy and similar grasses are less adapted for pasturing, as their bunchy growth and shallow root system make them liable to be uprooted or at least injured by tramping. But this type of grass furnishes- excellent hay. The development and duration of a grass are also factors to be considered. Some start growth very early in spring, and are valuable when early hay or pasture is required. Others, starting late, are rather slow and are desirable for late hay or pasture. Some grasses. are short-lived and die after the first or second year; Italian Rye, for instance, may be used in a short rotation, but is of no use for permanent pasture. Most of the perennial grasses reach full de- velopment the second or third year after sowing, and are valuable when permanent pasture or hay is desired. One variety is rarely grown alone, except when intended for seed, as mixtures of grasses or grasses and clovers generally give a higher yield of better quality. Orchard Grass, for instance, is generally grown with other varieties. If grown alone, it would be coarser, less digestible and less palatable. The farmer's demand for the maximum yield of the best obtainable quality has led to the use of mixtures which give the heaviest possible returns in hay or pasture of the highest feeding value. To obtain a heavy yield it is not sufficient to choose grasses- which are heavy producers when grown alone. They must be adapted to the soil and climate and be able to thrive together and make the best possible use of every inch of ground. When hay is desired, the worth of the mixture depends not only on the value of the indi- vidual grasses, but also on their ripening together. An ideal mixture is composed of species which reach the flowering stage at the same time. The proper time to cut for hay is generally during early flowering. If very early and very late grasses are grown together, the return will be comparatively small and the quality of the hay inferior. Which species should be used depends upon the soil, rainfall, and other factors. Clovers are often grown with grasses because such a mixture gives, a better balanced feed and does not rob the soil of as much fertility as would grasses alone, which are heavy feeders. A ton of Timothy hay contains about eighteen pounds of nitrogen, six and one-half pounds of phosphoric acid and from twenty-eight to thirty pounds of potash. This is rather more than would be returned to the land by a ton of ordinary green farmyard manure. If no fertilizers are applied, it is evident that continuous crops of Timothy would rapidly LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. deplete the soil, and the same is true, in a general way, of other grasses. Leguminous plants (see page 18) accumulate nitrogen from the air and are of great importance as soil improvers. Clovers return nitrogen to the soil, and thus to a certain degree maintain its fertility. LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. Name: These plants belong to a large family of a distinct type, called Leguminosce. Peas, Vetches, Beans, Red Clover, Alsike and Alfalfa belong to this great family that is, the plants which farmers commonly term legumes and clovers. As generally used, the name "clovers" includes Red Clover, Alsike, Dutch Clover, Crimson Clover, Alfalfa, Trefoil, Sweet Clover and other leguminous plants. Botanically, however, only the first four are clovers in the true sense; that is, they belong to the genus Trifolium, whereas Alfalfa, Trefoil and Sweet Clover belong to other genera. Seed: When splitting a bean or a pea, the two halves seem to be kept together by the seedcoat only. One of them has a smooth, more or less shiny surface, on which no special texture can be dis- covered by the naked eye. Near the upper end of the other half is a peculiar organ consisting of two distinct portions. The upper is a bud (Fig. 5, B.), which corresponds to the similar formation in the grass embryo (see page 8). The lower, which lies close to the seed- coat, has a thicker upper part (Fig. 5, St.) and a tapering end (Fig. 5, Rad.), Fig. 6. Section through a Bean. t h e former being the Stem of the em- Four times natural size. , ,, i , , j- i r> _ , T, - , bryo, the latter its root or radicle. By B. Bud. Rad. Radicle. J J s*. Stem. Cot Cotyledon, far the greatest part of the seed (Fig. 5, Cot.) consists of the two cotyledons of the embryo. A leguminous embryo has thus two cotyledpns whereas a grass embryo has only one. But a leguminous plant has no endosperm. The function of the en- dosperm of a grass seed, as stated on page 8, is to supply the embryo with food during germination. This function in a leguminous plant is performed by the two cotyledons, which are thick and filled with food. Germination : When the seed of a leguminous plant germinates, the bud (Fig. 5, B.) develops into stem and leaves and the radicle (Fig. 5, Rad.) into the root of the plant. The stem of the embryo 14 ODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. (Fig. 5, St.) acts differently in different plants. In beans it grows in length and lifts the cotyledons (Fig. 5, Cot.), which gradually become flat and thin, above the ground. In peas it is short, and the cotyledons remain hidden in the soil for a long time, enclosed within the seed coat. Root system: Leguminous plants are annual, biennial or per- ennial. When annual, like Crimson Clover, or biennial, like Sweet Clover, the primary root of the embryo always develops into a tap- root. When they are perennial, a taproot may be found, or the under- ground system may consist of a rootstock, from which secondary roots are developed. With a rootstock the system is generally shallow and the plants depend on the surface soil for their food. A taproot usually penetrates to a considerable depth and the plant gets much of its food from the subsoil. Both secondary roots and taproots are characterized by small tubercles or clusters of nodules. The significance of these is discussed on page 18. Stems: The stems of leguminous plants are erect or ascending as a rule. Only in a few cases, as in White Clover, are they creeping and able to develop secondary roots from their joints. Plants of this type form more or less spreading mats, in which individuals are difficult to recognize. The same is often the case when the stems, as in Flat Pea, develop from a spreading and extensively branched rootstock. In some species and genera, as in Flat Pea and Vetches, the stems are weak and are kept from falling to the ground by special organs on the leaves, called tendrils (see below). Leaves: The leaves of leguminous plants are compound; that is, each leaf consists of a number of leaflets each completely separated from the others. The type a leaf consisting of a number of pairs of leaflets and ending with an odd one is that of Sainfoin (Plate 23). All other kinds are mere modifications of this type. Thus, when the leaflets are only three, as in Red Clover, Alfalfa, Sweet Clover and others, the well-known trifoliate leaf is obtained. In other species, such as the vetches (Plates 24 and 25) and Flat Pea, the blades of the upper leaflets are not developed ; only their ribs remain and they are transformed into tendrils, the function of which is to support the weak stems. Everybody knows that the plants in a field of peas or vetches are sometimes so firmly tied together, when the stand is dense, that to pull those at the end of a long row will move the plants at the other end. This is because the tendrils wind about the stems and branches of neighbouring plants and bind them together. These tendrils are LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 15 marvellous things. Rub one gently with a bit of straw and it will answer to the touch by bending. Give it an opportunity to grasp the branch of an adjoining plant and it will embrace the branch so firmly that it will be impossible to loosen the plants without breaking the tendril. It has the faculty of feeling and the ability to act. Its sensitiveness is so great that some tendrils can feel a weight of only a quarter of a milligram. Two appendages, the stipules, are at- tached to the base of the leaf stalk (Fig. 6, St.). They are gener- ally narrow and in- significant, but some- times, as in peas, they are shaped like the leaflets and are almost as large. C/ IW\^ IMSK1 Inflorescence: The OZ. (9m AT Vmmffl fet flowers of leguminous plants are in clusters which, however dif- ferent in appearance, are always construct- ed after the same principle. Sometimes they are long and comparatively sparse- ly covered with flow- ers, as in vetches Fig. 6. Leaf of Alsike Clover. (Plates 2A and 25). Natural size. _,, , ,, . St. Stipule. They are then called racemes. In other plants ^he racemes are short and the flowers crowded, as in Red Clover and Alsike. The inflorescences are then called heads. It is, however, impossible to draw a sharp line between a head and a raceme, the inflorescences, for instance, of Alfalfa (Plate 21) and Crimson Clover (Plate 17) being as much like short racemes as elongated heads. Flowers: The flowers of all leguminous plants are alike in general construction and totally different from the flowers of other plant 1 6 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. families. The lower part (Fig. 7, Sep.) is insignificant. It is com- posed of five green, toothlike organs, called sepals, connected at their base. The upper part, popularly called the flower, consists of five mostly showy petals. One of these is much larger than the others and encloses them in the bud. It is called the standard (Fig. 7, St.). The lateral ones are irregular in shape and are called wings (Fig. 7, W.). The two others grow together, forming a boatlike organ called Fig. 7 The different parts of a flower of Pea. Natural size. Sep. Sepals W. Wing. St. Stamens. S. Standard. K. Keel. O. Ovary of pistil. P. Stigma of pistil. the keel (Fig. 7, K.), which encloses the stamens (Fig. 7, St.) and the pistil. Nine of the ten stamens grow together in their lower parts, forming a tube that encloses the pistil. Each flower has only one pistil. It consists of a broad lower part, the ovary (Fig. 7, O.) and .a narrow upper part, strongly knee-bent and developed at its top into a stigma (Fig. 7, P.). Fertilization: Fertilization in leguminous plants is never per- formed by air currents. In a few genera, such as peas and vetches, the flowers are self-fertilized; that is, the pollen automatically fertilizes the pistil of its own flower. In most leguminous plants, however, the pollen is transported from one flower to another by insects, which visit the blossoms for the nectar stored at their base. When the flowers are large and showy, the standard acts as a sign, -announcing to the insect the location of the honey. In other species the comparatively small flowers are very numerous, and are thus visible at a long distance. Still others have insignificant flowers borne close to the ground. Such plants, like Trefoil, grow under taller neighbours, and are therefore more or less hidden. But in LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 17 spite of their humble appearance and secluded position, insects are attracted by the fragrance of the blossoms. A brief description of the fertilization, which varies in different genera, is given in connection with Alfalfa on page 114, and with Red Clover on page 99. Fruit : The fruit is a pod ; that is, a narrow fruit with leathery or papery walls. When ripe and dry, the pod splits its entire length and lets the seeds out. Its two halves often twist like a corkscrew, some- times with such violence that the seeds are thrown a considerable distance. In some species and genera there is only one seed, when the pod falls off without breaking up, but generally the seeds are numerous. Agricultural value: On well prepared land, stored with a fair supply of plant food, especially potash and phosphoric acid, legu- minous plants yield heavy crops of great nutritive value, relished by all kinds of stock. Putting aside their value for soiling, legumin- ous plants can be used to advantage for either hay or pasture. Their suitability for fodder depends largely on their mode of development. As a rule their nutritive value is highest when they are in bloom or shortly before. If intended for hay they should therefore not be cut too late. It is true that sometimes the crop is larger if cutting is delayed until shortly after the plants have completed flowering; but, on the other hand, the hay is coarse and more or less woody. It lacks palatability and fat and milk producing constituents, and in spite of its larger quantity it is of smaller total value than if cut at the proper time. Late cutting also spoils the second growth. When Red Clover and Alfalfa, for instance, begin to bloom, new shoots start from the crown of the root. If cutting is delayed until these shoots are high enough to be caught by the mower, it is evid- ent that the second growth will be seriously affected. Some species, like White Clover, are suitable for pasture, as the tramping of stock encourages the plants to new growth. Others, like Red Clover and Alfalfa, with a crown a little above the ground, must be pastured more carefully, tramping being apt to injure the plants if the soil is not in the proper condition. As the new growth starts from the crown, the plants should not be pastured too close, at any rate not late in the fall. It is well known that leguminous plants enrich the soil. This faculty used to be attributed to their rather deep root system. It was claimed that the taproots gathered from the subsoil great quan- tities of food inaccessible to plants with shallower roots. The sub- stances thus removed from the subsoil were said to be used in building 285492 1 8 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. up the superficial roots and the overground parts of the plants, which parts, when ploughed down, added this material to the surface soil. There is no doubt that plant food is removed from the subsoil and stored in the upper parts of the plants and that the above ex- planation should be considered. But the soil-enriching faculty of leguminous plants is connected with phenomena that render this explanation insufficient. Generally Alfalfa will not thrive on soil where it has never been grown before. The plants soon stop growth, turn yellow and finally die. If, however, some soil from an old Alfalfa field is sown on the land, a crop will be produced without any trouble. If the plants are examined, it will be found that the roots of those grown on old Alfalfa soil are provided with numerous nodules, whereas the roots of weak plants on virgin soil are destitute of them. Only quite recently have the origin and significance of these tubercles been understood. It has been proved that they are a kind of gall produced by certain bacteria. These bacteria live in the ground, attack the root hairs, break through their thin walls, and make their way to the interior of the root branches. There they propagate rapidly, forming masses within the nodules. Later on, most of the bacteria decompose and are used by the plants, which thus obtain additional food. As the bacteria are very rich in nitrogenous substances, the source of which is the air contained in the porous soil, leguminous plants are able to secure, indirectly through the bacteria, their nitrogen from the air. They are therefore able to accumulate nitrogen without robbing the soil and, when dying, to leave a supply of nitrogenous substances for succeeding crops. When soil from land where Alfalfa, for instance, has been suc- cessfully grown is put on a field, that field is supplied with the bacteria necessary for the development of Alfalfa. The amount needed is not large, two hundred pounds being sufficient for an acre. Instead of soil from old fields, artificial cultures of bacteria are now available at many botanical laboratories. These cultures, with directions for their use, are on sale in bottles at a low price. Nodule-forming bacteria are necessary for the proper development of all kinds of leguminous plants. But this does not mean that bacteria which will serve for a certain plant will satisfy another kind. On the contrary, there are different species and races of nodule- forming bacteria, and each species or race is able to produce nodules only on a certain kind of leguminous plant. Thus the bacteria which work on the roots of Red Clover are different from those which produce nodules on the roots of Alfalfa and are quite unable to benefit the latter plant. In using artificial cultures of nodule- bacteria therefore, care should be taken to procure the right kind. SEEDING TO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 19 SEEDING TO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. The preparation of the soil prior to seeding with grasses and clovers is usually intended primarily for the benefit of the nurse crop. To get a good catch, it is important that the surface soil be of fine tilth, friable, well-drained and contain a liberal supply of decaying vegetable matter. The tender seedling plants require plenty of moisture, though they are injured by an excess. If the soil lacks humus and a hard crust is formed over its surface, growth will be stunted and the young plants will suffer from even a few hot, dry days. Seeding to grasses and clovers should follow a cleaning crop that has had deep and thorough cultivation. The suppression of perennial weeds should precede the making of a meadow. Such a location as a clayey hillside, where the soil is apt to become hard after heavy rains, may be greatly improved by a light top-dressing of rotted stable manure, which should be incorporated with the surface soil by harrowing. On low, wet lands the best possible surface drainage should be provided, even for grasses that like abundant moisture. On the dryer prairie soils the subsoil should be packed to keep the moisture near the surface until the seedlings have grown robust. Nurse crops are designed, in part at least, for the protection of seedling plants of grasses and clovers. When all the soil moisture does not have to be saved for the meadow, a light nurse crop screens the seedlings from the burning heat of the sun; it helps to suppress weeds until the grasses have sufficient vigour to compete with them ; and it may give a return from the land while the meadow is devel- oping. Wheat or barley is generally considered most satisfactory as a nurse crop. Oats, even with thin seeding, are later to mature and apt to make too much shade. Standing in a nurse crop, one should be able at any time during the growing season to see the young grass ten or twelve feet away. The nurse crop should be ready to harvest as soon as tl\e grasses commence to tiller or stool out and the clovers or other legumes to develop new shoots or branches from the crown. In districts where the rainfall is less than thirty inches, or not well distributed throughout the growing season, the nurse crop may rob the young fodder plants of necessary moisture. In some seasons a good stand of Red Clover is difficult to obtain, partly because of the lack of humus in the soil, but also because the nurse crop, fre- quently oats, robs the young plants of the available moisture. If 22543-21 2O FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. the"meadow is of more importance than the nurse crop, it is advisable in a dry season to dispense with the latter; or, if planted, to cut it for fodder before the seedlings perish from thirst. The depth of seeding depends on the kind of seed, the char- acter and condition of the soil, and the moisture. It is said that no seed should be planted deeper than four times its diameter. When growing wild, fodder and pasture plants drop their ripe seeds, which germinate very near or on the surface of the soil. But nature is more wasteful than the farmer can afford to be; he should provide the best possible conditions for the development of a perfect seedling. Method of seeding: When the soil is quite firm, as for spring seeding on fall wheat land, harrowing after broadcast seeding, if the land is reasonably dry, makes a good tilth and covering for the grass and clover seeds and is beneficial to the wheat plants. When seeding after deep spring cultivation, the fodder crop seeds may be sown by the seeder in front of the grain drills and then rolled and given a stroke with a weeder; if the subsurface soil is firm and the surface in fine tilth the grain drill may be followed by a weeder alone to level the soil and redistribute the seeds that have been thrown together between the drills. If the weather is favourable, it is sometimes satisfactory, although bad practice, to broadcast the seed after the nurse crop has been sown and depend on rains to cover and protect it during germination. Any method that will insure its even distribution and a covering of half an inch is prefer- able to surface seeding without covering. Heavy rains are apt to wash the seed lying on the surface into the furrows and ditches. Then, too, many kinds of grass seeds that require two or more weeks to germinate may be destroyed if exposed on the surface. Sowing from one to one and a half inches deep is sometimes recommended for Alfalfa and other fodder crops on prairie soils. In semi-arid districts Alfalfa for seed crop may be thinly sown in drills from twenty to thirty inches apart. If the soil is very dry the growth will be dwarfed, but their deep roots enable the plants to get moisture enough to produce a fair yield of good seed. Implements are specially designed for sowing grass and clover seeds. Most grain seeders are fitted with an attachment, sometimes in front and sometimes behind the drill tubes, for sowing fodder plant seeds. If the surface is in fine tilth, and the grain drill is followed by a weeder or light harrow, to level the soil, the fine seeds are not apt to be covered too deeply, which sometimes happens in lumpy clay. The hand broadcast seeder, with a revolving disc to scatter SEEDING TO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 21 the seed, is a satisfactory implement for most grass and clover seeds and is quite generally used. When seeding with mixtures, however, it has the same disadvantage as scattering the seed by hand; the heavier clover seeds are thrown so much farther than the finer grasses that the distribution may be unequal. Thick seeding, especially for meadows of short duration, is commonly recommended by seedsmen and experienced farmers. For hay the advantage, as a rule, is not in an increased yield, but rather in the finer quality of the crop. If soil and weather are favourable, a satisfactory stand of Timothy, Alsike and Red Clover, for instance, may be had by sowing four, three and six pounds respectively per acre. By sowing six pounds of Timothy, four of Alsike and ten of Red Clover, the chance will be better for securing a good stand of plants, suppressing the weeds, and obtaining a large yield of hay of good quality. The cost of the additional seed should be considered as inexpensive insurance of satisfactory results. Thick seeding is not recommended for a seed crop. Both yield and quality of the seed are inferior when the stand is too thick. Quality of seed is an important factor in making a meadow. The rental value of the land plus the cost of preparing it are many times greater than the cost of the seed ; but if only a small percentage of the seed is capable of germination and that which is vital is not true to name, or if it is infested with noxious weed seeds, the total outlay may result in a loss, or, worse still, in a positive injury. The origin of growth of grass and clover seeds is often equiv- alent to varietal differences, usually in point of hardiness. Grass plants grown from seeds produced in a warm climate are more easily winter killed, and those from a moist temperate climate are more susceptible to drought than are thoroughly acclimated plants. Experiments with Alfalfa at Guelph show that northern grown seed,, particularly that from long-established fields in the district, is more hardy than seed obtained from dryer or warmer climates. Red Clover from southern Europe or from Chili, although of satisfactory type,, will not stand the Canadian winter as well as plants from home- grown seed. Competent seedsmen should know the origin of the grass and clover seeds they sell, and purchasers should demand seed of northern and, if procurable, of local production. Varieties : Few Canadian farmers differentiate between varieties of the common grasses and clovers. In fact, varieties of Timothy, 22 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. Orchard Grass, Western Rye Grass, early Red Clover, Alsike or Alfalfa are little known, and, with the exception of certain strains of Alfalfa, are not commercially available. Such varieties are of recent production, but the difference in point of earliness, yield or general quality is quite remarkable. As soon as reliable seed of the best varieties is available, farmers will find it profitable to use it instead of the ordinary seed of commerce. Percentage vitality in grass and clover seeds is an important consideration and should receive special attention in the case of the finer grasses. Fully ninety-five per cent, of the fodder crop seeds used in Canada consist of Timothy, Orchard Grass, Brome Grass, Western Rye Grass, Red Clover, Alsike and Alfalfa, and, with the exception of Brome Grass, commercial seeds of these kinds are sel- dom deficient in vitality. Good seed of Brome Grass, the Blue Grasses, Fescues and others of the finer grasses should germinate eighty per cent, or better; but commercial samples often contain less than fifty per cent, of vital seeds. Seed that will germinate eighty per cent, or better is really cheaper at thirty cents per pound than seed at half the cost, if the percentage vitality is commensurately low. Reliable seedsmen know what the vitality of their seeds is, but purchasers of the finer grass seeds should buy at least a month before planting time and test their seeds. Sow two hundred average seeds of each kind in light soil in a flower pot and keep them slightly moist in a living room temperature in a sunny window for about three weeks. Purity: The value of grass and clover seeds is affected most by the nature and amount of their impurities. Unfortunately it is diffi- cult to obtain these seeds free from weeds. One hundred weed seeds in an ounce of grass or clover may not be detected, but the weeds are very evident in the resultant crop. The folly of purchasing the in- ferior qualities is not always clear from an examination of the seed itself; and although the weeds may be quite evident in the meadow their bad effect on the stock is seldom fully appreciated. The best available seed is always the cheapest in the end. The suppression of noxious weeds in meadows is most effectively and economically accomplished by clean cultivation before fodder crop seeds are sown. Perennial weeds, such as Daisy, Thistle, Campion and Couch Grass, tend to increase in meadows. In a moist climate such annual and biennial weeds as Wild Oats and Blue Weed can be prevented from seeding and thus effectively suppressed by leaving the land in meadow for five years or more. SEEDING TO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 23 In a dry climate weed seeds buried in the soil retain their vitality longer. Mustards, Ragweeds and other annuals may be reduced by seeding the land to meadow or pasture for a term of years, though it is scarcely possible to prevent occasional plants from ripening a few seeds each year. After seeding to grass and clover on reasonably clean land, an early maturing nurse crop can usually be counted upon to check weed growth and prevent the seeds from maturing before the crop is harvested. The nurse crop should be ready to harvest or be cut for fodder within three or at most three and a half months after seeding. If weeds are not too prevalent when the nurse crop is harvested, it is better for the seedling grass and clover to leave a stubble four or five inches high. That will remove the seed stalks of the taller and more vigorous weeds and will enable the still tender fodder plants to gradually adapt themselves to altered conditions. Autumn weeds may be largely prevented from seeding by cutting with a mowing machine about a month after the nurse crop is har- vested, and when Ragweed is prevalent this is especially important. In the development of a meadow it frequently happens, as a result of unfavourable weather, irregular seeding, patches of too wet or too hard and dry soil, or a heavy nurse crop perhaps lodging in places, that the seedling plants suffer severely or are killed out in small areas. As soon as the autumn rains commence, or, if the soil is sufficiently moist, at any time after the summer heat is past, it is well to re-seed such patches quite thickly. If necessary, apply a thin dressing of rotted barnyard manure to cover the seed, to retain moisture and to insure vigorous autumn growth. If the killed out areas are large, it is sometimes advisable to use a sharp harrow to make a good seed bed. If the late fall is favourable and the re-seeded patches are well protected during the winter, they should make a fair growth, even for the first cutting, and succeeding crops will well repay the trouble and expense. In addition to the suppression of weeds, close cutting with a mowing machine, not later than the third week in September, or about a month after the nurse crop is harvested, stimulates the branch- ing and stooling out of the clovers and grasses, thus insuring a thicker stand and a more uniform growth the following spring. By removing the nurse crop stubble and the autumn weed growth, a cleaner and better quality of hay is secured from the first cutting. It is import- ant, however, that this be done in plenty of time to insure a good top growth for winter protection. The last cut of Alfalfa should be 24 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. made not later than the third week in August. After such autumn cutting the young meadow should not be pastured. Early the fol- lowing spring, if the land is sufficiently well drained, the use of a heavy roller is often beneficial. On the dryer prairie soils, where a nurse crop may not be used, two or three cuttings with a mowing machine will suppress the weeds and conserve the moisture, but the crop should not be cut after the middle of August. The lack of winter protection for young meadows is the most common cause of reduced yields and inferior quality of hay. During dry seasons, when natural pastures and fodder crops are short, the use of newly seeded meadows immediately the nurse crop is removed sometimes seems unavoidable, even when the seedling plants are struggling for existence and much reduced in vigour by their com- petition with a nurse crop that has robbed them of moisture rather than protected them. It is under just such conditions that pasturing is most disastrous. For every pound of forage taken from the young plants more than ten pounds are lost in the hay crop; the stand will be thinner and the quality of the hay poorer. The young plants should completely hide the ground and show a growth of six inches or more before the autumn season is past. Only when there is danger of smothering the crop from a rank growth of clover, which rarely occurs, is there any advantage in pasturing a young meadow the first year. Grasses and other fodder plants should be cut when the crop has reached its maximum value, in yield and quality, for cured hay; the effect on the aftermath or succeeding crops should also be considered. The main natural function of the plant is to repro- duce itself. Until its seed-bearing organs have been fertilized, it collects nutriment and stores it up in its tissues for the development and maturing of seeds. As soon as the flower is fertilized, the seed draws on the store of nourishment in the stems and leaves and the plant begins to harden. With some kinds of fodder plants, such as Blue-joint Grass, that depend largely on their roots for reproduction and bear few seeds, the hardening of the plant is less pronounced; but in nearly all the most valuable kinds the change from succulent and pliable tissues to brittle and woody stems and leaves is rapid and marked. Even before fertilization, many of the fodder plants, such as Alfalfa, Western Rye Grass and Timothy, commence to harden. If cut before the flowers are ripe for fertilization, the plant will renew its efforts to reproduce itself, and the aftermath or second crop SEEDING TO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 25 will consequently be greater. When cutting is delayed until seeds have started to develop, the natural tendency of Red Clover and other biennial fodder plants is to die down; with Timothy and other grasses the effect is apparent not only in the aftermath but also in the crop of the succeeding year. In wild nature the next year's crop would consist in part of young plants from seed which, under agricultural conditions, is frequently allowed to form but not to mature and drop. From the standpoint of the quality of the hay, nothing is gained and much may be lost by deferring cutting until the bloom is well advanced. The yield per acre is slightly increased during the few days between early and late flowering, but that small increase is obtained at the expense of a marked depreciation in quality; and if the aftermath or succeeding crops are taken into account, the total yield is actually reduced. When fodder crops that reach the early flowering stage at different times are sown together, as Early Red Clover and Timothy, the best time for the first cutting depends on the proportion of each. It will usually be found advisable, and in the end most economical, to cut when the early maturing clover is not more than two or three days past its best condition for hay-making. In dry, hot weather fodder crops ripen quickly, and a few days' delay may then do as much damage as a much longer period would in cool weather with a moist soil. For hay, cutting is best done by machine mowers. The harvest- ing of grass seed is commonly done with self-binders, the sheaves being stood together in small shocks to cure and ripen the seed. Close cutting for hay is recommended. When the fodder crop consists largely of clovers and is heavy and lodged in patches, the cutter bar should be so adjusted as to get below the stalks, else the remaining stubble will be dangerous to the machinery in tedding and raking and will leave a worthless roughage to be collected with the next hay crop. The advantage of a smooth surface, produced by the use of the weeder following the grain drill and by spring rolling across the furrows, is best appreciated when a heavy and badly lodged crop of clover is to be cut. It is usually convenient to cut during that part of the day when the dew prevents the work of making and hauling. When, however, the clover crop is heavy and liable to collect on the divider when wet with dew, late afternoon cutting is desirable. Tedding or turning the green fodder should commence soon after it is cut. If the crop 26 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. is heavy, tedding should be continued at intervals until the fodder is sufficiently cured to rake into coils and stack into small cocks. If at all possible, this should be done the day it is cut, or, if cut in the afternoon, the day after. Green fodder, when cut at the best stage for hay-making, usually contains about eighty per cent, of moisture. In good weather even a heavy crop of clover may be dried sufficiently in one day to be ready to put up in small cocks for further curing. The moisture in hay ready to store commonly ranges from twelve to fifteen per cent. A larger percentage would conduce to sweating and mow-burning. It is a good plan to cut until nine o'clock in the morning and then have one person ted and rake for the balance of the day; hauling and storing should proceed from nine o'clock until four or four- thirty in the afternoon, the remaining two hours or less to be devoted to putting up the freshly cured hay into cocks. Plans for hay-making are, however, often interrupted by showers, which add to the labour of curing and are often more disastrous to the quality of the hay than extreme dry heat. Even during continued rain it is advisable, by tedding or turning with a fork, to keep the partly cured hay loose and open to prevent it from packing and becoming soaked. Its flavour and much of its nutritive matter are more liable to be lost if it lies in a sodden mass than if it is kept loose and open though wet. If the w r eather is dry and hot, it is important to cut and cure promptly. Hay dried by the burning heat of the sun is apt to lose much of its fine quality; it is best shaken out and dried by light winds. In dry, hot weather it is advisable to use the tedder immediately after cutting and at frequent intervals and to rake and cock while the fodder is still quite moist. Rapid ripening sometimes makes it expedient to defer hauling in favour of cutting and curing. It is then advisable to put it up in large cocks. Because of the scarcity and cost of farm labour, approved methods of curing and handling have to be modified, and such im- plements as hay loaders substituted for hand labour and cocking. If hauling can be done from the windrow, as soon as the hay is suf- ficiently cured, good results are obtained. Compared with the labour of hay-making by the early settlers, when cutting was done with a scythe, curing by turning with a fork, raking with wooden rakes, and loading and unloading by hand, modern hay-making is not arduous. Ten acres of hay meant a fairly large undertaking for the pioneer farmer; his grandson, with less help but more machinery, can make light work of five times that area. When operating his machines he is not troubled with stumps SEEDING TO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 27 and stones. His grandfather built fences with them. Seated on his tedder, he can shake out as much hay in an hour as his great- grandmother and her daughters could in a day. The raking, loading and unloading are now largely done by horse-power. The effect of meadow weeds: With the evolution of labour- saving machinery and transportation facilities have come the intro- duction and dissemination of farm weeds. The losses due to weeds in the fodder crop are not well understood. The farmer can estimate the depreciation in the yield of grain caused by weeds, but the total yield of cured hay may be actually increased by their presence. Badly infested pastures are good places in which to study weeds. It will be observed that many kinds avoided by cattle are less objectionable to horses and are sometimes even relished by sheep. Some weeds, as Water Parsnip, are very poisonous. Others, such as the mustards, docks and daisies, are not dangerous unless con- sumed in considerable quantities or for long periods, when their poisonous nature is made evident by the chronic ill-health of the animals. When grazing, unless fodder grasses are quite depleted, live stock are not apt to consume enough weeds seriously to impair their health. When allowed to select their own food in fields, the animals, especially cattle, usually thrive much better than when provided with even more nutritious rations in the stable. The acrid flavour of Wormseed Mustard, False Flax, Shepherd's Purse and other members of the Mustard family is well known. They contain a strong irritant, the effects of which, if the weeds are consumed in quantity with cut feed, are best understood by those who have suffered under a mustard plaster. When fed for long on hay or grain that contains only a small quantity of the plants or seeds, the effects are less acute. They are first noticeable in the urine; the animal finally breaks out in deep ulcers, which, like those sometimes produced by prolonged applications of mustard plaster, are slow to heal. Most members of the Cockle family contain saponin, which is distinctly poisonous, and^ although they have not enough to prove fatal to horses and cattle eating cockle-infested hay, they conduce to an unthrifty condition indicated by imperfect digestion, loss of appetite, lack of vigour, a hot skin and gradual loss of flesh. Buttercups are strongly acrid and blister the mouths of animals; stock will not pasture where they are prevalent. When consumed in excess, or for a long period, they are said to cause abortion in cows. Many members of the Sunflower family are known to be un- wholesome, and some of them positively poisonous. Ragweed is a 28 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. strong irritant. Its pollen is believed to cause hay fever. Ragwort (Senecio Jacoboea), which is common in some parts ot the Atlantic provinces, has been shown to be the cause of the Pictou cattle disease. Like many other weeds poisonous to some kinds of stock and harmless to others, this is not injurious to sheep. The objectionable flavour of weedy hay induces stalled animals, which have no option but to eat it or starve, to pick over their fodder and eat only the palatable part. To avoid this apparent waste, the cutting box is used to turn weedy fodder into cut feed. The feed so prepared is rendered unpalatable and often unwholesome by the weeds. Milch cows will eat only enough to allay hunger and will produce a gallon of milk of disagreeable flavour instead of three gallons of good milk per day. Chronic ill-health and a condition of unthrift in the live stock, particularly in the cattle, is often found on a weed-infested farm. The value of a fodder crop may be reduced or even destroyed by weeds. In establishing a meadow then, it is most important to suppress objectionable weeds before the fodder crop seeds are sown. The duration of meadows and pastures depends on the kind of farming, soil and drainage. For naturally well-drained upland farms under mixed crops, short rotations with two years in Red Clover and grasses are recommended. As soon as the hay crop of the second year is removed, the meadow may be ploughed and fallowed for the balance of the year to suppress weeds. An application of farmyard manure, shallow ploughed or worked into the surface soil, should fit the land for spring planting with a hoed or other cleaning crop, which may be followed by a nurse crop of cereal grains, and again seeded to Red Clover and grasses for two years of meadow and pasture. Because of the scarcity of farm labour, less intensive systems of farming are popular in some districts. Large returns are obtained from Alfalfa with much less labour. Hardy strains, particularly of Variegated Alfalfa, are available, and when farmers get northern grown seed from the best strains they can count on satisfactory crops for years, provided the land is well drained and not infested with perennial weeds. In districts where the crop is protected by snow the danger of winter-killing is reduced. In the Niagara peninsula fields of Variegated Alfalfa of more than thirty years standing still produce large yields of fodder. Unless well protected, pure Alfalfa is apt to be killed out by severe winters and few fields continue to give satisfactory crops for more than five or six years. In wet, clayey soils and river flats it is often necessary or ex- pedient to leave the land to permanent meadows or pastures for long SEEDING TO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 29 periods. It is difficult to prepare low-lying wet soils for cereals in the early spring, and river flats are apt to be badly washed and furrowed by floods unless retained by sods. The annual deposit of sediment from spring freshets usually maintains the fertility of river flats left in permanent meadow, and if the most suitable grasses are well-established large yields of good hay may be obtained for many years. Fertilizing meadows of long duration is common in Europe, less frequent in the eastern provinces of Canada, and not at all general inland. A dressing of well-rotted farmyard manure applied in the early spring every two or three years is highly beneficial, and is the best way to maintain an upland meadow in good condition. The decaying manure spread over the surface forms a mulch that helps to retain the moisture. Clovers are often benefited by potash and gypsum or other form of lime, but are little affected by nitrogenous manures. Old meadows respond quickly to an application, at the commencement of the growing season, of nitrate of soda at the rate of about one hundred pounds per acre. On low-lying, naturally moist soil, good yields may be had by sowing every two or three years three or four hundred pounds per acre of mixed fertilizer or bone meal that is rich in nitrogen. Permanent pastures yield a small revenue when compared with thorough cultivation and alternate cropping. If used for soiling, ten acres of good Alfalfa will give as much nutritive fodder as forty acres in permanent pasture. The waste due to tramping is much greater in temporary pastures, such as Clover and Timothy, than in permanent pastures composed of grass mixtures, but the yield is usually much larger and the forage is more easily available to cattle. Permanent pastures are of greatest value for sheep. On land that is easily tillable and productive under alternate cropping, they are not recommended for cattle, unless it is impossible to procure labour to cultivate the land. Reseeding and renovating are seldom necessary when proper care is taken of a meadow and natural winter protection is provided. On some soils it will be found, however, that where several kinds of grasses and clovers are sown, one or two sorts will predominate, to the practical exclusion of the others. If a meadow of long duration or a permanent pasture is required, it may be necessary to supple- ment the kinds that have established themselves by re-seeding with other grasses. These must be selected with care and for a definite purpose; Red Top, for instance, might be chosen for bottom grass on moist lands where all other kinds except Timothy have been killed 30 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. out. The seeding should be done in the early spring, and, if the land is dry enough, a sharp harrow, followed by a heavy roller, may be used to cover the seed and secure a smooth surface. Hillsides and exposed places in newly-seeded as well as long- standing meadows and pastures often need renovating and re-seeding after a severe winter. A liberal re-seeding followed by the harrow or roller, or both, usually gives satisfactory results. If the soil on the re-seeded patches is apt to become hard and baked, a light dressing of well-rotted stable manure is necessary to insure a good catch. Both new and old meadows are benefited by spring rolling, especially if they have been repeatedly frozen and thawed during the early spring. CORN (Zea Mays L.) Other English names: Indian Corn, Maize. Botanical description: Corn is one of the tallest and most vigorous of the annual grasses. The stems, which vary in height in different types and varieties, are solid, whereas in most other grasses they are hollow. The leaves are long and broad, wavy and gradually tapering towards the apex. The top of the stem bears a large panicle with spreading branches, each of which forms a spike with numerous flowers. These flowers contain only the stamens- or male organs and are normally unable to form seeds. The seeds are developed in the ear, a kind of fleshy spike, the flowers of which are arranged in distinct rows and contain only the pistils or female organs. When young the ears are enclosed within a husk of broad leaves and nothing can be seen of the flowers. At flowering time a cluster of long, slender, yellowish-green or reddish threads protrude from the top of the ear. These threads, called the silk, are the top ends of the female flowers and catch the dust-like pollen developed in the male flowers and transported by the wind. The development of the ear starts, as in all other inflorescences of grasses, at the base and proceeds upwards. Thus the first visible silk threads belong to the lower flowers, which consequently, under normal conditions, are fertilized earlier than the upper ones. Should the weather during the latter part of the flowering period be unfavourable, the pollen will not be freely transported and deposited on the silk and the upper part of the ear may be partly or wholly barren, as the seeds are unable to- develop properly without fertilization. CORN. 31 Geographical distribution and history: Corn is undoubtedly of American origin. It was grown by the Indians long before the discovery of America. The Incas of Peru are said to have built large storerooms for it, to prevent famine in case of crop failure. It was grown as far north as the St. Lawrence valley when the first explorers arrived there. Ears of corn are often found in old Indian tombs, deposited with the deceased as provision for the long journey to the happy hunting grounds. Where or when it was first cultivated, or from what wild plant it developed, is not definitely known. It is generally assumed that its cultivation started in Central America and spread north and south. It has never been found wild. This might either mean that wild corn was extinct before botanists could make a record of it, or that it is a plant so different from the cultivated form that it is now impossible to recognize it. The latter assumption is the one generally favoured, and the plant mentioned as the probable primitive form is the Mexican Teosinte (Euchlaena mexicana Schrad.). Although very different from corn in its general appearance, Teosinte is evid- ently closely related to it, as is shown by the fact that hybrids obtained by crossing the two produce germinable seeds. Though this is not conclusive proof, it is evidence that corn may have de- veloped from Teosinte, for in all other known cases hybrids between distinct grass species are sterile. Climate: Being of southern origin, corn requires a warm, moist climate. In the north, where the season is short and the weather comparatively cool, only the earliest varieties reach full maturity under ordinary conditions. Soil: It demands a warm, fertile soil and thrives best in a deep, rich loam, well drained yet stored with abundant moisture. A good supply of organic matter, furnishing readily available plant food, will increase the yield considerably. Poor sandy soils, or soils with the water table near the surface, do not allow the roots to gather sufficient nourishment. In stiff clay, or in soils which form a hard- pan subsurface, the growth is slow and the yield uncertain, especially in dry weather. Varieties: Corn includes hundreds of agricultural varieties. This is chiefly due to the readiness with which cross-fertilization takes place between individuals of different types. Some varieties are dwarfs, no more than eighteen inches high; others are giants, 32 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. reaching a height of from twenty to twenty-five feet. In some the ears are only an inch or two long; in others as much as sixteen inches. The number of kernel rows, which is always even, ranges from eight to twenty-four or more, according to variety. Abnormal individual ears sometimes have as few as four in some varieties, or as many as forty-eight in the large-eared sorts. The size of the kernels, their shape, colour, chemical composition, etc., are extremely variable. According to Dr. E. L. Sturtevant, the varieties may be classified into the following seven principal groups. 1. The pod corns have each kernel enclosed in a pod or small husk and the ear thus formed is also enclosed in husks. All other groups have naked kernels within the husks. It is doubtful, however, whether the pod corns form a natural group. Possibly the husks surrounding the kernels are abnormal and might be found in any of the main groups. This opinion is supported by the fact that the kernel structure varies in the pod corns. 2. The pop corns are characterized by an excessive proportion of the corneous endosperm; that is, the nutritious matter, which forms the greater part of the kernel and is stored for the use of the sprouting germ, contains little starch. In this group the kernels and ears are small. The property of popping over a fire, which is the complete turning inside out of the kernel through the explosion of its moisture content, is most pronounced in varieties which have a corneous endosperm throughout and is less marked as the percentage of starch increases. 3. The flint corns may be recognized by the central part of the endosperm being starchy and completely surrounded by a corn- eous coat, varying in thickness in different varieties. Cartier found varieties of this group in the neighbourhood of Montreal. 4. The dent corns have the central starchy part of the endo- sperm surrounded by a corneous layer at the sides of the kernel only, the starchy endosperm thus extending to the summit of the kernel. When the endosperm dries and shrinks, various indentations are formed on the summit of the kernel. The dent corns are extensively grown in the United States, the number of varieties exceeding that of all other varieties combined. . 5. The soft corns have no corneous endosperm. The shrinkage in ripening is therefore uniform in all parts of the kernel. To this group belong the mummy corns of Peru and Chili. CORN. 33 6. The sweet corns are characterized by translucent, horny kernels and their more or less crinkled, wrinkled or shrivelled con- dition. These corns are extensively grown for canning, especially in the eastern parts of North America. 7. The starchy-sweet corns have the lower part of the kernel starchy, the upper part half-horny and translucent. Little is known about this group. Agricultural value: When Columbus landed in the West Indies, he was presented with a kind of bread made from a grain which the natives called "mahiz." From this word is derived the English maize, under which name the plant is known in Europe. Columbus took corn home with him, but outside of Spain and Portugal the plant was but slowly appreciated in Europe. It is now grown there, especially in Italy, where corn porridge (polenta) is the working man's common food, in Spain, where cakes of corn meal (tortellas) are of great importance, and in the countries along the lower course of the Danube. Latterly it has been grown ex- tensively in Europe, East India and Africa. Its cultivation in Europe, Asia or Africa, however, cannot be compared with its cul- tivation in America. In South and Central America and in the United States it is grown for both grain and fodder. Its importance as a forage plant increases northwards with latitude; along the northern limits of the corn belt it is grown principally for that pur- pose. Fodder: Corn is commonly fed green as a supplement to pasture in the late summer and autumn. It is liked by all kinds of stock, but for soiling it is especially valuable for cattle. It is sometimes cut green and cured into dry fodder, but it is retentive of moisture and difficult to store for winter feeding When grown for husking, the cured fodder, after the ripened grain is removed, is hard and woody. When cut short for feeding, moistened and left in a pile until fermentation starts, dry corn stover becomes more succulent, is wholesome, and is a cheap, bulky food for store cattle. It is, however, deficient in feeding value when compared with corn cut about two weeks earlier and made into ensilage with the grain. In Canada, corn is grown as an ensilage crop almost to the ex- clusion of all others. Even along the northern limits of the corn belt the early dwarf flint varieties, such as the common Eight-rowed Yellow, will yield a larger food value per acre than any other forage 285493 34 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. crop. The type and variety best suited to the production of ensilage in any locality depend on the length of the growing season and the natural warmth of the soil. The maximum food value per ton is obtained from corn that has reached the glazed stage of maturity, or that stage of ripening when the kernels commence to form a hard crust over their surface. The protein or flesh-forming constituents are then of the greatest amount and highest quality, having developed from nitrogenous substances of a much lower feeding value, which were present in liquid form in the earlier stages of ripening. Ensilage made from corn that has reached only the early milk stage is commonly sour, and although valuable for its succulence, it is markedly de- ficient as a food for stock when compared with corn that has nearly reached maturity. It is of first importance to have ensilage corn capable of reaching the glazed stage, even under slightly unfavourable weather con- ditions, in plenty of time for harvesting before danger of frost; it is of secondary importance to obtain a large yield of both stalk and grain. As a rule, the most profitable variety to grow for ensilage on average soil the variety that will give the largest food value per acre is one that may be depended upon to reach full maturity when grown on a warmer soil in the same locality or on a similar soil not more than forty or fifty miles south of it. Experience in ensilage-making invariably demonstrates the wisdom of increasing the acreage of early varieties rather than of depending on large yielding late sorts for the desired tonnage. For fodder, corn is commonly planted in drills at the rate of from twelve to twenty quarts of good seed to the acre. The drills should be not less than thirty-six inches apart for the short-growing early sorts, and forty- two inches for the tall, late varieties. When two or more varieties of corn for ensilage are to be planted it is advisable to plant them separate, especially if one of the sorts is taller and later in flowering than the other. When the smaller and earlier varieties are planted in mixture with the larger and later sorts the smaller, early corns are usually imperfectly fertilized and the yield of grain from them is reduced. Seed: Cross-fertilization between varieties should be prevented if possible. The pollen is carried long distances by wind, and seeds of varieties grown within four hundred yards of each other are apt to be more or less impure. Both shelled corn and corn in the ear are very retentive of moisture; unless the seed is thoroughly dried before being stored the vitality is apt to be injured or destroyed by heating or severe MILLETS. 35 freezing. When fully ripe, seed corn should be cut and dried on the stalk before husking. If the weather is damp and unfavourable to drying in the shock, the seed should be dried on the ear by artificial means; it should be protected from freezing until the cob is quite dry and brittle. A dark germ with a wrinkled covering shows that the seed has been injured by frost. MILLETS. The millets are among the most ancient agricultural plants, grown from time immemorial in Asia and parts of Europe, where the seed is used chiefly as human food. In America they are grown as forage plants. In Canada they are seldom used in the regular rotation, but are grown as catch crops. All millets require a rich, loamy soil, stored with plant food near the surface and containing a liberal amount of moisture. Under favourable conditions the growth is rapid and a good stand is obtained in a short time. The crop can be used for hay, pasture or ensilage. The numerous varieties grown in Canada and the United States belong to four species widely different in general appearance. When the sunne shineth, make hay. John Heywood, Proverbes, 1546. Some persons recommend that, before housing the corn, a bramble frog should be hung up by one of the hind legs at the threshold of the granary. To me it appears that the most important pre- caution of all is to house the grain at the proper time; for if it is unripe when cut, and not sufficiently firm, or if it is got in in a heated state, it follows of necessity that noxious insects will breed in it. Pliny, Natural History, 23-79. Accuse not nature, she hath done her part; Do thou but thine, and be not diffident Of wisdom; she deserts thee not, if thou Dismiss her not, when most thou need'st her nigh. Milton, Paradise Lost, 1669. If you sow one Ground still with the same Corn, (I mean not the same Corn that grew upon the same Ground, but the same kind of Grain, as Wheat, Barley, &c.) it will prosper but poorly; therefore besides the resting of the Ground, you must vary the seed. Bacon, Natural History, 1625. As touching the various ways in which the earth itself needs treatment, either as being too moist for sowing, or too salt for planting, these and the processes of cure are known to all men: how in one case the superfluous water is drawn off by trenches, and in the other the salt corrected by being mixed with various non-salt bodies, moist or dry. Yet here again, in spite of knowledge, some are careful of these matters, others negligent. Xenophon, The Economist, 434-355 B.C. 36 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. COMMON MILLET (Panicum miliaceum L.)* Plate i; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. i. Botanical description: Common Millet is an annual, generally from two to four feet high. The stems are erect or ascending from a decumbent base, rather stout and covered with outstanding hairs. The leaves, which are also hairy, are flat and broad. The flowers are in large panicles, which are often drooping and contain a great number of spikelets. As a rule these are bright green, but occasion- ally they have a blackish or purplish tint. Each spikelet contains a single flower with a bright red pistil. History: The wild plant from which the cultivated Common Millet originated is not known; its cultivation goes further back than history. The Swiss lake dwellers grew it as early as 2000 B.C. and it has also been traced to the lake dwellings of Italy. It is cultivated in eastern and southern Europe, and is of great importance in east and south Africa. It was introduced into America rather early, but has never been extensively grown in Canada. Varieties: Like all other long-cultivated plants, Common Millet occurs in a large number of varieties, differing from each other es- pecially in the shape and structure of the panicle and the colour of the seed. In some the panicle is open and erect, in others it is compact and headlike. Broom Corn Millets have a spreading and drooping panicle which resembles the seed cluster of Broom Corn. The names of other varieties, such as White and Red French, refer to the colour of the seed. Agricultural value : Common Millet is better suited for human food than any other of the millets mentioned. It is largely grown for that purpose in the eastern parts of the Old World. Before the potato was known it furnished the main part of the poor man's food in central Europe. At present it is of practically no importance there as food for the people. In North America it is used exclusively as a forage plant. When intended for hay it is important to cut it at the right time. "This plant is the Common Millet of Europe, grown there from time immemorial. Some confusion has arisen from the fact that what is sometimes called Common Millet in America is not the Common Millet of Europe but is a Foxtail Millet, in Canada chiefly the Hungarian variety. Plafe I COMMON MFLLE-T ( Panicum miliaceum L.) COMMON MILLET. 37 It has its highest nutritive value when in bloom; after that the quality of the hay deteriorates rapidly. When sown for hay or pasture, thirty pounds of seed should be used per acre; when grown for seed, twenty pounds are sufficient. Seed: The seeds of Common Millet are considerably larger than those of the Foxtail Millets. They are about one-eighth of an inch long, ovate, somewhat flattened, with the outer side more convex than the inner, shiny and differently coloured in different varieties. The ordinary colours are white, red, yellow, brown, grey and black. The seed of Japanese Panicle Millet, which is the most widely grown variety of Common Millet in Canada, weighs sixty pounds to the bushel. Even though the earth lie waste and barren, it may still declare its nature; since a soil productive of beautiful wild fruits can by careful tending be made to yield fruits of the cultivated kind as beau- tiful. Xenophon, The Economist, 434-355 B.C. Many persons, for the more effectual protection of millet, recommend that a bramble-frog should be carried at night round the field before the hoeing is done, and then buried in an earthen vessel in the middle of it. If this is done, they say, neither sparrows nor worms will attack the crop. The frog, however, must be disinterred before the millet is cut; for if this is neglected, the produce will be bitter. It is pretended, too, that all seeds which have been touched by the shoulders of a mole are remarkably productive. Pliny, Natural History, 23-79. Be suer of hay, and of provender some, For labouring cattle, till pasture be come. And if ye do mind, to have nothing to sterve, Have one thing or other, for all things to serve. Thomas Tusser, Five Hundreth Poinles of Husbandrit, 1557. A soil that is blackish and rich under the entered ploughshare, and whose mould is loose and crumbling, for this we aim at in ploughing, is generally best for corn That land which exhales thin mists and flying vapour, and drinks in the moisture, and emits it at pleasure; and which, always green, clothes itself with its own grass, and does not hurt the ploughshare with scurf and salt rust that, you will find by experience, to be both suitable for cattle and fitted for agriculture. Virgil, Georgics, 37 B.C. It is a world also to see how manie strange hearbs, plants and annuall fruits are dailie brought unto us from the Indies, Americans, Taprobane, Canarie lies, and all parts of the world: the which, albeit that in respect of the constitutions of our bodies they doo not grow for us, because that God hath bestowed sufficient commodities'upon everie countrie for hir owne necessitie ; yet for delectation sake unto the eie, and their odoriferous savours unto the nose, they are to be cherished, and God to be glorified also in them, because they are his good gifts, and created to doo man help and service. William Harrison, 1593. 38 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. FOXTAIL MILLET (Setaria italica (L.) (Beauv.) Plate 2; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 3. Other Latin name: Ixophorus italicus (L.) Nash. Botanical description: Foxtail Millet is an annual with rather stiff and erect stems, ordinarily from two to four feet high, but sometimes reaching a height of six feet or more. The leaves arc- broad and somewhat similar in size and texture to those of Common Millet. From the latter, however, this plant is easily distinguished, even when very young, by its lack of hairiness. The inflorescence is a contracted panicle, often nodding at the top; on account of its short branches it resembles a spike. Its lower branches, as a rule, are not so close together as the upper ones. The spikelets are crowded and mixed with stiff bristles, the latter representing branches on which no spikelets are developed. These bristles are generally long and often reddish or purplish. They give the panicle the appearance of a foxtail, which is the common name for cultivated millets belonging to the genus Setaria. Each spikelet contains only one flower with a yellow pistil. History: It is generally assumed that Foxtail Millets developed in prehistoric time from Green Foxtail or Pigeon Grass (Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv.), which in many parts of Canada is a trouble- some weed; but there seems to be no conclusive proof of this. At any rate, its cultivation goes very far back. It is one of the five holy plants which, according to a command issued 2700 B.C., were sown each year by the emperor of China at a public ceremony. At present it is grown extensively in Central Asia, northern East India, China and Japan. It is also cultivated in southern and eastern Europe, but is there of only secondary importance. Varieties : There are a great many so-called varieties of Fox- tail Millet, most of which, however, are not varieties in a botanical sense and are therefore not clearly defined. So-called German Millet illustrates this fact. This variety is so variable in appearance and habit of growth that practically no field is uniform. Hungarian Millet or Hungarian Grass, Japanese Millet, Siberian Millet, Golden Wonder, Holy Terror, Gold Mine, etc., are more or less distinct varieties and yet are not really uniform within themselves. Plate 2 HUNGARIAN OR GPRMAN MILLlrT (Sehana ihaiica a.) Betuu>.). PEARL MILLET. 39 Agricultural value: Foxtail Millet is an important food plant in many parts of Asia, especially in northern China, where the seed is ground and used for porridge. In America it is not used for human food. The best time to cut for hay is when the majority of the plants are in bloom, as the nutritive value of the stems and leaves is then greatest. When the plants begin to blossom, the bristles of the spikes are still soft and harmless, but when the flowering period is over they become stiff and harsh, produce more or less irritation in the digestive tract of the animals, and are said to sometimes form compact balls in the stomach, causing serious trouble or even death. When used for pasture, millet should be grazed before the heads are formed. When grown for hay or pasture, thirty pounds of seed should be sown to the acre ; when grown for seed production, twenty pounds are sufficient. Seed: The seed varies in size. It is always smaller than the seed of Common Millet, but is of the same general shape, though the inner side is more decidedly flat. The colour varies with the variety, ranging from orange and yellow to grey and black. Some- times different coloured seeds are found in the same variety. This is especially the case in Hungarian Grass, the seed of which varies from pale yellow to black; seeds of widely different colour may occur in the same plant and even in the same head. So far as is known, no satisfactory explanation of this fact has been offered. It may be the result of cross-fertilization and thus correspond to the similar phenomenon observed in corn. A bushel of Foxtail Millet seed weighs forty-eight pounds. PEARL MILLET (Pennisetum typhoideum Rich.) Pearl Millet is an annual plant which, on rich alluvial soil and under favourable climatic conditions, reaches a height of from six to fifteen feet. The stems are, extremely leafy and the flowers are borne in dense spikes, frequently fourteen inches in length. The plant somewhat resembles corn, although it is more slender and more branching. Pearl Millet is a native of tropical Africa, where it is as important as wheat is in America. It includes a considerable number of var- ieties, none of which, however, has proved suitable to the climate of Canada. 4O FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. BARNYARD MILLET (Panicum Crus-galli L.). Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 2. Other Latin names: Echinochloa Crus-galli (L.) Beauv.; Oplismcnus Crus-galli Drum. Other English name: Barnyard Grass. Botanical description: Barnyard Millet is an annual which grows to a height of from one to three feet. The stems, often knee- bent, are ascending and rather stout. It differs from other millets mentioned by having the sheaths of the leaves compressed and sharply keeled and by the presence of a bunch of long hairs at the base of the leaf. The panicle is composed of numerous one-sided clusters of spikelets, varying in size, colour and general appearance. Each spikelet consists of a single flower, which generally has a short stout awn. In some varieties (for instance, Japanese Barnyard Millet) the awn is wanting, while in others it is very long. Geographical distribution: Barnyard Millet is indigenous to the Old World, where it occurs in moist fields, in gardens, along roads and ditches, in waste places, etc., often as a troublesome weed. It is not a native of Canada, but was introduced early. Agricultural value: Being a coarse grass which rapidly deteri- orates in quality after blooming, Barnyard Millet should be cut for hay when the plants are in flower, or even earlier. If intended for ensilage, cutting may be delayed until flowering is well over. Twenty pounds of seed should be sown to the acre for hay; for seed production, twelve and a half pounds are enough. Meadow land will grow old in time, and it requires to be renovated every now and then, by sowing upon it a crop of beans, or else rape or millet, after which it should be sown the next year with corn, and then left for hay the third. Pliny, Natural History, 23-79. The sticks and the stones go gather up clean, For hurting of scythe, or for harming of green. Thomas Tusser. Five Hundreth Pointes of Husbandrie. 1557. Come then, let your sturdy bullocks forthwith turn up the rich soil, in the very earliest months of the year; and let the dusty summer with its strongest suns bake the clods as they lie exposed. But if the land be not rich, it will be enough to plow it lightly, rather before the rising of Arcturus; in the former case, lest weeds obstruct the healthy corn; in the latter, lest the scanty moisture forsake the unproductive soil. Virgil, Georgies, 37 B.C. REED CANARY GRASS. 4! REED CANARY GRASS (Phalaris arundinacea L.). Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 4. Botanical description: Reed Canary Grass is a perennial plant with a vigorous creeping rootstock, from which long, scaly, underground runners are developed. These creep extensively and later send up stout, smooth stems, from two to six feet high. The leaves are broad, almost a foot long and sometimes marked with white stripes. The panicle is large with rather short branches, which are spreading during flowering time but later become erect. The spikelets, which are crowded toward the end of the branches, are narrow, pale green, sometimes slightly tinged with purple. They are generally a little curved and contain only one awnless flower. The panicle resembles that of Orchard Grass, but is readily dis- tinguished by the one-flowered spikelets. Geographical distribution: Reed Canary Grass is native in almost all Europe and the temperate parts of Asia, Siberia and North America. It is fairly common in Canada, especially in the Prairie Provinces. Habitat: It grows naturally on low, wet ground, along streams and ditches, and in marshes and sloughs. Although a native of wet ground, it will endure considerable drought. It is little affected by frost. Agricultural value: This grass becomes rather coarse and stiff with age and should be used for hay or pasture when comparatively young. In many parts of the great plains of the northern United States it forms a large part of the native hay. Biting cold would never let grass grow. Shakespeare, 2 Henry VI., Act 3, Sc. II,, 1592. What is good tillage? First, to plow thoroughly: second, to plow: third, to manure. The other part of tillage is to have good seed, to sow plentifully, and to take up all the weeds that may grow during the season. Cato, 95-46 B.C. If after you have put the seed into the ground, you will await the instant when, while earth is being richly fed from heaven, the fresh green from the hidden seed first springs, and take and turn it back again, this sprouting germ will serve as food for earth: as from manure an inborn strength will presently be added to the soil. But if you suffer earth to feed the seed of corn within it and to bring forth fruit in an endless round, at last it will be hard for the weakened soil to yield large corn crops. Xenophon, The Economist, 434-355, B.C. 285494 42 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. SWEET VERNAL GRASS (Anthoxanthum odor alum L.) Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 5. Botanical description: Sweet Vernal Grass is a perennial, with a short rootstock and tufted stems. The stems reach a height of from half a foot to two feet and carry the leaves principally toward their base. The leaves are bright green, short and hairy along the margins, especially below. The flowers are arranged in a dense, spikelike panicle, which is green when young but later turns golden yellow. Each spikelet contains three flowers, two of which, however, are barren and greatly reduced. Each barren flower con- sists of a dark-coloured glume covered with dense, stiff hairs and provided with a strong knee-bent awn. The fertile flower, which is placed between the barren ones, is of the ordinary type, but contains only two stamens. Geographical distribution: Sweet Vernal Grass is distributed over large areas of the Old World. It is common in most European countries, western and northern Asia, and parts of northern Africa. It has been introduced into North America and occurs especially in the eastern parts of Canada. Habitat: It grows naturally in meadows, woods, gardens, and on almost any kind of soil. It prefers moist sands and loams, though it is little affected by drought. Agricultural value: Sweet Vernal Grass is one of the earliest grasses. On account of its low growth and short leaves, however, the agricultural value is not great. It contains a sweet-smelling substance which, while giving the hay an agreeable odour, makes the taste of the plant bitter and not liked by stock. It is the best plan to cut hay in the night while the dews are falling. Pliny, Natural History, 23-79. Awake, the morning shines, and the fresh field Calls us, we lose the prime, to mark how spring Our tended plants * * * * How nature paints her colours, how the bee Sits on the bloom extracting liquid sweet. Milton, Paradise Lost, 1669. To obtain the knowledge the farmer needs, he must not only think about planting, but he must do it. Cato, 95-46, B.C. KNOT ROOT GRASS. 43 KNOT ROOT GRASS (Muhlenbergia racemosa (Michx.) BSP.) Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 6. Other Latin name : Muhlenbergia glomerata Trin. Botanical description: Knot Root Grass is perennial with a vigorous root system. Its creeping rootstocks are branched, ir- regularly tubercled, and send out numerous scaly runners, from the ends of which stems develop. The stems are from one to three feet high, rather succulent when young, becoming hard and woody when old. They are freely branched, especially below, and form loose tufts or rather dense, extensive mats. The leaves are narrow, nu- merous and crowded, chiefly towards the base of the stems. The panicles are narrow, three to four inches long, with short, upright branches. The latter are densely crowded with narrow spikelets, which consist of two awl-shaped sterile glumes, enclosing a single flower shorter than the glumes. Geographical distribution and habitat: Knot Root Grass is a native of Canada, distributed practically all over the country. It reaches its greatest perfection on loose, gravelly or sandy soil and does not thrive where the ground is too moist. In wet soil the stems are low and the whole plant is often tinged with purple. Agricultural value: This plant has been subjected to experi- ments for some time, but no conclusive evidence has been gained regarding its agricultural value. About twenty pounds of good seed should be sown to the acre for hay or pasture. Titania. Or, say, sweet love, what thou desir'st to eat. Bottom. Truly, a peck of provender: I could munch your good dry oats. Methinks I have a great desire to a bottle of hay: good hay, sweet hay, hath no fellow. Shakespeare, Midsummer Nigkt's Dream, Act 4, Sc. I., 1505. -." Good provender, labouring horses would have, Good hay and good plenty, plough-oxen do crave; To hale out thy muck, and to plow up thy ground, Or else it may hinder thee many a pound. Thomas Tusser, Five Hundreth Pointes of Husbandrie, 1557. The term "goods" may be defined as something that is serviceable to the owner. The same things therefore are goods to him who knows how to make use of them but not goods to him who does not know. Land certainly can not be called a part of a man's goods if, instead of supporting him, i t brings him nothing but hunger. Xenophon, The Economist, 434-355, B.C. 44 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. TIMOTHY (Phleum pratense L.). Plate 3; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 7. Other English names: Meadow Cat's Tail, Herd's Grass. Botanical description: Timothy is a perennial grass which has a very short rootstock and therefore grows in more or less compact tufts. The stems, which reach a height of from one to four feet or more, are smooth and generally erect. Especially on dry and hard soil the base of the stems is thickened into a kind of bulb, which contains a supply of nutritive matter of a peculiar kind. The leaves, which when in bud are rolled inward from one side, are generally short compared with the height of the plant. The spikelets are arranged in a dense, cylindrical, spikelike inflorescence, each spikelet containing but one flower enclosed in a pair of acutely keeled glumes, which are not fastened together as in Meadow Foxtail. In shape and size the spikes of Timothy and Meadow Foxtail are somewhat similar, but that of Timothy feels rough when touched, whereas the spike of Meadow Foxtail is very soft. When in flower the arrange- ment of the male and female organs is conducive to cross-fertil- ization, which is effected by air currents. Geographical distribution: Timothy is indigenous to Europe with the exception of Turkey. It is also a native of northern Africa and large portions of western Asia and Siberia. It was introduced into North America with the early settlers, and is now generally cultivated throughout the northern United States and the eastern provinces of Canada. History: Although a native of Europe, the value of Timothy was first recognized in North America. It was brought to Maryland about 1720 by Timothy Hanson, after whom it was named. The name Herd's Grass, which is used in New England, is said to be derived from a Mr. Herd, who found it in New Hampshire and introduced it into cultivation. Cultural conditions: For cold, moist or wet lands, particu- larly for heavy clay soils, Timothy is superior to any other grass for hay. It succeeds best on moist loams and clays. It does not thrive on sour lands or on soils liable to become parched during drought, such as impoverished sandy soils or shallow soils over rocks. Plate 3 TIMOTHY ( Pbleuro prepense L. TIMOTHY. 45 Timothy is essentially a plant of temperate climates and is affected more by conditions of moisture than by temperature. It is very resistant to cold and bears a heavy cover of snow of long duration. Although the root system is rather shallow, it stands drought fairly well; the yields, however, are light under too dry conditions. Varieties: Timothy includes innumerable types, markedly dif- ferent from each other and of widely different agricultural value. In places where wild Timothy, or Timothy escaped from cultivation, has established itself, hundreds of types can be found side by side under exactly the same conditions. Giant plants, extremely leafy and consequently of great economic value, may be found cheek by jowl with small, dwarf types with but few leaves and spikes only half an inch long. Open tufts with ascending or almost decumbent stems may be seen in company with dense and bunchy tufts. Pale green, bluish green and bluish red plants may be found growing side by side. Early types, with the basal leaves brown and dead, may occur alongside of late maturing plants with an abundance of green leaves. Habits of growth: Timothy is rather slow-growing and as a rule medium to late in maturing. It is in flower early in July in the southwest peninsula of the province of Ontario and from the middle to the end of July in Manitoba and northeastern Quebec. The seed is ripe about a month after flowering. If sown with cereals in the spring, it gives a satisfactory hay crop the following year. Agricultural value: Timothy is used in Canada almost to the exclusion of other grasses, largely because clean seed of strong vitality is generally available at a low price. The expense per acre of seeding is less than with any other grass. If fed alone, it is of low nutritive value for growing animals or for milk production, because it is deficient in flesh-forming constit- uents; it is therefore not a profitable fodder by itself for those pur- poses. A liberal mixture of clover improves it. It is favoured for work horses that have heavy grain rations as well, and, on account of its digestibility, it is the standard hay for livery horses required to work immediately after feeding. Except on rich, moist lands, it does not by itself develop into a thick stand of plants, and for uplands it is better sown with other grasses or with Red Clover. When a fodder crop is required for only two years in a short rotation, it may be sown alone or with Alsike 46 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. Clover on heavy, moist or wet soils, and with Red Clover on dryer and lighter land. By relatively thick seeding a grass of finer texture is produced, which should be cut soon after the spike is well formed and flowering has commenced. If left until late flowering, some in- crease in yield is obtained at the expense of the quality and feeding value of the hay. When it reaches its maximum growth, the stalk becomes hard and woody. If a second growth is wanted, it should be cut just before the flowering period, as this makes the aftermath greater. When sown alone, from nine to fifteen pounds of good, fresh seed should be applied per acre. Timothy is not a desirable pasture grass, except as a part of a mixture. On account of its shallow root system and somewhat bunchy growth, it will not stand tramping as well as other grasses commonly recommended for pasture. In the dryer uplands it will within a few years give place to the native grasses, especially if the fields are allowed to be grazed bare by sheep. Seed: For a seed crop Timothy should be harvested as soon as possible after the plant has reached full maturity when the spike turns from green to yellowish. If harvested too early, the seed will be small, undeveloped and of poor germinating power. If harvested after it is ripe, the seed is apt to hull when it is threshed and to lose its bright silvery lustre, thus giving it the effect of old seed. Timothy is commonly threshed with an ordinary grain thresher, although the best obtainable seed is harvested by hand and threshed by flail. It is grown in the St. Lawrence valley and Georgian Bay district, and the quality of this seed from the standpoint of boldness and bright silvery colour is not surpassed. It is sometimes saved from screenings of fall wheat sown after Timothy sod, but such seed is generally polluted with False Flax and other weed seeds not common in grass lands. Seed of good quality is of a bright silvery lustre, and only a small amount is hulled. Dull-looking seed is either old or has been harvested or stored under unfavourable conditions. When newly threshed, the vitality of the hulled seeds is not inferior to that of the unhulled ; but the naked seeds lose their vitality earlier than those enclosed in seed coats. If fully matured seed is preserved in a cool, dry place, it retains its vitality from three to five years; even when nine years old it gives a high total percentage of germinable seeds, although at that age the germ is usually perceptibly weakened. TIMOTHY. The legal weight per bushel is forty-eight pounds. The great bulk of the Timothy seed of commerce is clean when compared with the seeds of other grasses and clovers. The prin- cipal weed seeds to be guarded against when purchasing it are Ox- eye Daisy, False Flax, Mayweed, Sheep Sorrel, Bladder Campion, Perennial Sow Thistle, Canada Thistle, Chickweed and Cinquefoil. Timothy, like many other species of grasses, is attacked by Ergot (Clamceps}. Ergot grains (sclerotia) vary in size and form according to the species of grain or grass on which they develop. The solid bodies are dark purple and may readily be detected protruding from the seedcoat in the spike. Meadows infested with Ergot should not be taken for seed. Mow your hay in the proper season and be cautious that you do not mow it too late. Cut before the seed is ripe. Cato, 95-46 B.C. Here may'st thou range the goodly, pleasant field, And search out simples to procure thy heal, What sundry virtues, sundry herbs do yield, 'Gainst grief which may thy sheep or thee assail. Michael Drayton, Eclogue VII., 1563-1631. When the grass is cut it should be turned toward the sun, and must never be stacked until it is quite dry. If this last precaution is not careiull taken, a kind of vapour will be seen arising from the rick in the morning, and as soon as the sun is . / it w'.il ignite to a certainty, and so be consumed. Pliny, Natural History, 23-79. If rreadow be forward, Lc mov.-rn if some, But n:ow as the makers ".ay well : 'ercome. Take heed to the weather, the v\im and the sky, If danger approacheth, then cock apace, cry. Thomas Tusser, Five Hundreth Pointes of Husbandrie, 1557. But saltish ground, and what is usually called sour that is unproductive of corn crops; it is not rendered kindly by ploughing, nor does it preserve to grapes their natural good qualities, nor to apples their character and name will give you the following indication. Take down from the smoky roofs baskets of close woven twigs and the strainers of your wine-press. Into these let some of that faulty mould and sweet water from the spring be pressed brimful; you will find that all the water will strain out, and big drops pass through the twigs. But the unmistakeable taste will prove your test, and the bitterness will, by the sensation it produces, twist awry the tasters' faces, expressive of their pain. Virgil, Georgics, 37 B.C. 48 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. MEADOW FOXTAIL (Alopecurus pratensis L.). Plate 4; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 8. Botanical description: Meadow Foxtail is a perennial much resembling Timothy. It has a short rootstock, which produces scaly, underground runners. The ends of the runners develop into stems and leafy shoots. If the runners are very short, as they generally are in comparatively dry soils, the whole plant becomes tufted almost like Timothy. If the runners grow to any consider- able length, as they often do in wet and loose soil, the tufts are looser and less marked. The stems are from two to four feet high, sometimes knee-bent and rooting at the base. They are smooth and leafy to above the middle. The bulk of the leaves is produced by the basal shoots. They are generally long, broad and soft, the sheaths of the upper ones often being swollen. The flowers are in a spike rather like that of Timothy. The spike of Meadow Foxtail can, however, always be easily recognized by its softness; that of Timothy is rough. The softness of the spike, which has given the plant its name, is due to the spikelets being covered with long, soft hairs. Each spikelet contains a single flower enclosed within two acutely keeled glumes, which are fastened together at their base. The flower carries an awn at its back, the awns projecting above the top of the spikelets and giving the spike a bristly appearance. Fertilization being accomplished by means of air currents, there is a chance for self- as well as cross-fertilization. The latter is the more common on account of the arrangement of the stamens and pistil during flowering. Geographical distribution: Meadow Foxtail is indigenous to the greater part of Europe, northern Africa and central and northern Asia. It is distributed throughout eastern and central Canada and is now grown in practically all European countries. It occurs nat- urally in moist meadows, marsh lands, along catches and streams with low banks, and generally in moist soil rich in nutritive matter. Cultural conditions: Although preferring wet localities, Meadow Foxtail cannot be grown successfully where water remains stagnant the greater part of the year. It thrives best in low-lying clays and loams which are temporarily flooded. It is extremely resistant to frost and is regarded as the earliest grass for eastern Canada. It starts early in spring and has reached full development Plate 4' MEADOW FOXTAIL (Alopecurus prahensis L.) MEADOW FOXTAIL. 49 before most other grasses have made appreciable growth. It is useful wherever early pasture or hay is required. Agricultural value: If grown for hay it should be cut when in bloom. The stems then contain a great amount of sugar, making the hay sweet and nutritive. After flowering, this sugar is used for the formation of the seed and the feeding value of the hay decreases rapidly. If grown for pasture, Meadow Foxtail furnishes an abun- dance of excellent fodder early in the season when there is nothing else to graze on. All kinds of stock like it. Where the land is suit- able, it is no doubt one of the most valuable grasses. It is prac- tically always grown in a mixture. Seed: Meadow Foxtail ripens its seed very quickly but rather unevenly. This makes harvesting comparatively difficult. In many places in Europe the seed is stripped off by hand. Gathered in such a way, it is dried in an airy place and turned daily for about two weeks. If not thus treated, germination will be rather low. Com- mercial seed is generally of low vitality, owing to uneven maturing. To secure a large amount of good seed, cut the crop a little before full maturity, make the sheaves small, stand them nine or ten, together in round shocks and leave them to ripen. When grown alone, twenty to twenty-five pounds of seed to the acre are sufficient. Good seed is straw-coloured and weighs from six to twelve pounds to the bushel. It hath been noted that Seed of a year old is the best, and of two or three years is worse; and that which is more old is quite barren, though (no doubt) some Seeds and Grains last better than others. Bacon, Natural History, 1625. There is no storm that may them deface, Nor hail, nor snojy, nor wind nor frostCs keen. ChaucerrT/ie Flower and the Leaf, 1360. Meadow lands should be selected in a rich, or else a moist or well-watered, soil, and care should be taken to draw the rain-water upon them from the highroad. The best method of ensuring a good crop of grass, is first to plough the land, and then to harrow it: but, before passing the harrow over it, the ground should be sprinkled with such seed as may have fallen from the hay in the hay-lofts and mangers The land should not be watered, however, the first year, nor should cattle be put to graze upon it before the second hay-harvest, for fear lest the blade should be torn up by the roots. or be trodden down and stunted in its growth. Pliny, Natural History, 23-79. 285495 RfrD TOP (AgrotHt lib* ' RED TOP. 51 North America. Its cultivation began in England about two hundred and fifty years ago, but it is only since the middle of the last century that it has been commonly grown in Europe. Cultural conditions: Red Top grows naturally in all kinds of localities. Some of the varieties persist in light, sandy soil where little moisture is available, but they make a poor growth and have no agricultural value. Other varieties make a luxuriant growth in wet places and are of great importance. As the yield depends almost entirely upon the growth of the creeping root system, the grass does best in soil where the roots can develop freely. This they will do in light and wet soil, whereas in heavy dry land the rootstocks and runners become short and rather unproductive. Red Top makes a splendid growth in a moist climate. It is therefore suitable for low ground not far from the seashore. It is very resistant to cold. Habits of growth: In proper soil it makes a good growth the same year it is sown. It starts comparatively late in spring but when once growing it keeps on until late in the fall. Agricultural value: When mixed with other species for hay, Red Top makes a splendid bottom grass and will grow in places too wet for most other grasses. On account of its slow start, it has not as a rule reached full development when the other grasses in the mixture are ready to cut. On the other hand, it produces leaves and stems until late in the fall and is valuable where a second growth is required for pasture. It is liked by all kinds of stock and stands tramping very well, being even induced by it to send out a greater number of rootstocks and runners. It quickly develops into a dense and even sod, but if allowed to grow too long in one place it may be difficult to suppress. It is especially valuable for lawn-making. If used alone, twenty pounds of good seed should be sown to the acre. Seed: When grown for seed it should be harvested when the seeds are easily rubbed out. Commercial Red Top, as a rule, con- tains a great amount of chaff. So-called recleaned seed is nothing but ordinary seed from which some of the chaff has been removed. Ordinary commercial seed is reddish brown with a silvery sheen. The more silvery the lustre, the less the chaff and the heavier the weight. When the proportion of chaff is large, the weight is rather low, sometimes not more than eight pounds per bushel. Recleaned seed containing little chaff may weigh as much as thirty-five pounds a bushel. As a rule the seed germinates well as it retains its vitality for several years. 52 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. Agrostis vulgaris With. Botanical description: This grass has often been confused with the preceding one. It differs from Red Top in the following essential respects. It grows in bunches, owing to the fact that the rootstocks are very short and do not produce creeping runners. All the branches of the panicle, the main as well as the secondary ones, spread after flowering, and as the lower main branches are generally a little shorter than the middle ones, the outline of the panicle is more that of an egg than of a pyramid. The ligule is extremely short and sometimes wanting. Geographical distribution: It is doubtful whether this plant, which has the same general geographical distribution in the Old World as has Red Top, is indigenous to North America. Habitat: It occurs naturally in sandy or gravelly soil and is more adapted to dry conditions than is Red Top. Agricultural value: There is about the same relation between the agricultural value of Agrostis vulgaris and that of Red Top as there is between the value of Sheep and Meadow Fescue. In other words, Agrostis vulgaris is a rather inferior grass which should not be used where more valuable grasses can be grown. The leaves and stems being rather short, the former generally crowded near the ground, it cannot be grown to advantage for hay. Its chief value is as a pasture grass on poor and dry soil. Seed: The seed is like that of Red Top, though as a rule a little smaller and more yellowish. In many cases, however, it is almost impossible to separate the seeds of the two species. BLUE-JOINT GRASS (Calamgrostis canadensis (Michx.) Beauv.) Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 10. Other Latin name: Deyeuxia canadensis Hook. Other English names: Small Reed Grass, Sand Grass, Canada Bent- grass. Botanical description: Blue-joint Grass is perennial with a creeping rootstock which sends out brown, scaly, underground runners. The runners indicate that the plant does not growin dense BLUE-JOINT GRASS. 53 tufts. The stems are more or less clustered, the clustering depending on the character of the soil. They are rather firm in texture, from two to five feet high, reddish-brown or bluish-red below. This is why the plant is called Blue-joint Grass. The leaves are numerous, broad, long and very rough. The flowers are in a large panicle, built up after the fashion of that of Red Top, and generally reddish- brown. For this reason Blue-joint Grass is improperly called Red Top in many places in western Canada. Although the panicles are somewhat alike, the differences between the two species are pro- nounced. The easiest and most accurate way to identify them is to examine the flowers. Blue-joint Grass has only one flower in each spikelet, just as Red Top, but the flower has an awn and is surrounded at its base by a tuft of white, silky hairs, very conspic- uous and of about the length of the flower itself. Such hairs are never present at the base of the flower of Red Top. Geographical distribution: Blue-joint Grass is indigenous to Canada and the northern parts of the United States. Habitat: It occurs naturally in moist meadows and marches, along rivers and creeks, at the border of lakes, etc., and generally on bottom lands where the ground is wet. Agricultural value: Sometimes it occupies large areas, to the exclusion of other grasses. Hay from such areas is said to be of excel- lent quality and relished by all kinds of stock. It is also said to be palatable and nutritious a long time after flowering. Although experi- ments are necessary to confirm this statement, there is no reason to deny it and there is some evidence to support it. Attempts to grow Blue-joint Grass from seed, made at one of the experiment stations of the United States, were unsuccessful, the seeds seeming to lack vitality. This may mean that no seeds, or very few, are developed, as is the case in Reed Grass (Phragmites communis Trin.). Should this be true, it would be easy to understand how the grass keeps its nutritive qualities after flowering. As has been pointed out in the description of Meadow Fextail, the nutritious constituents are used for the formation of the seed. Should no seed develop, the nutriment remains in the hay, thus making it valuable even after flowering. As a matter of fact, little is known about the feeding value of Blue-joint Grass. It may be an important addition to Canadian forage plants, but nothing positive can be said at present. It is of special value for very wet soil, as it grows in places too wet for even such moisture-loving plants as Red Top. 54 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. YELLOW OAT GRASS (Trisetum flavescens (L.) Beauv.) Plate 6; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. n. Other English names: Yellow False Oat, Golden Oat Grass. Botanical description: Yellow Oat Grass is perennial with a short rootstock forming loose tufts. The stems are from one to two feet high, very slender, and leafy to about the middle. Secondary shoots develop from the base of the stems. They sprout from buds within sheaths of old leaves and are at first enclosed by them. In the development of the shoots the old sheaths burst, and thus the base of the stems becomes surrounded by the ragged remnants of brown old sheaths. The secondary shoots produce quite a number of leaves. These, like those of the stems, are very soft in texture and covered with soft hairs. Their sheaths, as a rule, are also hairy. The flowers are arranged in a panicle, pyramidal in shape and with spreading branches during flowering time. After flowering, the branches turn upwards and the panicle thus becomes contracted and narrow. The numerous spikelets are green at first, but toward flowering time they turn a beautiful golden yellow hence the name of the grass. After flowering they assume a duller, yellowish-brown shade. The spikelets contain three flowers, each of which is enclosed by two glumes. The outer glume bears on its back a delicate, somewhat bent and twisted awn. The fertilization is accomplished as in Tall Oat Grass. Geographical distribution: Yellow Oat Grass is indigenous to Europe, northern Africa and the temperate parts of Asia. It has been introduced into North America. It has been recorded only once as growing wild in Canada. Habitat: It grows naturally in somewhat dry meadows, along roadsides, on the slopes and even summits of mountains, and in mountain valleys. Cultural conditions : Yellow Oat Grass is not fastidious about the soil, provided that other conditions are favourable. Although it stands some drought, it makes poor growth where the ground is too dry. It likes a fairly moist soil, rich in organic matter and lime. It is more sensitive to excessive moisture than to drought, stagnant water having always an injurious effect. Plafe 6 YELLOW OAT GRASS (Trisehcim f lave see ns -UJ x.&s.) YELLOW OAT GRASS. 55 Habits of growth : Yellow Oat Grass is medium early, flowering a little later than Orchard Grass. When soil and climate are suit- able, it makes a good stand in a short time and spreads readily. Agricultural value: On account of its somewhat tufted habit, it should always be sown with other grasses. Its principal value is for bottom grass in hay mixtures, as it increases both the yield and the feeding quality. After cutting it produces a great number of new stems and leaves, and the second growth may be profitably used for either hay or pasture. All kinds of stock like it, and in some parts of Europe it is considered one of the most valuable fodder grasses. Experiments in Canada, however, have not given prom- ising results. When sown alone, twenty to twenty-five pounds of seed should be applied to the acre. Seed: The commercial seed of Yellow Oat Grass is generally very impure, as it is always secured from mixtures with other grasses,, especially Tall Oat and Orchard Grass, and afterwards separated by sieves. It is yellowish-brown and weighs from five to six pounds a bushel. These keep Seeming and savour all the winter long. Shakespeare, Winter's Tale, A'-t 4, Sc. III., 1592 Over-luxuriance in corn is repressed by the teeth of cattle, but only while it is in the blade; in which case, if depastured upon ever so often, no injury to it when in the ear will be the result. Pliny, Natural History, 23-79. The elements of agriculture are the same as those of the world: water, earth, air, the sun. These things are to be understood before you sow your seed, which is the origin of vegetation. Marcus Terentius Varro, 116-27 B.C. Everyone will tell you that manure is the best thing in the world for agriculture, and every one can see how naturally it is produced. Still, though the method of production is accurately known, though there is every facility to get it in abundance, the fact remains that, while one man takes pains to have manure collected, 'another is entirely neglectful. And yet God sends us rain from heaven,, and every hollow place becomes a standing pool, while earth supplies material of every kind; the sower, too, about to sow, must cleanse the soil, and what he takes as refuse from it needs only to be thrown into water and time itself will do the rest, shaping all to gladden earth. For matter in every shape, nay, earth itself , in stagnant water turns to fine manure. Xenophon, The Econcmist, 434~355 B.C. 56 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. TALL OAT GRASS (Arrhenatherum elatius (L.) Beauv.) Plate 7; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 12. Other English names: Oat Grass, False Oat Grass, Meadow Oat Grass, Tall Meadow Oat Grass. Botanical description: Tall Oat Grass is perennial with a short rootstock from which leafy stems and sterile shoots develop. Sometimes the rootstock is swollen and the shoots bulblike at the base. The rootstock being short, the shoots become crowded and the plant therefore grows in tufts. These are, however, rather loose. The stems are from two to five feet high, often knee-bent at the base, generally dark green. They are leafy to above the middle. The leaves are long and broad, rather soft in texture, and usually bright green, almost yellowish. When mixed with other grasses, Tall Oat Grass may be recognized by this peculiar colour. The flowers are in a spreading panicle, which somewhat resembles that of oats hence the name Oat Grass. The general appearance of the spikelets is also similar to oats. Each spikelet contains two flowers which are very unlike. The lower one has only stamens, is consequently sterile, and its glume bears a long, bent awn; the glume of the upper one has generally no awn, both stamens and pistil are developed, and the flower is thus fertile. Each spikelet consequently produces only one grain. Rarely both flowers are awned and sometimes a third flower is developed above the two normal ones. Stamens and pistil are ready for fertilization at the same time. There is there- fore a chance for self-fertilization, although cross-fertilization is probably quite frequent. Geographical distribution: Tall Oat Grass is indigenous to the greater part of Europe and to northern Africa and western Asia. It was introduced into North America from Europe. Habitat: It grows in meadows and on hills, in open fields and in openings in woods, along seashores and on mountains. Cultural conditions: Tall Oat Grass can be grown on almost any kind of soil, provided it is fairly moist. It does well on high, dry, gravelly soils, but will not make a satisfactory growth on very wet ground. It gives the best returns on light, moist loams and on clays not too stiff and wet. As the roots go deep, it will stand con- siderable drought. It is fairly winter hardy. Plafe 7 TALL OAT GRASS ( Arrbenahberum elahus