LUCERNE AND SANFOIN.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 2043, 10 September 1880, Page 3

LUCERNE AND SANFOIN.

Lucerne is of the leguminous order of plants. It has been cultivated for centuries on the Continent of Europe, where it is very highly esteemed as a fodder plant. It is a perennial plant of a very deep-rooting nature. The stalks grow to a height of from eighteen to thirty-six inches, according to the depth and richness of the soil, and are covered with leaves which, together with the stems, are excellent food for all kinds of stock. In a rich loamy soil of a calcaroous nature, with a free subsoil that will allow the roots to penetrate to their full extent, lucerne will be found to thrive well and (jive three or four good mowings in a year. Moist flats are best suited for lucerne, and it is quite useless to attempt to grow it on land of a harsh and dry nature. In preparing the ground for lucerne, deep ploughing and minute pulverisation is necessary. Subsoiling also is recommended by Borne, as it enables the plants to defy a severe drought. An Engish writer says that the ground should be trenched, and a liberal quantity of manure buried about a foot from the surface. He maintains that the expense of this process is fully counterbalanced by the early maturity and continued success of the crop. An operation involving so much labour as trenching does can scarcely be carried out here until wages are even lower than they are at present. If labour oould be procured here at the same rate as at home, it is questionable whether it would be wise to expend so much on one crop, unlesß the whole of the farm could be treated in a liko thorough manner. Trenching is a great advantage, in fact almost a necessity for plantations of trees ; but one would be inclined to think that stirriDg the ground to a depth of eighteen or twenty inches would be sufficient for the requirements of a forage plant for many years. Lucerne takes two years to come to maturity, after which time it may be mown several times in one season, provided the land is good and well worked. Each mowing should give from three to five tons of good nutritious food per acre. To continue productive for a number of years it requires an occasional top dressing of manure. Lucerne, like a good many other plants, thrives best after turnips or rape. As soon as tho turnips are fed off the land should be ploughed as deep as possible, subsoiled, and ploughed again, harrowing and rolling following each ploughing. The earlier lucerne is sown in the spring the better. August is the best month for sowing, but September is not too late. If deferred to a later period, there is a great risk of the fly eating off the young plants while in seed leaf. Tho seed may be sown broadcast or in drills; it is generally drilled in England to admit of the horn being worked among it to keep down the weed?, and also to stimulate the growth of the young plants. Abcut eighteen or twenty pounds of seed per aero is sufficient if drilled; for broad-cast sowing a few more pounds are required. The seed should be quite fresh, as there is some doubt of it coming up freely if more than one year old. The seed being small only requires a light covering of earth. In countries where lucerne is most commonly cultivated, it is of ton sown with a thin crop of barley, or other spring corn, on account of the protection the corn is supposed to afford tho young plants. An English agriculturist, however, who has paid a great deal of attention to the culture of lucerne, is of opinion that it is more profitable to bow it alone in drills about nine inches or a foot apart, so that the hoe may work freely and keep all weeds under, whereas in sowing broad-cast with corn the weeds must be allowed to grow unchecked. Lucerne is either grazed, cut groen for soiling cattle, or made into hay. As green food, it is much superior to clover for milch cows, causing them to yield milk abundantly, and imparting no unpleasant taste to the milk or butter. Some care is necessary in giving it to the cows when green, as they are liable to get blown with it, the same as with clover, if they are allowed too much at once. Lucerne contains less water in its composition than any plant of the same order, exoepting sanfoin, which contains about the same per centage of water, viz., 771 per cent. Lucerne contains 20 per cent, of flesh forming and fat producing material; clover and vetches have 12 or 15 per cent. _ Lucerne makes excellent hay if cut at the right time, which is as Boon as the blossom appears. Being a plant of early and rapid growth, it is ready for cutting before either sanfoin or clovor, and if well made the hay is preferred to any other by horses, sheep and cattle. To make good hay lucerne requires a great deal of care and attention, if carried too green it will heat and sweat in stack, and by leaving it to get very dry, the leaves drop off in moving it. Its fattening and milk producing qualities should recommend it to graziers and dairy farmers. A paddock of lucerne ought to be established on every farm, for its roots strike down to such a depth as to enable it to defy tho most Bcorching drought, thereby ensuring a certain supply of good food in dry seasons. It is for this reason extensively used in New South Wales and other parts of Australia, fche heat of thoße climates being well_ suited for it. In a moist season there it will give five or six cuttings in a year. An article in the "Leader" Borne years ago, speaking of the comparative merits cf lucerne and prairie grass, says that the latter, though a good grass, will not, under the same circumstances, produce so muoh food in a season as lucerne. Besides being superior both in quantity and quality to either oaten or meadow hay, lucerne is less expensive than any annual crop, as it only requires a little manure each year to keep up its productive powers. Sanfoin is also a deep rooting perennial plant, and is a common crop in France and the South of England. It does not grow so high as lucerne, but in a more bunchy form, one root bearing many stalks. It prefers a light calcareous soil, rather dry j it may, however, be grown in any soil containing lime, provided it is well drained and has on open subsoil. Sanfoin takes three years to come to maturity, in which, and nearly every reßpect, it is similar to lucerne —the time of sowing, preparation of the ground, and the after culture being almost precisely the same. It makes very good hay, but is lighter than lucerne. The produce, under favorable circumstances, is about two or three tons per acre. The hardiness of sanfoin is such that the driest or wettest seasons do not appear to have any injurious effeot upon it. Sanfoin hay is of a less flatulent nature than lucerne or clover, and is an excellent food for horses ; a liberal quantity will keep them in good working condition without corn.