THE PRICKLY COMFREY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 156, 4 July 1877, Page 4

THE PRICKLY COMFREY.

„ ■• 7 ... i "^ t.y.f ..". i Th^. CeylonCTimes of February) IQiU- | 1877, t says:^- '..-:•* i In December last wa alluded to the j properties of the aew fodder now com- ! iag into suoh general use, and which we. consider so auitable for poor soils, and therefore presenting indatiemeots for its .general introduction into thq ■ asaritime districts of this island. Since Wb theu wrote wa have had; a Jong season ol drought, and dor all sife eoiiiplainta are heard of the scarcity of fodder for cattle, though not to the same extent as ia I&dfg.' 'The following notes oa the early trials with this aew cattie food witi perhaps give- a better insight into its nature aad qualities than any other account could do.:*~- ** Having procured a few sets with roots attached we planted them in a plot oa the cpld clay of tbe' Forest Marble Rock, previously slightly manured. These sets rapdily, abd7 we were | sooa enable to divide theni 'into more than & hundred individuals as before, which were planted iti Uke manner, . aad so working on till we had as much ;aa a quarter of ad acre bf ground I occupied, and our crop was not only ! abundant, but some of the stems were' a' i considerable height, some few having | been .left- to show its mode.; of growth. | The reat, however, was used in various | stages of growth as cattle food, though ! we must confess to having experienced ; disappointment oa our first .rials, yet oo sooner did the cows (especially milch jcows), horses, sheep, and pigs begin : to understand it th&EE' they eat it most j greedily, and pur report upon it waa | that while all creatures seemed^ to- ; thrivei upou the Comfrey, yet in no I instance could we find the slightest ; evidence ot any evil effects. The crop ; was enormous, and this too apon laajdj! I of very medium quality; but wjal, have j this year .been tryiag its growth on [ light sandy soil, and can report that;,aU through the season of drought the deep thick roots dfjthe Cotfifcey have, drawn up the moisture which rises hyeromeVrically in our sand-bed, and : the I result baa been a succession tif ; green'i leaves when surface plants were an atter s failure." : -'- '•' (; ' : t