The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1899-07-05
81 per Annum, in Advance.

of clean seed per acre. If grown for hay,
from eight to 10 pounds should be used.
1t should not be sown until the ground is
warm and moist, and the clean seed is
preferable to the pods because of the more
uniform termination and better stand
which may be obtained The seed is
about the size, shape, and color of red
clover and weighs about as much to the
bushel. 1t is now on the market at a
price low enough to place it within the
reach of any farmer. If sOWn at the be-
ginning of the summer rains the seed
need not be covered. 1t must not be
buried too deeply else the young plants
will not be able to reach the surface. By
sowing at the beginning of summer two
crops may be secured. If cut for hay at
the time the first flowers appear the
roots will send up a second crop, which
may be saved for seed, and enough seed
will scatter to insure crop the next
season. The seed may also be scattered
in the corn rows at the time of the last
cultivation or at the beginning of the
rains in June. Then, after the corn has
eheen- estnipp ped or cut for fodder, the beg
gar weed may be mown for hay or nar-
vested for seed. The crop should he cut
for hay when it is about three or four
feet high, or at the beginning of the
blooming period. IF cut after full bloom
many of the lower leaves will have fall
en- and much of the best part of THE crop
will be lost.
Beggar weed makes a very fine quality
of hay, which is relished by all classes
of farm stock.
According to analyses made at the Flor
ida Experiment Station of the upper
parts of plants not yet in seed, 100 pounds
of HAY contained 1914 pounds of crude pro-
tein. When cut after the seed had ripen-
ed the crude protein had decreased to
1916 pounds, the fat and heterogeneous
extracts from 454 ponds to APT pounds,
and the crude fiber or indgestible por-
ton had increased from 1876 to 1858
puonds. An average of two analyses of
the entire plant, including the woody
stems, the one made from plants in green
seed, the other from those not yet seed
ing, indicated 1875 pounds of crude pro-
TEN in 100 pounds of hay. This may be
taken as representing more nearly the
crude protein value of average beggar-
weed hay than the larger qu@ntity shown
to be present in the upper, more leafy,
and more tender portion of the plant.
If in cutting this crop only the upper
leafy parts were saved then the higher
per centage of protein might be taken
as representing the value.
Digestion experiments with beggar-weed
forage have not been made but judging
from the comparison of the analyses with
those of red clover, the nutritive ratio
would be about the same. There are 1873
pounds of crude protein in 100 pounds of
red clover hay, 1872 pounds in crimson
clover 15.4 in soy bean, 1876 in coWpea,
and 143 alfalfa. In the beggar weed
the percentage of crude protein is less
than in red clover, because there is a
much larger amount of crude fiber due
to the larger and more woody stems.
The percentage of loss in feeding beggar-
weed hay us accordingly greater. On the
other hand, the yield per acre is higher
than that of red clover, ranging from
three to five or even six tons per acre,
especially when two crops are cut.