Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1916-07-18
Legumes.


What is legume and what is it uset
for? The botany tells US that legume
are those plants which belong to tn,
pulse or leguminosae family, but tha
does not help US much. The legume'
that we are most interested in are th'
plants that are able to get at least por
tion of their nitrogen food from the air
Such plants as alfalfa, the clovers, vetch
soy beans, peas, and even peanuts, are
legumes.
These legumes are used mainly fol
stock food. In some cases they furnish
forage either as hay, green feed, or sil
age, while in others the seeds are used
as concentrate feeds. Alfalfa and the
clovers are used only for forage although
the crop is sometimes allowed to ripen
seed. Peas and beans on the other hand
furnish either rougbages or conceu-
trates and the seeds are often used as
food for man.
What advantage for the farmer is
there in raising some leguminous crops?
Will not the other food crops such as
the grains, roots, and grasses furnish
concentrate and roughage feed just as
weliP There must be some special rea-
sons for growing legumes, so let's see if
we can't find out what some of them
are.
First of all we know that such plants
take at least part of their nitrogen food
from the air il conditions are right. lie
this an advantage? It certainly is. The
soil of course contains some nitrogen,
but il plants are raised that use this,
more must be supplied in manure or
other fertilizers. Such fertilizers are
quite expensive if they have to be pur-
chased, so you see the legumes are really
money savers since the farmer who
raises them has less need for nitrogen
fertilizers than the one who raises none.
Where alfalfa or some of the other leg
umes are raised, they not only get most
of their nitrogen from the air but actual
ly add some to,the soil when the roots
and part of the plants are turned under.
We have already learned that the tiny
bacteria In the soil build houses, called
nodules, on the roots of the plants and
when you plow up a field of alfalfa,
these roots and nodules decay, leaving
nitrogen behind for the next crop. Be-
sides the roots there is usually at least a
part of each plant turned under and
these, too, add nitrogen to the soil.
Knowing this we can easily see why 1t is
that the legumes are called soil improv-
ers.
What do these leguminous plants do
with the nitrogen? Most Of it is used
to build up the protein part OF the plant,
and since the legumes use great deal OF
nitrogen, we would naturally expect
them to contain considerable protein.
Nor would we be much out of the way If
we did expect this. They do contain
more protein than most OF the other
crops, and for that reason are especially
valuable for feed. Thus alfalfa or clover
hay are more valuable than timothy or
blue grass hay for dairy cows. Good leg
ume hay and corn silage will make al
most balanced ration in themselves,
but ration of timothy and corn silage is
lacking in protein. Now high protein
feeds are expensive where they must be
You know that such feeds
as cottonseed meal, oil meal, gluten
feed, or dried brewers grains are usually
more expensive than corn or barley,
Why is it? 1t is because the first named
feeds are rich in protein while the last
two are not. With legume hay and sill
age, less expensive grain feeds can be
used, but where timothy hay is substi-
tuted for the legume hay, more money
will have to be spent for grain. Here
again the legumes are money savers.
Not only is protein necessary for the
dairy cows, but for the young stock as
we'll. You all know that calves or colts
wintered on such roughages as silsge,
corn stover, timothy hay, or oat straw,
need plenty of protein rich grain If they
are to grow as they should. By using
alfalfa or other legume hay with the sill
age or stover, the youngsters will grow
just as fast on very much less grain. The
protein is needed to build strong
muscles and without it young stock will
not thrive.-Hosrd's Dairyman Juniors.