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SAINFOIN.

Sainfoin (Onobryebis Sativa) is one of the most nutritious grasses that this Colony can produce. It is a native of Germany and is found generally all over the continent of Europe, except perhaps in the very cold districts. It was first introduced into England in 1651 and, before the introduction of turnip industry, the sheep farmers of the chalk districts in the South of England almost entirely depended upon it, and still do to such a degree that in many leases there is a stipulation for the tenants leaving a certain amount of land in sainfoin. It is however, a local crop, being scarcely cultivated in any but the limy soils, where nothing else is equal to it, although it has been found to succeed very well on any soil sufficiently dry. There is no more nutritious fodder than sainfoin whether for sheep, cattle, or horses, even the dry stems of a crop whichhas produced seed arereadily con ■ sumed by cattle if cut into small pieces In the South of France, where it flourishes best, it is considered an indispensible forage plant, improving the quality atid increasing thequantity of milk when fed to milch cows, to which it may be given without producing the ‘ hoove 1 or * hoveu,’ to which they are subjected when allowed to feed freely on green clover and lucerne. It’s stalks do not become ligneous if allowed to stand till blossoming as those of lucerne do. The amount of fodder obtained from it is less than from clover or lucerne, but its quality, where it can be successfully grown, is better. Its seeds are said to be more nutritious than oats. They are eagerly sought by fowls, and are said to cause them to lay. Sainfoin when green and young will not stand a severe winter, but after the second or third year will endure a considerable amount of cold. It will succeed in very dry soils, sands and gravels, owing to the long descending tap-root, which has been found sixteen feet in length. Sainfoin will endure in the soil, when once fixed there, for eight or ten years, but it requires from three to four years to attain its proper growth. In pasture culture the grasses are apt to choke it out by their close and firm turf. Sainfoin is best grown by being sown with barley after the latter is sown thin and harrowed in the sam e manner as clover, and afterwards lightly rolled. From three to five bushels of seed are generally used, four being the most common quantity,

there being an enormous number of seeds in oue bushel; but it is very precarious, and it is necessary to sow a sufficient quantity to guard against contingencies.

Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZMAIL18911016.2.77

Bibliographic details

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1024, 16 October 1891, Page 25

Word Count
456

SAINFOIN. New Zealand Mail, Issue 1024, 16 October 1891, Page 25

SAINFOIN. New Zealand Mail, Issue 1024, 16 October 1891, Page 25

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