When planting is to be done over a considerable area, the seed should be gathered and sown as soon thereafter as convenient. If the seed is stored through the summer and sown in the fall, a large percentage of it will lie in the ground for a year ; whereas, if it is sown soon after maturity, the summer weather seems to fit it for quick growth when fall rains come. The seeds mature in spring and are gathered in May and June. If ungathered, they will remain on or in the ground in a dormant state until fall, no matter how favorable the conditions for growth. A southern exposure is preferable. If the seeding can be done among shrubs, the seedling plants will be protected against animals until they are established. The par tial shade afforded by the shrubs also seems to have a beneficial effect, making the temperature and mois ture conditions more uniform. The seed is harrowed in to a depth of about a half inch.
fall rains induce rapid ger mination and growth, and the seedlings soon develop compact, many-leaved rosettes, which lie close to the ground. The rosettes grow slowly during the winter by increasing the leaf surface. Flower buds are formed at their centers. At the same time a deep heavy taproot is formed. The flowers begin to show with the first warm days of late winter. Several vigorous stems soon spring up from each plant, which continue to grow until April or May. Six to eight weeks elapse between the flowers and the formation of much seed.
Uses.
As a forage crop.—Wherever alfilaria has become abundant it has doubled the spring forage supply, without interfering with the later growth of summer species, principally grasses. Once estab lished it is permanent unless grazed to the detri ment of seed production, which is unlikely. It is relished by all range stock, at all stages of its growth. It is especially relished by sheep, which are able to nibble its flattened rosettes some time before the larger animals. The only objection is that the seeds in the wool reduce the value of the latter as much as a cent and a half a pound. Shearing twice a year—in March and September— has been found to reduce this objection to a min imum. As a forage crop, alfilaria is both nutri tious and succulent.
.4s a hay use of alfilaria as a hay plant is yet limited. If cut when in blossom and cured as is alfalfa it is very palatable. But, in order to attain a growth sufficient for this pur pose, it should be grown under favorable con ditions on the richer soils of valleys, swales, mesas and similar areas. Under ordinary con ditions, a fair yield is a ton and a half of hay per acre. Unfortunately, the common method of hand
ling the crop for hay is exceedingly wasteful, the long weathering causing the loss of the most valuable constituents.
Composition of alfilaria made at the Arizona Experiment Station by Vinson showed alfilaria to contain a high percentage of ash. The fat is present in larger proportion than in alfalfa, but slightly less than in most varieties of hay. The protein content is high, comparing favorably with hay from legumes. The crude fiber is moder ate, being about the same as in good timothy hay. The carbohydrates are abundant.
Literature.
Comparatively little has been written on alfilaria in this country. The most comprehensive discussion is found in Bulletin No. 52, of the Agricultural Experiment Station of the Univer sity of Arizona, from which this article is largely adapted. A few of the experiment stations have bulletins on the subject, and the 1901 Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture gives a few notes.
Fig. 284.
Arrow-root starch is a product manufactured from the underground parts of a number of differ ent plants grown in tropical and subtropical coun tries. It is valued principally as a food for invalids, especially in cases of persistent diarrhea and dysentery. In South Africa and the East Indies, Maranta arundinacea (Fig. 284) is the plant most commonly cultivated for this purpose. This is much grown in the Bermuda islands, and therefore is commonly known as Bermuda arrow-root. In Aus tralia, Maranta uobilis, Manihot utilissima (cassava) and several species of Canna,—C. Aehiras, C. °lava, C. edulis, and others,—are used for the same purpose, and C. fiaccida, a native of the south ern part of the United States, is one of the most profitable species. Recent experiments show that the common canna used in this country for decorative purposes (C. Indica, Indian shot ) can be made a profitable source of arrow-root in all the southern states. In the Pacific islands, especially in Guam, the Hawaiian islands and the Philippines, Tama pinnatifida, a plant belonging to the Taccaceae and closely related to the yams, is more commonly used, and to a considerable extent also in India. Both the marantas and the cannas have fleshy rhi zomes, while the cassava and the tacca have fleshy roots resembling sweet-potatoes. Cassava starch is considered the best for laundry purposes and is much used by manufacturers of linen goods. Some varieties of this plant received recently from Colombia, South America, yield as much as 39 per cent of their weight as starch.