SAINFOIN. Onobryehis satira, Lam. 0 vieiccfolia, Scop. Legnminosir. (Esparcet, Esparsette, Saint foin, Holy Clover.) Fig. S02.
Sainfoin is a long-lived and deep-rooted legumi nous forage plant, comparable agriculturally with red clover and alfalfa. The stems are erect or nearly so, one and one-half to two and one-half feet high, and terminated by dense, erect racemes of rose-colored flowers. The leaves are mostly basal and are unequally pinnate, each composed of six to twelve pairs of leaflets with an odd terminal one.
The plant is a native of south-central Asia, whence it was intro duced into continental Europe about the fif teenth century and into England in the • seven teenth century. In Ger many, where it is com monly called esparsette, it was an important for age crop as early as 1716. By some writers it has been supposed that the plant called Onobrychis by Dioscorides and Pliny was identical with the modern sainfoin, but recent investigations have shown conclusively that it was a related species, Onobryehis Caput galli, which is now grown but sparingly.
Distribution.
Sainfoin was introduced into the United States at least 150 years ago and has been tested in an experimental way in most parts of the country. Thus far its cultivation is exceedingly limited. This is due to the fact that it can not com pete with red clover or alfalfa in the sections of the country to which these crops are especially adapted. To a limited extent it is being grown on barren soils in limestone regions, and it is probable that it will become important in such regions when its value and cultural requirements have become generally known. It is possible that many of the unsatisfactory results have been due to lack of inoculation, though in some experiments nodules have appeared on the roots where the crop has never before been grown and without the seed hav ing been inoculated. To a limited extent sainfoin is grown in the West on well-drained soils under irrigation, particularly in British Columbia. As a rule, however, alfalfa yields so much more heavily that there is little likelihood of sainfoin becoming much used in this way.
Varieties There are two varieties of sainfoin commonly cultivated in Europe, the common or small-seeded sainfoin (Onobrychis satira, var. coininunis), which yields only one cutting of hay, the aftermath being composed almost entirely of leaves ; and the large seeded or double-cutting sainfoin (0. saliva, var. bifera), which yields two cuttings of hay. This latter variety flowers earlier than common sainfoin and is somewhat more vigorous.
SoiL—Sainfoin is especially adapted for growing on dry lands too barren to produce satisfactory crops of clover or alfalfa. It is quickly killed out on land saturated with moisture. It thrives especially well on calcareous soils. Where the soil is not calcareous in nature, it is best to make heavy applications of lime, for, although sainfoin will succeed with only a small amount of lime, it reaches its max imum productiveness when the lime content is high. In Europe large tracts of barren calcareous lands almost valueless for other purposes are devoted to the cultivation of sainfoin. This is particularly true of the chalk districts of France and England. The soil should be thor oughly prepared, and as free from weed seeds as possible, as the young plants are weak and easily crowded out.
Seed and seeding.—The seed of sainfoin occurs on the market almost entirely in the pod, a bushel of which weighs twenty-six pounds. The seed is usually sown at the rate of four to five bushels per acre, but a considerable proportion fails to germinate owing to the tough hull. Shelling of the seed is difficult because of the toughness of the pericarp and the brittleness of the seed. Hulled seed is rarely found on the market, but if used forty to sixty pounds per acre is sufficient for seeding. Owing to the large size of the seed in the pod, it should be planted rather deep. Wherever possible it is advisable to use a drill, as this places the seed at a more nearly uniform depth no that it germinates better.