In wet and boggy situations it becomes
very hairy, and in this state its appearance is very different from that
which it has when growing in chalk, where it is perfectly smooth.
This plant should not be overlooked by the experimental farmer.
It is very highly spoken of in Dr. Anderson's Essays on Agriculture,
under the mistaken name of Astragalus glycophyllos, p. 489; but a truly
practical account is given of it by Ellis in his Husbandry, p. 89, by
the old name Lady-Finger-Grass.
46. MEDICAGO falcata. YELLOW MEDIC.--Is nearly allied to Lucerne, and is
equally good for fodder; it will grow on land that is very dry, and
hence is likely to become a most useful plant; its culture has, however,
been tried but partially. Some experiments were made with this plant by
Thomas Le Blanc, Esq., in Suffolk, which are recorded by Professor
Martyn. Martyn's Miller's Dict. art. Medicago.
47. MEDICAGO polymorpha. VARIABLE MEDIC.--This is also a plant much
relished by cattle, but is not in cultivation: it is an annual, and
perhaps inferior in many respects to the Nonsuch, which it in some
measure resembles. There are many varieties of this plant cultivated in
flower gardens on account of the curious shapes of the seed-pods, some
having a distant resemblance to snails' horns, cater-pillars, &c. under
which names they are sold in the seed-shops.
Pages:
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40