Florida Agricultural Experiment Station


vested in later stages the leaves shattered badly and there was a
large proportion of woody stems to leaves.
 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
 Crotalaria cured with the artificial drier, in which the plants
were cut into lengths of about 2 inches, and in which all of the
leaves were saved, produced a fair quality hay. The yield of hay
was low with most of the species tried.
 When cured naturally, a coarse, stemmy, woody hay was
produced. The leaves shattered badly, especially on the later cut-
tings.
 Hay made in these tests was used in the feeding trials re-
ported in Part II. Yields of hay used in these trials are given in
Tables 3, 4, and 5. The yields of Crotalaria intermedia varied be-
tween 0.93 and 1.75 tons per acre. When it is recalled that these
yields were obtained on deep Norfolk sandy soil, without fertiliz-
er, they warrant consideration of C. intermedia as a feed.
 SILAGE STUDIES
 Procedure.-Inasmuch as the use of crotalaria for hay did
not seem practical due to slow curing, excessive shattering of the
leaves and coarseness and large proportion of stems, it was de-
cided to investigate the crotalaria species as silage crops. In 1932
fields of Crotalaria incana, C. intermedia, C. spectabilis and C. striata
were planted and cut for silage. In 1933 C. anagyroides, C. gran-
tiana, C. goreensis, C. intermedia, C. lanceolata and C. usaramoensis were
planted and cut for the same purpose. These fields were located
on deep Norfolk sand. The seed was drilled in rows 3 feet apart in
the middle of April. The crops were cultivated 3 times during
the season. The forage was sampled by selecting plants in the
field at time of harvest. These were cut into 1 to 2 inch lengths
and sealed in glass jars for dry matter determinations. The green
crotalaria was used in silage studies, which are reported in Part
II of this bulletin.
 Results.-The dates of cutting and yields are recorded in
 Table 6. The yields were much higher in 1932 than in 1933.
 Crotalaria incana yielded over 81/2 tons of green material per acre,
 while C. spectabilis yielded nearly twice as much. The field of
 C. striata was so irregular, due to stand, and the stand so thin that
 it was not possible to obtain satisfactory yield records. It was
 omitted from the table.