210 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



SAND LUCERNE. 



J. D. TOWAR, AGRICULTURIST. 



Bulletin 198— Agricultural Department. 



SUMMARY. 



1. Sand lucerne, Medicago media, is a leguminous, perennial plant, resembling alfalfa. 

 It develops an immense root system, and is capable of producing four crops of hay 

 annually on high, sandy soil without irrigation. 



2. The best seedings are obtained by sowing alone, on well prepared ground, in early 

 May, using about fifteen pounds of seed per acre. No crop is expected the first year, 

 but two or three mowings with the knives set high to destroy weeds is advisable. 



3. The strength and productiveness of the plant improves with age, and one good 

 seeding ought to last many years. 



4. It withstands the severe winter climate of Michigan when grown on dry sandy 

 land. The tests on low and heavy clay lands are not yet completed. 



5. To make the best quality of hay it should be cut as soon as the blossoms appear, 

 and in curing it should be handled in the field as little and quickly as possible, to avoid 

 loss of leaves. 



6. The yield of cured hay per acre in 1901 from seeding made in 1S97 was as follows: 

 June IS, 4.293 pounds; July 13, 4,350; August 14, 3,538; October 1, 1,688; total, 



13,839. .This plot of sandy soil produced in 1898 three crops of cured hay, total, 6,800 

 pounds. In 1899, four crops, 10,580, and in 1900, four crops, 12,310 pounds. 

 The land had received no fertilizer of any kind since the seed was sown. 



7. The analysis of the 1901 crop shows it to contain 80.56 per cent dry matter, and 

 digestible nutrients as follows: 11.12 per cent protein; 31.13 per cent carbohydrates, 

 and 1.01 per cent ether extract. Or the entire crop giving per acre, 1,529 pounds of 

 protein, 4,307 carbohydrates, and 140 pounds ether extract as digestible nutrients 

 determined by employing the coefficient of digestibility for alfalfa. The nutritive ratio 

 of the hay produced is 1:3. 



8. The fertilizing analysis of the dry hay as determined by the average results of the 

 four cuttings is 2.39 per cent nitrogen; .45 per cent phosphoric acid and 3.08 per cent 

 pota«h, an acre producing 330 pounds of nitrogen, 62 pounds of phosphoric acid and 426 

 pounds of potash. 



9. As green forage, hay and pasture, its close resemblance to common alfalfa argues 

 for it all that is claimed for the latter. Attaining mature growth early in June, one 

 can easily manage it for a continuous soiling crop throughout the growing season. As 

 hay it is relished by all farm animals, its high protein content suggesting it as a 

 substitute for part of the grain ration. As a pasture crop, one trial with sheep showed 

 it capable of furnishing a liberal supply of feed throughout the season, and that the plant 

 was able to withstand severe pasturing. Further trial is necessary to determine its 

 true pasture value in this State. 



10. Attempts to grow the seed in this State have thus far proved unsuccessful. 



11. Favorable reports from experimenters have been received from 16 counties. 



12. Unfavorable reports have been received from experimenters in 14 counties. 



13. Owing to the high price of the seed, the time required to secure a good seeding, 

 the increased growth and vigor of the plants that come with age and the difficulty with 

 which a lucerne sod is plowed, it is recommended as a permanent meadow only, although 

 numerous experiments go to show that it is a valuable fertilizing crop. 



14. If grown in an orchard it robs the trees of plant food and moisture, while the trees 

 wo\ild, in turn, take some of the fertility essential to the full development of the lucerne. 



The clover family while containing numerous species of the trifolium genus which 

 possess marked and recognized economic values, is none the less important to the farmer 

 from the fact that it also contains the lucernes. The most familiar member of the 

 lucerne family is the alfalfa, Medicago Satiua, L. This plant "has been cultivated for a 



