New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 191 



the West Indies. In the " Synoptical Flora of North America "* 

 it is reported as occurring from the Keys of Florida to Arizona 

 and on ballast in the Middle Atlantic States, in Mexico and in 

 Lower California. Although we are certain that seeds of this plant 

 have been sown with alfalfa seed, no specimens of it have been 

 sent in for identification and we know nothing about its behavior 

 in New York State. 



SHAFTAL. 



(Trifolium suaveolens Willd.) 



This plant belongs to the clover family, is a vigorous grower 

 but is not likely to develop into a troublesome pest. Mr. Brandf 

 says of it: *' Shaftal, which is an annual plant, is the chief fodder 

 crop in the valleys of the northwest frontier of India. It is 

 always grown with irrigation and gives exceedingly good yields." 

 The seed of this plant occurred in 16 samples of alfalfa seed, 

 but was present only in small quantities. 



LANCE-LEAVED SAGE. 



(Salvia lanceaefoUa Poir.) 



Lance-leaved sage has occurred previous to 1911 in alfalfa sam- 

 ples but we were not able to learn its name until this year. Its 

 seed was found in ten alfalfa samples and it never occurred more 

 than in traces. We have not been able to learn the nature of this 

 plant in alfalfa fields, but it is an annual and not likely to be 

 troublesome. Robinson and Fernald:}: give its range as, " Plains 

 and open soil Ind. to Neb. Tex. and Ariz. ; introduced at Colum- 

 bus, O." No plants of it have been sent to us for identification. 



SULPHURED OR BLEACHED OATS. 



During the past year we have had several samples of oats sent 

 in for germination tests. Growers who had sown seed from lots 

 which these samples represented found that only a few seeds 



*" Synoptical Flora of North America" Vol. 1, part 1, p. 259. The older 

 name of this plant is here given as T. portulacastrum L. 

 tU, S. Dept. Agr. Bur. Plant Indus. Bui. 162:07. 

 i Gray's New Manual of Botany. Seventh Ed. p. 703. 



