66 ~ BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Oct. 



Climates and Soils for Alfalfa. 



Origin of Alfalfa : — Alfalfa is a gift of the desert. It comes 

 to us from southern Asia. Alfalfa first comes into recorded 

 history from the semi-arid regions of Asia Minor. It probably 

 grew wild in regions north of Arabia. We get the name alfalfa 

 from Arabia where alfalfa means best grass. From Arabia 

 alfalfa was taken to north Africa where it still grov/s wild. From 

 north Africa alfalfa was taken by the Moors to Spain and from 

 Spain to Mexico and South America. About 1850 alfalfa was 

 introduced into western United States. From western United 

 States alfalfa has been slowly creeping eastward. Alfalfa was 

 however introduced from Spain into France and Holland, and 

 from Holland into eastern United States. Washington and Jeffer- 

 son grew alfalfa which they called as did Europeans generally, 

 " lucerne." In 1857 Mr. Grimm took with him to Minnesota some 

 alfalfa seed from plants grown in Holland. There is said to be a 

 field in South Carolina that is over eighty years old and another 

 in New York that is over fifty years old. 



From Asia Minor the Persians brought alfalfa into Greece* 

 and from Greece alfalfa was carried to Rome. It is today a 

 valuable forage crop in Italy. Italy and southern France produce 

 some of our best imported seed. 



Mr. Hanson of the South Dakota Experiment Station was 

 sent by the United States Department of Agriculture to gather 

 seed from alfalfas that can withstand the dry, cold winters of the 

 Dakotas and northern Montana. Mr. Hanson found alfalfa grow- 

 ing at Yakutsk, Siberia, vvhere the thermometer registers 83 

 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. Alfalfa grows in the hottest parts 

 of California, sixty feet below sea level. There is a fifteen -year 

 old field of alfalfa in Colorado that is 7,900 feet above sea level. 

 Alfalfa is a valuable crop in South Africa, in Australia, in Argen- 

 tina, Chile, Peru, Canada, Asia and the United States from the 

 Atlantic to the Pacific. Mississippi, Alabama and Minnesota 

 grow profitable crops of alfalfa. 



Alfalfa and Lime. 



Alfalfa for Lime : — We are just beginning to understand the 

 role played by lime in plant and animal nutrition. We have long 



