84 ANNUAL, REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



In the case of cowpeas upward of 200 varieties from all parts of the 

 world have been secured and tested. Among those of prime impor- 

 tance to the breeder are the Iron, on account of its disease resistance; 

 the Whippoorwill and New Era, on account of their excellent habits 

 and proUficness; and certain East Indian varieties which are tall and 

 bushy in habit and bear abundant pods with small, hard seeds decid- 

 edly resistant to weevil attack. These sorts have been hybridized, 

 and among the progeny are varieties wliich in excellence of habit, 

 disease resistance, and prohficness combined surpass any of their 

 parents. There is every reason to beheve that these improved sorts, 

 which can be readily harvested by machinery, will replace in a large 

 measure those now grown. 



In cooperation with the Ohio experiment station the breeding of 

 timothy on an extensive scale has been undertaken at New London, 

 Ohio. The recent introduction and rapid spread of timothy rust 

 have made it necessary to breed for resistance to this disease, as 

 many of the strains previously developed are highly susceptible. It 

 appears that timothy breeding must be in the main comparatively 

 local; at least, strains bred in the East have not proved superior in 

 the West, and vice versa. 



Improved alfalfas are mostly needed in the colder States, where 

 great hardiness is essential, and in the Eastern States, where strains 

 that will produce seed under humid conditions and thus become 

 completely adapted are desired. Better seed-producing strains, 

 especially for dry-land farming, are also important. From the 

 progress already made there can be little doubt that all these ideals 

 can be secured. Some of the hybrids between the yellow Siberian 

 alfalfas recently obtained by our agricultural explorers and the 

 hardiest ordinary alfalfas possess excellent habits and great cold 

 resistance, so that the menace of winterkilling is now greatly reduced. 



Every year an enormous quantity of alfalfa seed is imported from 

 Europe, and this has been increasing in recent years. Not only 

 should the United vStates grow all the alfalfa seed it needs, but a 

 surplus for export should be produced. Splendid yields have been 

 secured by growing alfalfa for seed in cultivated rows on dry lands 

 in the semiarid regions. Strains selected for high seed production 

 have given noteworthy retiu-ns in such experiments. 



Red clover is a crop of great variability with which little successful 

 breeding work has been accomplished. In the Old World there are 

 several well-defined geographical varieties, none of which, however, 

 have shown superiority in this country over the ordinary American 

 seed. The breeding of this crop presents two types of problems: 

 (1) In the States where ordinary clover succeeds well increased 

 yields can almost certainly be obtained by selecting and breeding 



