TWO TYPES OF PROLIFERATION IN ALFALFA. 1 



By R. A. Oakley, Agronomist, and Samuel Garver, Scientific Assistant, Office 



of Forage-Crop Investigations. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The production of rhizomes and underground shoots in alfalfa 

 was observed many years ago, and brief, more or less indefinite, men- 

 tion made of them in literature. It may be that Jethro Tull had in 

 mind something- of this nature in making the following statement in 

 his " Horse-Hoing Husbandry " : 



Though one lucern root be much taper than another toward the upper part 

 of it, 'tis sometimes seen that a single noed plant of it has many of these per- 

 pendicular roots; some of them springing out from the very branches of its 

 crown. 2 



M. Lullin de Chateau- vieux may also have observed underground 

 stems, for in writing to M. Duhamel regarding his experience with 

 transplanted alfalfa plants., he says: 



The stalks seem to rise out of the earth; and from the first time of cutting 

 them, a kind of head forms just above ground, which extends itself every 

 year. * * * These crowns have become of an oval form, having extended 

 themselves on the sides where they met with no resistance. 3 



It is very evident, however, that neither Tull nor Chateau- vieux 

 appreciated the value of the underground stem character, even if 

 they were aware of its existence, since they make no references to it 

 other than those above quoted. It was Thomas Le Blanc who appar- 

 ently first called definite attention to the branching of alfalfa below 

 the surface of the ground, and not only should credit be given him 

 for calling attention to this character, but also for pointing out its 

 value to the plant. His statement, which follows, quoted in Young's 



1 Issued Mar. 1, 1013. 



Proliferation : This word is derived from proles (shoots or offspring) and fcro (I bear), 

 so that the word literally means bearing offspring. Definitions. — Bearing progeny as off- 

 shoots. — .Jackson, B. D., Glossary of Botanic Terms, ed. 2, London, 1005. The develop- 

 ment of an organ or a shoot from an organ which is itself normally ultimate. — Centura 

 Dictionary and Cyclopedia. Botanieally it has usually been used in reference to shoots 

 produced abnormally, but there seems to be no reason why the meaning should not be 

 extended to cover shoot production in general. 



- Tull, Jethro. Horse-Hoing Husbandry, London. 17.°.."., p. 02-102. 



3 Duhamel du Monceau, II. L. A Practical Treatise of Husbandry, London. 1750, p. 358. 



[Cir. 115] 3 



