ARA1UAN ALFALFA. 



27 



Table I. — Rate of loss of moisture after cutting in Arabian, Peruvian, and ordinary 



alfalfa at Chico, Cal., in 1911 and 191 ' 



NUMBER OF CUTTINGS PER SEASON. 



Arabian alfalfa has the ability to recover quickly and to start 

 growth again in a very short time after cutting. This tendency is 

 very marked and makes it appear to grow much more rapidly than 

 other varieties. The qualities of late-fall and early-spring growth and 

 quick recovery after cutting enable one to get more cuttings per 

 season of the Arabian variety than with ordinary alfalfa. At Mecca, 

 Cal., as many as eleven cuttings of this variety have been made in a 

 season when but eight of ordinary alfalfa were secured. At Chico, 

 Cal., seven cuttings of the Arabian for hay and a heavy fall growth for 

 pasturage have been obtained as against six cuttings of ordinary alfalfa. 

 While one can secure more cuttings per season of this variety, there 

 is not, as showm by experiments at Chico, a correspondingly larger 

 yield of hay. 



COMPARISON OF HAY YIELDS OF ALFALFA VARIETIES. 



Arabian alfalfa has been grown at Chico, Cal., in comparison with 

 Peruvian, Provence, Turkestan, and ordinary alfalfa to determine 

 the comparative yields of hay. These data are given in Tabic II. 

 The Arabian variety hi comparison with these varieties produced in 

 the first two years yields about equaling the ordinary alfalfa, but in 

 the third and fourth years its yield was greatly reduced. The Peru- 

 vian variety in each of the four years tested produced more hay than 

 the ordinary, Provence, or Arabian with which it was compared. The 

 Provence variety has yielded about the same as the ordinary, while 

 the Turkestan yielded considerably less. The Peruvian stands out 

 prominently as the largest hay-yielding variety tested. The weights 

 [Clr. 119] 



