EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 



201 



that are ideal in all respects, it is doubtless safe as a general recom- 

 mendation at least, to advise the use of ten or twelve pounds per acre. 



TYPES OF ALFALFA. 



There are no commercial varieties of alfalfa which would correspond 

 to the different varieties of corn, oats and other cereal crops, the alfalfa 

 being a mixture of several more or less distinct types. These types vary 

 considerably in their habit of growth, production, adaptability, etc., 

 and oU'ei' a sploiulid field for seleclioii. Tlic Exi»cMiiiient Station has 

 devoted considerable attention to the breeding of new strains of al- 

 falfa which are better suited to Michigan conditions and this work has 



Fig. V. Showing different types of alfalfa. The plant on the left is erect, the one on the right is 



semi-decum bent. 



progressed far enough to allow a limited distribution of seed (beginning 

 in 1911) of some of the pure strains developed from the more promis- 

 ing of the individual plants in the breeding plots. 



Alfalfa may conveniently be divided into three types: The Medicago 

 Sativa or common alfalfa which is erect or nearly so, and has a blue 

 flower and spiral shaped pod; the Medicago falcata, which is inclined 

 to be decumbent and has a yellow flower and crescent shaped pod, and 

 the variegated alfalfa, which is supposed to be the result of the crossing 

 of the above two types and which is fairly erect and has a variegated 

 blossom and is intermediate as to form of pod. 



The Medicago Sativa is by far the most commonly grown in this 

 country. The Medicago falcata, while possessed of more hardiness than 

 the common alfalfa is not popular for general use because of its de- 



