FIFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VI. 465 



*ALFALFA IN INDIANA. 



A. T. Wia?icko and M. L. Fisher in Bulletin Issued by the Purdue Univer- 

 sity Experiment Station . 



INTRODUCTION. 



During the past few years a widespread and increasing interest in alfalfa 

 culture has sprung up in Indiana. Hundreds of inquiries have come to this 

 station, showing that farmers in all parts of the State are seriously thinking 

 of trying the crop. The questions asked are generally quite comprehensive 

 and concern its general characteristics, its adaptation to certain local con- 

 ditions, its feeding value, methods of seeding, inoculation, later treat- 

 ment, etc. 



To meet this demand for knowledge about alfalfa an investigation was 

 begun in the spring of 1903 with a view to ascertaining the suitability of the 

 soil and climatic conditions of Indiana for the profitable production of the 

 crop. With the co-operation of students of the School of Agriculture and 

 other interested farmers a number of experimental plots were established in 

 every section of the State under widely differing conditions. In each case 

 different methods of seeding, with and without inoculation, were tried and 

 other valuable information about its production in the State has been col- 

 lected. The results of these investigations prove beyond a reasonable doubt 

 that alfalfa deserves a place in Indiana agriculture. 



The object of this bulletin is to make known to our farmers what has 

 been learned about the culture of the crop in the State, and to assist those 

 who wish to use it. 



HISTORY. 



Alfalfa is one of the oldest cultivated forage plants. It was used by the 

 Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and other nations of the East long before the 

 beginning of the Christian era. It is a native of the southern and western 

 portions of Asia, thriving particularly well in the higher and drier regions. 

 It was early introduced into Spain and the Spaniards carried it into South 

 America and Mexico. Its introduction into the United States dates as far back 

 as 1820, when it was tried in New York State. It was brought from Chili to 

 California about fifty years ago and now flourishes throughout the arid and 

 semi-arid west as perhaps in no other region of the world. On account of 

 its hardy, dought-resistant qualities it is particularly well adapted to high, 

 dry regions. From California it rapidly spread eastward and is now grown 

 in almost every State and Territory in the Union. Its high feeding value, 

 great yielding power and adaptation to widely varying soil and climate con- 

 ditions have made it deservedly popular wherever it has been grown. 



♦The increasing interest throughout Iowa in Alfalfa culture has led us to believe that 

 information along this line would be appreciated by the farmers of the State, and as our 

 experiment station has not as yet issued a bulletin treating on this subject we publish the 

 following bulletin from ourjsister otate, where the conditions are similar to those of Iowa. 



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