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greenhouses throughout Russia is still with flues, so one can- 

 not expect cut flowers like one sees in America. Plants, how- 

 ever, coming originally from countries with fairly dry air, 

 like Cyclamen persicum, Cineraria hybrida, (fr. Canary Is- 

 lands), Cape of Good Hope plants, these all do better in flue- 

 heated houses than in steam or hot water warmed conservatories 

 and I noticed some very fine flowers on the Cyclamens." 



Mr. Frank N. Meyer writes December 10, 1911, from 

 Rostof f -on-Don, Russia: "Mr. Bogdan has now at Krassny Koot 

 about 5 desiatines (13| acres) in M. falcata, one block of 4 

 des. sown broadcast and the rest in smaller parcels, among 

 which there are blocks where the selected plants are given 

 extra care. Of these selected types he has about 400 speci- 

 mens, all differing from one another, for this M. falcata is 

 wonderfully variable; among these 400 however there are about 

 15 types which possess all factors that make them good fodder 

 plants, viz., of strong upright growth, plenty of foliage, 

 good seed producers and the pods not easily springing open or 

 dropping off. Several of these types are hybrids between M. 

 sativa and M. falcata. It seems also, however, that M. falcata 

 gradually passes over into M. sativa, for there are forms of 

 the first with bluish flowers and somewhat spiralled pods. 

 (This is apparently the form Medicago coerulea! ) Mr. Bogdan 

 shares my opinion that M. falcata lends itself to the develop- 

 ment of many types, some of which are of value on various 

 sorts of pasture grounds, some for various sorts of hay-lands 

 and some fit to be grown for fodder exclusively; various lo- 

 calities will have to develop varieties best suited to local 

 conditions . 



Mr. Bodgan showed me several hybrids of M. falcata x M. 

 sativa that were perfectly sterile, though of good habits 

 otherwise. His experiences with sowing were that the seed 

 possesses from 30-80$ germinating powers. Some plants become 

 good sized plants in one season, bearing seeds even, while 

 others grow very slow and do not bear until the third year. 

 Some plants stand cutting twice, while others make no growth 

 after having been cut once. The finest quality of M. falcata 

 is that it stops growing when the hot and dry weather arrives, 

 thereby saving itself, while M. sativa tries to push out and 

 weakens itself so that the plants die out after three years. 

 Mr. Bogdan found out that a thin stand suits M. falcata much 

 better than being sown thickly and to accomplish such a thin 

 stand he mixes the seed throughly with old millet seed (proso, 

 Panicum miliaceum) that does not germinate any longer and gets 

 his plants at the right distances. Next year he hopes to have 

 20 desiatines (54 acres) in M. falcata, so as to begin to 

 supply the farmers with seed. The climate there in Krassny 

 Koot is a real Steppe climate. In July, 1911, it was 108 



