vated and developed under this costly and laborious "tobacco me- 

 thod" of growing alfalfa. We frequently hear of tap and branch 

 rooted varieties of alfalfa. The Grimm, Baltic and Cossack are 

 more distinctly branch rooted than the common. But every alfalfa 

 becomes branch rooted with transplanting. The central roots fail 

 to grow in length after they are cut back and hence they immedi- 

 ately develop an extensive lateral or side root growth. This is true 

 not only of Cossack but of the Grimm and common as well. (See 

 Fig. 53.) 



Big Plants do not Mean Big Yields 



Many have been given a small packet of Cossack alfalfa seed 

 with instructions to seed in rows and then transplant (3x3 ft.) 

 in the garden. These plants are given garden care. They grow to 

 be of tremendous size and the conclusion naturally follows that 

 this Cossack is a very unusual alfalfa. But we forget that the Grimm 

 or Baltic transplanted in the same way will produce equally sur- 

 prising!results as far as big plants with immense branched roots and 

 crowns are concerned. The only way two or more varieties of al- 

 falfa can be rightly compared is to seed them under identically the 

 same conditions. (See Pig. 53.) 



The Cossack alfalfa is a good variety. It's a highly desirable 

 alfalfa from the standpoint of yields and hardiness. Its widely 

 variegated flower may become a characteristic of commercial im- 

 portance as time goes on. We are not in any sense opposed to 

 Cossack alfalfa as a variety. In fact we have great faith in it 

 but there are other good alfalfas as well. 



Transplanting Fails in Test 



While we have had only limited experience with transplanting 

 alfalfa the results of our tests have been more disappointing than 

 we ever anticipated. Four years ago (1913) we transplanted three 

 small plots of fertile clay loam soil with variegated and yellow blos- 

 somed alfalfas to observe seed production. Every plant failed to 

 produce seed in any appreciable quantity. In spite of frequent 

 hoeing and cultivation blue-grass took possession of the plots the 

 second year and a year ago we plowed them up. 



In September, 1916, we transplanted a twentieth acre plot of 

 rich loam soil with Baltic, Cossack and common purple-flowered 

 Montana alfalfa to test out hay production. The plants were put 

 in checks 3x3 feet. Last spring and during the summer they were 

 cultivated six times but the weeds were abundant in the fall in spite 

 of our determined efforts. Adjacent broadcasted plots seeded 

 in 1915 were practically weed free without any cultivation. In 

 two cuttings the three broadcasted plots with plants from the same 

 seed and of the same age as the transplanted area yielded an average 

 of 9400 pounds of cured hay an acre. The transplanted plots av- 

 eraged for two cuttings only 600 pounds of cured hay an acre. We 

 are hoping for better results in the future (See Fig. 39.) 



In the seed growing sections of the West transplanting seems 

 to have been used very effectually in disseminating new and hardy 

 varieties of alfalfa where seed was available only in limited amounts. 

 One pound of seed will produce enough plants for about an acre of 

 transplanted alfalfa. In other words, transplanting is a means of 



65 



