188 



Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 



B. The discovery by Mr. P. K. Blinn, of the Colorado Experiment Sta- 

 tion, of the fact that all winter -hardy types of alfalfa, from what- 

 ever source, are alike in producing underground stems with buds, 

 which are protected by the soil from injury; that the winter- 

 hardy plants stool earlier in life than the nonhardy types, and 

 tend to have a highly branched root system, instead of a single 

 tap root. 



FIG. 158. Common American or 

 Chilean alfalfa. Pedigree No. 92, an 

 exceedingly upright type, produced on 

 the plant-breeding grounds of the De- 

 partment of Botany, Kansas State Ag- 

 ricultural College. Crown and root 

 system have more branches than Peru- 

 vian alfalfa. 



FIG. 159. Peruvian alfalfa. 

 This alfalfa is closely related to 

 the American or Chilean type, 

 commonly grown in this coun- 

 try. It will, however, grow 

 and make a crop in cooler 

 weather. It is not winter- 

 hardy in the north, or even in 

 Kansas, with any certainty. 

 Note the single tap root, asso- 

 ciated with tender types of 

 alfalfa. 



