ALFALFA 180 



known to mankind, it was strangely the last to 

 be introduced into the United States and Can- 

 ada; alfalfa reached the American continent 

 not by way of Europe, as did nearly every 

 other agricultural product of North America, 

 but through California from Chile, in 1854, 

 in the hands of people who were attracted 

 north by the wonderful gold discoveries. A 

 variation of the Persian name has held through 

 the centuries. The name lucerne developed 

 from its introduction into the Eastern United 

 States from Lucerne, Switzerland; indeed, in 

 one section of New York state a variety of 

 alfalfa was said to have been introduced as 

 early as 1800, but it was purely a local crop, 



ALFALFA 



in irrigated districts, where the quantity of 

 moisture is easily regulated; therefore it will 

 thrive under irrigation in the Arizona deserts, 

 which are among the hottest in the world. It 

 grows as well with little moisture, because of 

 the great length of its roots; fifteen inches a 

 year has been found sufficient, but it also does 

 well in the Gulf states, which have sixty-five 

 inches of rain yearly. The plant dies where the 

 soil is too moist, however, and it will not 

 grow well in a soil with a high per cent of 

 acids. 



Alfalfa requires a well-drained and deep soil, 

 rich in lime and quite free from weeds. No 

 other fodder crop requires as much lime as 



ALFALFA MAP, UNITED STATES 

 Heavily-dotted areas indicate sections of greatest production. 



not important enough to affect California's 

 claim, from which state its growth spread 

 rapidly. Other local names are French clover, 

 purple medic, Spanish trefoil and Chilean 

 clover. 



Conditions of Growth. Almost any crop, if 

 it is to thrive well, requires practically one 

 general variety of soil, a certain average quan- 

 tity of rainfall and the same average elevation 

 above sea level. Alfalfa is an exception to 

 these conditions; it grows in California below 

 sea level, in a semi-arid region, and it flour- 

 ishes on the highlands of the mountain states 

 at an elevation of 8,000 feet. So far as climate 

 is concerned it will grow in every state in the 

 American Union. It is a much-favored crop 



does alfalfa ; its presence neutralizes the acidity 

 of the soil. Weeds, being shallow-rooted, rob 

 the plant of the sustenance the surface soil 

 provides, and makes it dependent upon the 

 deep root system to draw its support from far 

 below. Its roots can penetrate a considerable 

 layer of clay, to reach moisture and rich soil 

 beneath it. This characteristic is referred to 

 again, below. 



Description of the Plant. Alfalfa grows to a 

 height of eighteen to twenty-four inches, and 

 is much like clover. It belongs to the same 

 botanical family as the clover and beans, len- 

 tils, peas and other plants called leguminous, 

 for the reason that they bear legumes, or pods, 

 as seed vessels (see LEGUMINOUS PLANTS) . All 



