92 HORTICULTURE BY IRRIGATION. 



under its Latin name Medicago Saliva. At a latter period it was called 

 lucerne, which is really its proper modern name, although in Colorado 

 and the West, the Spanish term, alfalfa, is adhered to, as it comes to us 

 from the vast pampas of South America, where this grass grows wild. 



Its history has been traced back for more than twenty-five centuries, 

 and writers claim that it was cultivated in Greece five hundred years 

 before the Christian era, and that during the Eoman Conquest it found its 

 way to the latter country, where it is cultivated and highly esteemed at 

 the present time. From Rome it is supposed to have been introduced 

 into France and Spain, and subsequently to South America and Mexico. 

 The plant seems to have been brought to California under the name of 

 Chilian clover, at an early period in the history of the State, and from 

 there has been distributed to different points in the United States. 



Although cultivated here scarcely more than a dozen years, alfalfa 

 has already taken a leading place in the agricultural economy of Colorado. 

 Its cultivation is increasing by thousands of acres each year, and to-day 

 no one is prepared to say what AVC would do witln-ut it in this State. 



Experience has shown that it is specially adapted to the dry climate 

 and perpetual sunshine of this region, and, taken one year with another, 

 is among the safest and most profitable of farm products. When once 

 thoroughly established, it has remarkable vitality, as the roots penetrate 

 the earth to the depth of from ten to twenty feet or even more. It is said that 

 fields of this crop in parts of South America, known to be centuries old, 

 are still in full vigor and productiveness. 



SEEEING. 



The ground should be prepared for this as for the average farm crop. 

 A rich, deep sandy loam is best adapted to alfalfa, as it is a heavy feeder, 

 and the better the soil the quicker and stronger the growth. Seeding may 

 be done either by sowing broadcast and harrowing in, or by drilling in; 

 the former method is generally practiced, and is usually found to avoid 

 the danger of getting the seed so deep that it may not germinate well. 

 Occasionally, however, good results are secured by drilling in, and only 

 about half the quantity of seed is used that is required in sowing broad- 

 cast. But, as remarked, broadcasting is practiced most generally, and, on 

 an average, twenty-five pounds of seed are used to the acre. The more 

 thickly and evenly distributed, the finer and better the quality of the 

 grass. If the stand is thin, the growth is apt to be coarse and woody. 



