CHAPTER IX. 



ALFALFA IN 

 WESTERN 



AGRICUL- 

 TURE 



ALFALFA 



SEED 



CULTURE 



ALFALFA. 



All flesh is grass and western grass is flesh par ex- 

 cellence. 



Alfalfa has been and is the making of the 

 West. Xo other plant can take its place in arid 

 agriculture. It makes the richest hay and is 

 the best all-round forage ; is best adapted to cli- 

 mate and soils ; it solves the problem of soil fer- 

 tility and maintenance. Alfalfa is not only es- 

 sential on every irrigated farm, but it is a drouth 

 resistant hay crop for the dry farmer. Its value 

 as a stock food has given it fame, not only in the 

 West, but in all parts of the country. Alfalfa 

 is now being brought into almost every state and 

 introduced into every country in the world. Its 

 value has become so well recognized that the de- 

 mand for alfalfa seed far exceeds the supply. 

 This makes the growing of alfalfa for seed an 

 important new industry for this region where 

 seed can be successfully produced. 



Up to the present time the production of 

 alfalfa seed has simply been incidental. When 

 alfalfa land has been plowed and put into grain 

 crops the plants which come up from the old 

 rr<>\vii- produce seed. When the grain is 

 threshed, this seed is separated and saved and 



