principally those which were secured 

 from the Cornell Experiment Station, 

 and include the Empire, Viking, and 

 certain other selections. For further 

 information, a strain obtained from 

 Northern Italy was included. 



Because of the drought only one 

 harvest was made from this test in 

 1950. There was much difference in 

 the rate of recovery after the first 

 harvest, some of the Empire crosses 

 making much better growth than 

 Empire itself and the Italian strain. 

 Since ladino recovers more quickly 

 than trefoil, it isn't likely that tre- 

 foil will replace ladino on lands 

 where the latter is adapted. It seems 

 probable, however, that trefoil may 

 be used in situations where ladino 

 will not survive, since trefoil appears 

 tc be better adapted to wet soils than 

 ladino. 



F. S. Prince 



New Alfalfa Varieties Being Tested 



Some of the newer alfalfa varieties 

 that have been developed by plant 

 breeders in the United States appear 

 to show considerable promise for 

 New England. Among these are 

 Ranger, a wilt-resistant variety; 

 others include the Atlantic, a variety 

 developed at the New Jersey Station 

 which appears to contain some dis- 

 ease-resistant qualities and the Nar- 

 ragansett which originated at the 

 Rhode Island Station. 



These three new and promising 

 varieties are being grown in Green- 

 land, N. H., in a variety test which 

 includes also the Grimm, Ontario 

 Variegated, and Buffalo varieties. 

 Buffalo is also a wilt-resistant strain, 

 developed from Kansas Common. It 

 is believed that it will not be so well 

 adapted to New Hampshire condi- 

 tions as the Ranger which was de- 

 veloped from hardier strains. 



At the first harvest in 1951, the 

 Narragansett variety was outstand- 

 ing. This has been the case with Nar- 

 ragansett in other tests in the North- 



east, in that for the first two or three 

 years, at least, Narragansett outyields 

 all the other available varieties. 

 Whether it will show the same high 

 yielding ability more than three years 

 is questionable, since it has not been 

 bred especially for resistance to dis- 

 ease. It is outstanding enough now 

 m yield to be recommended for seed- 

 ings which are designed to last not 

 more than three or perhaps four 

 years. Additional information may 

 prove it to be good for plantings of 

 longer duration. 



F. S. Prince 



Progress with New Hampshire 

 Perennial Red Clover 



Normally, red clover is considered 

 to be biennial, but some plants tend 

 to persist longer than the usual two 

 years. Over fifteen years ago, mem- 

 bers of the Agronomy Department 

 gathered seed from isolated plants 

 throughout the State. It was noted 

 that some plants grown from these 

 seeds lived longer than the usual two 

 years. In fact, seed was produced 

 from these plants at the end of the 

 third and fourth years and, to a 

 hmited extent, after the fifth year. 



By hand pollination in the green- 

 house among the twelve original 

 families that showed the perennial 

 characteristics, succeeding genera- 

 tions have been obtained and selec- 

 tions have been on the basis of free- 

 dom from disease and vigor. Some 

 seed has been multiplied and trial 

 samples have been sent to the United 

 States Department of Agriculture for 

 trials in other states, and to the vari- 

 ous county agents within New Hamp- 

 shire. In the early trials. New Hamp- 

 shire Perennial Red Clover has yield- 

 ed better and has lived longer than 

 the usual commercial red clover and 

 some of the named varieties. 



During the last year or two, by in- 

 tense careful selection, a new lot of 

 breeders' seed has been obtained. 



14 



