32 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



adapted to alternate husbandry, as it takes several years to become 

 well established. 



It makes a very resistant and leafy turf, which well withstands 

 the tramping of stock. It grows well, also, as far south as Tennessee. 

 Among the forms of low growth are two varieties which are unsur- 

 passed, either in fineness or richness of color, for making lawns. 

 (Iowa Agr. Exp. Sta. B. 56.) 



Red top has a nearly worldwide distribution, growing especially 

 well in damp climates and on low, wet ground. Its chief value is 

 as a pasture grass, although it is used for hay and also makes excel- 

 lent lawns. Red top seed is largely raised in Illinois and is exported 

 to all countries. The fact that the seed is home grown enables the 

 dealers to furnish purer seed than is usually the case with 

 the imported article. Two principal grades are sold, "Fancy silver" 

 and seed in the chaff. The "Fancy silver" should have a high per- 

 centage of purity. As high as 90 per cent may be expected. In the 

 other grade there is always a great deal of chaff, and 60 per cent 

 is a fair standard. The principal impurities besides chaff are timothy, 

 horesweed, Saint John's-wort and yarrow. It should yield from 10 

 to 20 bushels per acre of seed, and more has been obtained. The 

 seed is a small, reddish grain inclosed in a silvery white, translucent 

 glume. The glume is about one-fourth again as long as the grain 

 and has a tuft of hair at the base, which is, however, often rubbed 

 off in cleaning. The seed of this species is slightly larger than that 

 either of creeping bent or of Rhode Island bent, but otherwise is in- 

 distinguishable except that the awns of Rhode Island bent, if not 

 broken off, furnish a good characteristic for identification. The 

 outer glumes of red top come off easily, and in chaffy samples will 

 make from 30 to 60 per cent of the weight. In the "Fancy silver" 

 grade the chaff has been blown out. (U. S. Dept. Agr. Y. B. 1898.) 



ALFALFA. 



The accompanying illustrations indicate the general appear- 

 ance of the plant. It may briefly be described as being a deep-rooted, 

 long-lived herbaceous forage plant belonging to the botanical family 

 Leguminosse, or pod-bearing plants. Its flowers are violet, clover 

 shaped, borne in compact oblong clusters. The pods are small, 

 slightly hairy, and spirally coiled in two or three turns. The kidney- 

 shaped seeds are about one-twelfth of an inch long, and several are 

 contained in each pod. One of the most important characteristics 

 of alfalfa is its long taproot, often extending 15 or more feet into the 

 soil. This enables the plant to reach stores of plant food in the soil 

 which can not be secured by the ordinary shallow-rooted field crops. 

 This length is also of great importance in sections of limited rainfall, 

 as by this means the plant is enabled to withstand extremes of 

 drouth which would otherwise be fatal. 



The wide distribution of alfalfa indicates a remarkable adapta- 

 bility to various climates and conditions. So far as climate is con- 

 cerned alfalfa can be grown in every State in the Union. It is, how- 

 ever, very exacting in the humid sections as to soil and treatment. It 

 is grown below the sea level in southern California and at altitudes 



