MISCELLANEOUS 



227 



AliFHiERIIiLA OR "ALiFILARIA" 



(Erodium citcutariiim. ) 



On account of the similarity of its name to that of 

 alfalfa and the possibiHty of the two plants being con- 

 fused in the minds of those not acquainted with them, it 

 is proper to make mention here of the plant referred to 

 in the caption above. It is not generally known nor 

 widely distributed, and has as yet its principal habitat in 

 semi-arid parts of the southwestern United States. The 

 Century Dictionary calls it Pin-clover or Pin-grass, and 

 classifies it with the Geranium family. Webster's Dic- 

 tionary speaks of it as a weed in California. It is an 

 annual and seeds profusely; a few seeds scattered over 

 quite a large area result in a thorough seeding the sec- 

 ond year, A stockman in Arizona writes that it will 

 grow on any kind of soil except alkali ; that it was intro- 

 duced from Australia by sheep carrying it in their wool. 

 It is a southern plant and should not be seeded largely 

 north of the northern line of Oklahoma until tested by 

 the experiment stations. It should not be confused with 

 alfalfa, as it is entirely dissimilar and not related. 



In discussing this plant an Arizona editor writes the 

 following : 



"It is by no means a new or experimental crop, for it 

 was the main reliance of Arizona stockmen during ten 

 years of drouth. We suppose that the experiment sta- 

 tions in the West have given it little attention because 

 it is as well known as alfalfa here, and millions of acres 

 are covered with it in various portions of the Territory. 



