ALFALFA CULTURE IN NEW ENGLAND. 

 By Prof. S. C. Damon, Kingston, R. L 



Delivered before the Society, February 5, 1916.' 



Alfalfa is the oldest agricultural plant in history, the third in 

 value in the United States, and almost the latest to invade conserva- 

 tive New England agriculture. 



There is no more interesting, important, and often profitable 

 part of an up-to-date farmer's business than the trial of new seeds 

 and plants. Here now, we have this alfalfa plant, a comparatively 

 new introduction into the L^nited States, making every year a more 

 persistent claim for our attention and asking for a trial on every 

 New England farm. But first let us get more acquainted with this 

 wonderful legume: a perennial in its nature, this "Child of the 

 Sun," as its name Lucerne implies, this "best of all grasses" as the 

 name signifies. I referred to alfalfa as being new to this country. 

 It is comparatively so, but in the history of agriculture, it is the 

 oldest of all forage plants, for it is mentioned in Roman history 

 2500 years ago, Avhen its virtues were known and recorded by Pliny, 

 one of their greatest writers. 



Alfalfa was introduced into the United States in 1854, probably 

 by some gold hunters, who, in their journey to California by the 

 way of Cape Horn, stopped ^at some port on the South American 

 Coast, perhaps Chili, where they saw this wonderful plant growing 

 and it attracted their attention so much that they took some of the 

 seed with them to California, whence it has spread all over the 

 West. 



The introduction of alfalfa into the eastern part of the United 

 States was brought about in an entirely different manner. It was 

 through the foresight of a German, W^endell Grimm, who, coming 

 to make his home in this new country in Minnesota in 1857, natu- 

 rally brought with him a little seed of the crop which he prized most 

 highly in his old home and that is said to be the origin of the 

 famous Grimm alfalfa. 



