Il6 CLOVERS 



plants and the number of the cuttings. Forty to 

 fifty stalks frequently grow up from the crown of 

 a single plant where the conditions are quite favor- 

 able to growth, and in some instances as many as 

 a hundred. The leaves are not large, but nu- 

 merous, and in the curing of the plants they drop 

 off much more easily than those of the more valu- 

 able of the clovers. The flowers are borne toward 

 the top of the stems and branches, and they are in a 

 long cluster, rather than in a compact head. They 

 are usually of a bluish tint, but the shades of the 

 color vary with the strain from blue to pink and yel- 

 low. The seeds are borne in spirally coiled pods. 

 They resemble those of red clover in size, but are 

 less uniform in shape. The color should be a light 

 olive green. The tap roots go down deeply into the 

 soil and subsoil where the conditions as to texture 

 and moisture are favorable. It has been claimed that 

 alfalfa roots have gone down into congenial sub- 

 soils 40 to 50 feet, but usually less, probably, than 

 one-fourth of the distances mentioned would meas- 

 ure the depths to which the roots go. And with 

 decreasing porosity in the subsoil, there will be de- 

 crease in root penetration until it will reach in some 

 instances not more than 3 to 4 feet. But where the 

 roots are thus hindered from going deeper, they 

 branch out more in their search for food. 



Alfalfa is perennial. In the duration of its 

 growth, no fodder plant grown under domestication 

 will equal it. It has been known, it is claimed, to 

 produce profitable crops for half a century. In some 

 of the Western States are meadows from 25 to 40 



