AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES 



145 



French name of lucerne. Eobert Livingston, in 

 1793, had fifteen acres in Jefferson County. It was 

 tried in the central part of the State in 1812 and 

 while not eminently successful, some plants from 

 that parentage are believed to have persisted for many 

 years. The successful culture of the crop began in 

 Onondaga County in 1867, with the introduction of 



/»f9 ms* /gSV m* /8S9 /874^ /STS /38f 1889 /$»t /89^ /»>* I909 /»■* 1919 



Fig. 20. Graphs showing by decades the total area in 

 crops and the area in hay and forage, in clover and in 

 alfalfa. 



seed in chaff from the Pacific Coast. Doubtless, the 

 early development of the crop was handicapped by its 

 exacting requirements of a lime-rich soil and by the 

 successful growth ever}'where of red clover, and the 

 greater ease with which clover can be handled in the 

 rotation. The average yield of alfalfa is more than 



