•lanuiiry, 1921. 



S C T E N T r F 1 f : A ( ; R T C U I. T U R E 



FiRure 5. — Root System — Type C. Certain plants of yellow- 

 flowered Alfalfa may spread by means of buds produced 

 on the true roots somewhat after the manner of 

 perennial Sow Thistle. 



Some of the vertical roots end abruptly, foriuiiiL' 

 a swelling- from which arise numerous small fibrous 

 roots. T/ie lateral roots also sometimes end in swcl 

 lings; but in these examples, the swollen portion 

 usually gives rise to both buds and a true root sys- 

 tem; thus forming wfhat may eventually beeome a 

 dktinet and independent plant. 



From t^e above description. i1 will be readily 

 seen that the spreading nature of the lateral roots, 

 toget^ier with the formation of adventitious buds and 

 shoots enables the plant to spread and miiltiply in a 

 very rapid manner; this would lead one to conclude 

 that such a plant would have the power to retain 

 its hold on the land permanently, very much after 

 the fashion of perennial sowthistle and similar weeds. 

 Moreover, the roots w^iich penetrate in a vertical 

 direction give to the plant valuable di-ought-resistin<i; 

 properties; and it would appear that when thoroiigh- 

 ly established such plants might, under average con- 

 ditions, be expected to produce profitable crops 

 without serious loss of stand over a long series of 

 years. 



In summarizing the main jtoints brought out by 

 the observations and investigations described above, 

 it would seem tjiat. — 



I. — The hardiness of Alfalfa, tiiat is capacity to 

 withstand severe winter conditions, depends very 

 largely on its root system, 



II. — Plants po.ssessing a branched root system 

 are much better able to withstand winter heaving 

 than those having only a single tap-root, no matter 

 how great its lengt,ii niay be. ' 



III. — Those plants which have the power to pro- 

 duce rooting underground stems are able to renovate 

 them-selves, and after the death of the main root- 

 stock are capable of keeping up a separate exi.stencc 

 quite independent of the parent root-stock. 



IV. — ^When Alfalfa has the jiabit of spreading by 

 means of root jn-oliferation, \vc lia\-e a form of 

 s]ireading and multiplying in a vegetative manner 

 which promises to give to th(> plant gi'eater iiowers 

 of resistance to cold ami also greater powers 

 of recuperation from in.jury than is passessed by 

 even true rhizomes; and we venture to hope that 

 these properties will render it po.ssible to grow good 

 crops in adverse climatic conditions under which it 

 would be quite impossilile to raise common Alfalfa. 



Tjiough we may regard this i-ooting habit in the 



falcala spccias as being of immen.sc importance in 

 iiLsuring hardiness; yet we find that the plant is 

 usually deficient in other qualities; thase plants 

 already isolated and studied are distinetly inferior 

 to common Alfalfa both in seed production and in 

 the quality of the foliage either for hay or for pas- 

 ture. 



Usually, the stems are t^in and wiry, and they 

 very quickly become hard and woody, which con- 

 dition renders them less nutritive and less palatable 

 for feeding purposes. 



These defects, it must be admitted, are very 

 sei'ious; and with a view to remedying them experi- 

 ments at the Manitoba Agricultural College are now 

 in progress. 



Motilier plants specially selected for hardiness 

 have been cross-fertilized with pollen from selected 

 plants less hardy but pos.sessing good seeding ])rn- 

 lierties. 



Past experiences have .shown us that the seeding 

 ability of Alfalfa is very elusive and exceedingly 

 difficult to control, and apparently is not so readily 

 transmitted by cross-fertilization as t;ie strictly veg- 

 etative characters of the plant. 



These experiments on cross-fertilization represent 

 another phase of the work directed towards the im- 

 provement of Alfalfa; but with such a plant as Al- 

 falfa, investigation of this nature must necessarily 

 be slow and long drawn out before a report of a 

 definite and reliable nature can be presented. 



References to literature on this subject. 



(1) Brand, C. J. and Waldron, L. R., Cold Re- 

 sistance of Alfalfa and Some Factors Influencing it. 

 U.S. Department of Agriculture. B.P.I. Bui No ^ISo 

 1910. 



(2) Brand, C. J., Grimm Alfalfa and its Utiliza- 

 tion in the North- West. U. S. Depart men t of Agri- 

 culture, B.P.I., Bui. No. 209. 1911. 



{■■]) Blinn, Pihlo K., Alfalfa, t/ie Relation of 

 Type to Hardiness. Experiment Station, Colo , Bui 

 Xo. 181, 1911, 



(4) Monceau du Duhamcl, II. L., A Practical 

 Treatise of Husbandry, London, 1759 



(5) Oakley, R, A, and Garver, S., Two Types of 

 Proliferation in Alfalfa, U.S. Department of Agri- 

 culture, B.P.I. . Cire., No. 115, 1913. 



(6) Oliver, G. W.. Some New Alfalfa Varieties 

 for Pastures, U.S. Department of Agriculture B 

 P.I., Bui. No. 258, 1913. 



(7) Tull. Jethro. Horse-hoeing Husbandrv, Cob- 

 bets, Ed.. Loudon, 1829. 



(S) Young, Artihur, Annals of Agriculture, Vol 

 XV, 1791. 



Fisure 6. — Root System of .Tn/ C\lbt'rt"?i> Hybrid, being a cross 

 between violet-flowered aKi( ^ . I ln« -Towf red .\lialfa. 



