SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE' 



January, 1921. 



ably owing to the strains having become mixed when 

 grown by various farmers in the district, and now the 

 two strains appear to be merged ijito one and are 

 known as Ontario variegated. 



It may be stated here that tlie (irimm Alfalfa and 

 Ontario "variegated have many points in common; in 

 both strains, a fair percentage of plants are found, 

 which have variegated flowers, both yield heavy crops, 

 and many plants are found having branched tap-roots, 

 also some plants produce vigorous rhizomes. 



These distinctive rooting characteristics give hardi- 

 ness to the plant and enable it to withstand severe \i-in- 

 ter conditions without much risk of being readily 

 killed out. 



The establishment of the Grimm and Ontario varie- 

 gated strains had a decidedly beneficial influence on 

 tjie spread of the culture of Alfalfa. For a time, the 

 effect was somewhat localized and largely restricted 

 to the respective districts into which these strains were 

 first introduced. 



As the value of the strains for hardiness and crop- 

 ping power came to be better knovra, a keen demand 

 for seed was firmly established ; and at the present day, 

 true samples of either Grimm seed or Canadian varie- 

 gated have a high commercial value, and the local 

 demand for seed of Canadian variegated is much 

 greater than can be met by the limited supply. 



The greatest stimulus given to the culture of Alfalfa 

 on the North American continent and the dissemination 

 of a knowledge of the principal hardy strains was, how- 

 ever, brought about owing to the question being taken 

 up in such a thorough manner liy the U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture. 



Writing on this subject, C. J. Brand (1) says: "Dur- 

 ing the period that elapsed from May 1898 until 

 Novemlier 1904, forty-two strains were introduced from 

 different parts of the world : fifteen came from Tur- 

 kestan ; other strains were the Province Poitou and 

 Sand Lucerne. Since the autumn of 1904, nearly two 

 hundred numbers have been introduced from various 

 parts of the world ; in addition a large number of more 

 or less distiiR't strains have been secured fi'om various 

 parts of the United States, and a still larger number 

 have been obtained by propagation of seed from 

 previous introduction. All of these domestic and foreign 

 races and their progeny constitute the richest matei-ial 

 for the study and breeding of Alfalfa ever brought 

 together." 



Seed of these varied forms of Alfalfa has been dis- 

 tributed to many experiment stations in the LTnited 

 States where the great diversity of soil and climate 

 furnish abundant opportunity for comparing the many 

 varieties under a great range of conditions. Samples 

 of seed have also been distributed to experiment 

 stations in Canada. 



The experiment station at the Ontario Agricultural 

 College, Guelph, receeived over sixty samples : these were 

 sown in the spring of 1909 ; and from the resulting crop, 

 the writer has had the opportunity of studying the 

 characteristic of the strains a.s a whole, and also of 

 making a more exhaustive study of selected plants 

 from the principal strains. 

 Resume of the Results Obtained by Workers in the 

 United States on Hardy Alfalfa. 



The references already made to tlie observatimis and 

 experiments made by TuU, Lullin. and LeBlanc in- 

 dicate, in some measure, the effect the root system mav 

 have in enabling Alfalfa to succeed under varied cli- 



matic conditions, and also when growni in competition 

 with other plants. 



Within the last few years, interest in this matter has 

 been revived with the result that some attention is now 

 being devoted to the study of the varied root systems 

 found in different strains of Alfalfa. The question has 

 been studied independently by several investigators, 

 and the results already obtained furnish evidence to 

 show that information of much economic importance is 

 likely to result from their researches. 



In making a brief survey of the work done during 

 recent years, We find that C. J. Brand and L. R. Wal- 

 dron discussed the hardiness of Grimm Alfalfa in a 

 U. S. bulletin in 1910 (1). 



In this work, the authors suggested "the possibility 

 that the long endurance of stands of the Grimm strabi 

 may be due in some measure to a capacity for putting 

 out new roots and re-establishing itself after the tap- 

 root is broken. The data collected on this point do not 

 yet justify anything like positive statements, but it is 

 mentioned in this connection to stimulate growers and 

 breeders to make note of similar conditions." 



The following year, 1911, Pliih) K. Blinn, of the Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station, Colorado, published the 

 results of some original investigations on the char- 

 acteristic rooting habits of hardy types of Alfalfa. 



The results described by Blinn amply justify the 

 suggestions made by Brand and Waldron ; and the 

 author shows clearly that hardy strains have spreading 

 crowns which seem to be associated with a verj^ much 

 branched surface root system in addition to the d°ep 

 tap-root. 



In 1913. G. W. Oliver, of the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture, published a valuable contribution to our 

 knowledge of varied rooting types of Alfalfa (6). In 

 this bulletin, he describes very fully two types of under- 

 grounds shoots or rhizomes which he terms rooting 

 and non-rooting: and explains in detail their origin, 

 structure, and functioii.s in the economy of the plant. 



In a circular (5) published in 1913, R. A. Oakley and 

 S. Garver (U. S. Department of Agriculture) described 

 in detail another type of root growth which they term 

 "Root-proliferation" which is taken to mean the dev- 

 elopment of aerial shoots in an abnormal manner from 

 the true roots of the plant. This form of growtli, the 

 authors observed in 1912 on specimens of yellow- 

 flowered Alfalfa (Medieago falcata) ; and full de- 

 scrii)tion is given of the main features of this pecu- 

 liarity of root growth. 



Main Features of the Writer's Investigations. 



This study of the rooting sy.stem of Alfalfa was 

 not entered upon in accordance with any pre-deter- 

 mined scheme, as at the commencement of the work 

 the writer was not aware of the existence of any re- 

 cord of similar work having been done bj' any pre- 

 vious investigator. 



The influences wjiich led up to the inception and 

 develo]nnent of the work were as follows: — 



It was in the .summer of 1911 whilst working 

 on a series of plots of Alfalfa that the striking 

 variations in the rooting systems were particular- 

 ly noticed. 



The.se plots were locat^ed at the experiment sta- 

 tion connected with the Ontario Agricultural Col- 

 lege, and were seeded down with about seventy 

 different strains of Alfalfa obtained mainly from 

 tjie U. S. Department of Agriculture, 



