2 BULLETIlSr 428, IT. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



ward the species in various ways and an interest manifested in it that 

 is quite as widespread as that in any other plant immigrant of recent 

 times. The fact that it is classed as a variety of alfalfa would alone 

 have been sufficient advertisement, but to be described as a hardy and 

 drought-resistant strain obtained for it at once almost universal 

 recognition. Eight years would appear to be a sufficient period of 

 time in which to determine to a reasonable degree the agricultural 

 merits of any new crop, but in the case of Medicago falcata more time 

 will be required before the true status of this species can be ascer- 

 tained and its value accurately estimated. 



It is true that many of the investigators who have worked with it, 

 or rather with a few forms of it, have long since condemned it as 

 being of little value. On the other hand, a few have seen in it the 

 solution of the whole problem of a hardy and drought-resistant 

 alfalfa. Both of these views are undoubtedly extreme, the first being 

 based on scanty information or a study of insufficient material; the 

 second, somewhat at least on sentiment. Those who have worked 

 carefully and open-mindedly with all the available forms of the 

 species are convinced that certain forms have much potential value 

 if properly utilized. 



One of the purposes of this bulletin is to correct many of the 

 extreme and erroneous opinions that have obtained regarding Medi- 

 cago fcdcata by setting forth in as fair and unbiased a manner as 

 possible what are believed to be reliable data for the aid of plant 

 breeders and others who are interested in the species. 



INTRODUCTION OF MEDICAGO FALCATA INTO THE UNITED 



STATES. 



The first importation of Medicago falcata to the United States of 

 which there is a record was made by the Department of Agi'iculture 

 in 1897, through the instrumentality of Prof. N. E. Hansen, who was 

 commissioned by the Secretary of Agriculture to visit Europe and 

 Asia for the purpose of procuring promising plants new to the agri- 

 culture of this country. Accidental importations of seed were made 

 at an earlier date, as indicated by specimens of fully developed plants 

 found in the United States National Herbarium, collected in Dela- 

 ware by A. Commons in 1896. The collector's notes merely state 

 that the plants were found growing in waste places. Such acci- 

 dental introductions as may have occurred failed to produce any con- 

 siderable number of plants in this country, since the species even now 

 is not .common in any locality. 



Since 1897 the Department of Agriculture has conducted a sys- 

 tematic search for the numerous forms of Medicago falcata. This 

 has been inspired partially by the belief that the species of itself 



