MEDICAGO FALCATA, A YELLOW-FLOWERED ALFALFA. 3 



possesses promise as a forage crop in the colder and drier portions 

 of the country and partially because of the recognized part which 

 it has played in the development of the most hardy and drought- 

 resistant commercial strains of alfalfa and the promise it presents 

 from a plant-breeding standpoint. In connection with this systematic 

 search, Prof. Hansen made two trips to Europe and Asia for the 

 express purpose of collecting seed of the numerous forms of the 

 species. The first trip was made in 1906 and the second in 1908. 

 Mr. Frank N. Meyer, the department's regular agricultural ex- 

 plorer, has also devoted much attention to procuring seed of the 

 various forms of the species, especially from localities in Asia. The 

 efforts of both explorers were directed by the Office of Foreign Seed 

 and Plant Introduction of the Bureauof Plant Industry. Through 

 its contacts with various collectors and investigators that office has, 

 in addition, succeeded in obtaining a large number of forms from 

 many parts of the Old World where the species is indigenous, so 

 that the collection now in the possession of the department is prob- 

 , ably more nearly complete than any that has previously been brought 

 together. Furthermore, it probably represents nearly all of the 

 striking forms at present in existence. 



As in the case of many other wild plants, difficulty attended the 

 procuring of seed, so that only small quantities of most of the forms 

 were obtained. In a few cases, however, collectors offered to supply 

 it at a comparatively low price, approximately $1 per pound. 



Each lot of seed procured by the Department of Agriculture was 

 assigned a regular accession number, which serves the purpose of 

 identification. Below is a list of these numbers, together with brief 

 notes taken from the published inventories of the Office of Seed and 

 Plant Introduction. 



842. 50 miles east of Rovnaya, Russia. 



9748. Madrid, Spain. P'rom Botjinic Gardens, 



19534. \'aiuii<i, Samara Government, Russia. 



20717. Kiiarkof Province. Russia. From wild plants. 



20718 and 20719. Omsk, Siberia. From wild plants. 



20720. Irkutsk, Siberia. From hay in market. 



20721. Samara Province, Russia. From wild plants. 



20722. Saratof Province, Russia. From wild plants. 



20724. Tomsk, Siberia. From wild plants. 



20725. Don Province, Russia. From wild pliints. 

 20720. Samara Province, Russia. F'rom wild plfints. 

 2802.5. Orenburg, Russia. 



24452. Obb, Tomsk Province, Siberia. From wihl plants. 



24453. Omsk, Akmolinsk Province, Sibcriii. From \vil<l jilants. 



24454. North of Irkutsk, Siberia. From wild plants. 



244.55. Ten miles north of Semipalatlnsk, Siberia, From wild plants. 

 24450. Station Charonte, Siberia. From wild plants. 



