62 BULLETIlSr 428, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



agriculture? No encouraging answer can be given to this question 

 at the present time. (2) Will the yield from the one cutting that 

 they may be expected to produce be sufficiently large to make their 

 extensive culture profitable? The answer in this case is not very 

 optimistic. It is quite probable, however, that conditions exist under 

 which a limited area of alfalfa would be valuable, even where only 

 one cutting, of a ton or somewhat less per acre, is all that could 

 be expected in a season. If this be true, certain of the best hay- 

 producing strains of Medicago falcata may have an advantage under 

 such conditions over the best strains of Medicago sativa that are now 

 available, not only because of their hardiness and drought resistance, 

 but also because of their apparent ability to produce a somewhat 

 heavier yield from the one cutting. But whether they possess a 

 material advantage over the best hybrids of the two species is by no 

 means certain. 



Economic conditions are slowly changing. The feasibility of 

 establishing alfalfa fields in dry areas where agriculture is precarious, 

 either by seeding or by the transplanting of seedling plants, is now 

 being considered. The varieties of Medicago falcata lend themselves 

 well to this type of culture. In widely spaced hills the individual 

 plants make a very large development, and the young plants bear 

 transplanting better than plants of Medicago sativa. The time for 

 the extensive culture of alfalfa in hills for forage is probably very 

 far distant, as is the extensive growing of the crop under any system 

 of culture in sections where only one cutting can be procured each 

 season, so that the alfalfa problem is by no means solved by the 

 securing of so-called hardy and drought-resistant strains. To become 

 generally useful these alfalfas must produce a sufficient yield to be 

 profitable and to compete with the cereals and other crops that can 

 be utilized for forage. 



To what extent Medicago falcata will be found of value in con- 

 nection with the improvement of our native pastures and ranges can 

 not definitely be stated at this time. The field is a very broad one, 

 and critical data are still wanting. The results of investigations to 

 date, however, do not warrant any considerable degree of optimism. 

 Experimental plantings on native sod have been established, but the 

 plants so far have failed to exhibit the aggressiveness that is neces- 

 sary to make them valuable. Under cultivation in the more favorable 

 sections the species oiffers somewhat greater promise. Its forms 

 possess certain characteristics that fit them for pasturage purposes. 

 The spreading habit and development of rhizomes and proliferating 

 roots enable them to endure grazing and trampling to a considerable 

 degree. For pasture, as well as for the production of hay, however, 

 their slow recovery makes it very doubtful whether they will be able 

 to compete successfully with the better hybrid strains. 



