COMMERCIAL TURKESTAN ALFALFA SEED. 6 



tan alfalfa was less resistant to cold and drought, that its growth 

 was slower, that its season of growth was shorter, and that it yielded 

 less hay and was more quickly crowded out by weeds and grass than 

 the Hungarian alfalfa with which it was compared. The results of 

 the next year's tests showed the Turkestan to be inferior to the Hun- 

 garian alfalfa from every point of view. 



Hansen (6, p. 409), after testing alfalfas of various origins in Den- 

 mark, says of the two lots of Turkestan used that they were similar 

 and both poor, that the larger part of the annual yield was from the 

 first cutting, the second cutting being small; and that it was espe- 

 cially to be noted that the growth after cutting was weak and slow, 

 so that the stand was injured by grass and weeds. 



Hiltner (7) found in a 3-years' test in Bavaria that Turkestan 

 alfalfa gave the lowest yield of the varieties tested and only about 

 one-half the yield of the best variety. Following these results, he 

 says that the culture of Turkestan alfalfa can not be recommended. 



In variety tests made by Lemmermann and Liebau (9, p. 407-411) 

 at the Agricultural High School at Dahlem, Germany, Turkestan 

 alfalfa yielded 70 per cent as much hay as German alfalfa. 



Denaiffe (2), referring to a 6-years' test made by Stebler at Zurich, 

 says that Turkestan alfalfa is short lived and not productive. The 

 yield was approximately 70 per cent of that of Provence alfalfa and 

 not as high as Spanish. 



Todaro (10, p. 138), at the Agricultural High School at Bologna, 

 Italy, found Turkestan alfalfa to yield about one-third as much as 

 alfalfa from Hungary, Provence, and Argentina, and one-fourth as 

 much as Italian. He says that in consequence of the inconsiderable 

 value of Turkestan Tucern, mixing it with home-grown lucern comes 

 to be pure fraud. 



Witte (12), testing alfalfa in Sweden, says that Turkestan, which 

 yielded approximately three-fourths as much as Hungarian alfalfa, is 

 the poorest variety tested in Sweden. 



Of all the reports of European investigators, none have been found 

 that speak favorably of the Turkestan seed. They are unanimous 

 in their verdict that European seed, and locally grown seed especially, 

 is more productive. 



COMPARATIVE VALUE OF TURKESTAN ALFALFA IN THE UNITED 



STATES. 



Turkestan alfalfa has been grown in the United States for about 15 

 years, and the following statements as to its value are based on com- 

 parative tests and observations made under widely varying climatic 

 and soil conditions. 



Freeman (3, p. 193) says that "where there is a sufficient supply of 

 moisture and the winters are not extremely cold, lack of productivity 



