31 
Both species occur in the South, and both are called bur clover. Spotted medick 
makes a ranker growth than the California plant, often in rich soil attaining a 
height of 3 or 4 feet, when it is sometimes mowed, making a poor quality of hay. 
Its principal value is in pastures. Its burs are fattening when once stock have 
acquired a taste for them 
Medicago sativa. peek. Lucern; French lucern; French clover, in part; 
| Vids clover; Lu medicago; Alfalfa clover; Chilean clover; Brazilian 
; : over; Span ihi ; Purple medick ; Manured medick ; Cultiented medicnget 
1 (Fig. 29.) 
; Alfalfa is one of the best known and most extensively grown forage plants 1 
out the entire United States, with the exception of New England 
a best hay and soiling crop in the West, and is being rapidly introduced into e 
Southern and Eastern States. : 
each leaflet being broadest 
abovethemiddle. The purple 
pea-like flowers, instead of 
being in a head, as in red 
clover, are in long, loose clus- 
ters or racemes, egeat over 
ihe entire plan The ripe 
pods are dinde twisted. and 
each contains severa need. 
loose and permeable, often 
averaging 10 to 15 feet, while 
extraordinary depths of 50 or 
60 feet have been recorded. 
It will grow in favorable soil 
anywhere from sea level up 
is necessary, as the plants are ^ . ?9.— Alfalfa: a,b, seed pod; e, seed. 
killed by excess of water in the 
soil or on the surface. Water must never be allowed to stand on a field for more 
than 48 hours at a time. It feeds most heavily on lime, potash, magnesium, and 
phosphoric acid, yielding better and uniformly heavier crops on the rich prairies 
west of the Missouri River, which contain a greater percentage of these mineral 
ingredients than the older cultivated lands of the East. If the subsoil is heavy 
and stiff and impervious to water, alfalfa will never be a permanent success, no 
matter how well the surface soil may be prepared. Thorough preparation of the 
seed bed is the first essential. Plow deeply and subsoil deeply, and before plant- 
ing the seed, work the field until it is in perfect tilth. Seed should be sown broad- 
cast in amounts of from 15 to 25 pounds per acre, according as to whether a seed 
crop or a hay crop is desired, as soon as the ground is warm and there is no 
further danger from frost. Cover the seed very lightly. If sown broadcast, a 
light harrow or brush would be sufficient; or, if there is rain immediately after 
