LUTHER BURBANK 



the same season, some of the clovers, notably the 

 more recently introduced alfalfa, are superior to 

 the grasses proper. 



But in general clover and timothy are mixed to 

 form the hay-crop, the clover growing densely 

 near the ground, and the timothy rising above it, 

 and the two making a blend that is found exceed- 

 ingly palatable by all herbivorous animals. 



The fragrance of new mown hay suggests 

 palatability to the human senses as well, and even 

 though the hay-crop furnishes food for man only 

 at second hand no one would be likely to question 

 its wholesoraeness. 



Bettering the Clovers 



There are certain of the clovers, nevertheless, 

 that have a poisonous principle. Notable among 

 these is a form of sweet clover not distantly 

 related to the alfalfa, which grows in some of the 

 States of the Middle West and produces an enor- 

 mous crop which would have great value were it 

 not that unfortunately the tissues of the plant 

 contain a considerable percentage of a bitter alka- 

 loid called brucine, which is highly poisonous, 

 being closely related to the well-known drug 

 strychnine. 



A few years ago I received from Kansas 

 samples of this plant, with the request that I 

 develop from it a variety in which the brucine is 



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