ALFALFA I 23 



Southern France in Europe and Western California 

 in the United States, is best adapted to its growth. 



It is better adapted to climates that are dry, where 

 the plants can be irrigated, as then rains do not in- 

 terfere with the harvesting of the hay. Even in 

 the absence of irrigation, a climate that is reasonably 

 dry is preferable to one where drenching rains fre- 

 quently fall, which wash away the soil when sandy, 

 or which fill it full of water when composed of clay. 

 But where rains fall frequently and in moderation, 

 as in the northern Puget Sound region, the effect is 

 helpful to the growth of the alfalfa plants, although 

 it may add somewhat to the labor of making alfalfa 

 hay, and to the hazard in curing it. Alfalfa will 

 maintain its hold for years on some portions of the 

 table lands of the mountain States under conditions 

 so dry that the plants can only furnish one cutting of 

 hay in a season. It is safe to assume, therefore, 

 that alfalfa can be grown under a wider range of 

 climatic conditions than any other legume grown in 

 the United States. But the influence which climate 

 should be allowed to exercise on the use that is to 

 be made of it should not be lost from view. In cli- 

 mates much subject to frequent rains in summer, it 

 should be grown rather for soiling food and pasture 

 than for hay, whereas in dry climates, and espe- 

 cially where it can be irrigated, it should be grown 

 for hay, soiling food and pasture, but especially 

 the former. 



While alfalfa can be successfully grown in one 

 or the other of its varieties in some portion of every 

 State in the Union, it has its favorite feeding 



