ALFALFA FOR DRY-FARMING 247 
It has yielded an average of forty bushels of seed to 
the acre. 
Lucern or alfalfa 
Next to human intelligence and industry, alfalfa 
has probably been the chief factor in the development 
of the irrigated West. It has made possible a rational 
system of agriculture, with the live-stock industry and 
the maintenance of soil fertility as the central con- 
siderations. Alfalfa is now being recofnized as a 
desirable crop in humid as well as in irrigated sections, 
and it is probable that alfalfa will soon become the 
chief hay crop of the United States. Originally, 
lucern came from the hot dry countries of Asia, where 
it supplied feed to the animals of the first historical 
peoples. Moreover, its long tap roots, penetrating 
sometimes forty or fifty feet into the ground, suggest 
that lucern may make ready use of deeply stored soil- 
moisture. On these. considerations, alone, lucern 
should prove itself a crop well suited for dry-farming. 
In fact, it has been demonstrated that where condi- 
tions are favorable, lucern may be made to yield 
profitable crops under a rainfall between twelve and 
fifteen inches. Alfalfa prefers calcareous loamy 
soils; sandy and heavy clay soils are not so well 
adapted for successful alfalfa production. Under 
dry-farm conditions the utmost care must be used 
to prevent too thick seeding. The vast majority of 
alfalfa failures on dry-farms have resulted from an 
