on this sutject. and practloally no investigations 

 that have been recorded had been carried on in the 

 United States. Since 1907 several other investi- 

 gators, including three members of the Office of 

 Forage Crop Investigations, have been making a study 

 of the pollination of alfalfa flowers. This re- 

 port, however, contains only a discussion of the re- 

 sults which were obtained by the writer in the work 

 conducted at Pullman, Washington, and at Ohinook, 

 Montana . 



DESC5IPTI01 OF THE ALFALFA gLOVffiR. 



Before the bud of the alfalfa flower has 

 developed into a blossom the broad standard petal is 

 wrapped closely around the wing petals, which in turn 

 tightly enclose the keel. As the flower develops, 

 the standard unfolds and at the same time curves back- 

 wards, while the two wing petals also unfold from 

 over the keel. The two keel petals, however, remain 

 joined together to about one-half the distance from 

 the tip back toward their base. The stigma and the 

 stamens are so situated that they are closely enveloped 

 in the tip of the keel, with little chance for any pol- 

 len from another flower to reach the stigma as long as 

 the keel petals are united. 



If the tip of a pencil, toothpick, grass 



- 4 , 



