DRY-FARMING 



every State in the West. It has given 

 excellent yields on the dry lands of 

 Texas, Oklahoma, Utah, Kansas and 

 central Nebraska. Owing to its deep- 

 going tap-root alfalfa will stand a long 

 siege of drought ; and the writer has seen 

 splendid fields of lucem in Utah with a 

 rainfall of about 15 inches per annum. 

 Alfalfa grows best in a deep, well- 

 drained loamy soil. It does not thrive in 

 a cold, wet land ; nor in loose, sandy soil. 

 Like all other legumes, lucern has the 

 power of absorbing nitrogen from the 

 air. It thus adds f ertiEty to the soil and 

 when plowed under it is valuable as a 

 fertilizer for worn-out lands. It is not, 

 however, so well suited for short rotations 

 as clover, but may be used to great ad- 

 vantage in a five or ten year rotation with 

 wheat, corn, potatoes or sugar beets. 



ever, if this name were given up in fevor of the synonym 

 lucern, now universally used in Utah, England, Europe, 

 and South Africa. 



248 



