GROWING ALFALFA SEED. 445 



Seed Growing in the Semi-Arid West. — ^Within 

 recent years there has been a remarkable migration 

 of people from the older states to the semi-arid re- 

 gions of the West. They have gone there under the 

 belief that the climate has changed and that from 

 now on there will be enough rainfall for crop-grow- 

 ing with the usual grains and farm crops. Many 

 hope to do these things by the practice of dry farm- 

 ing methods, of intensive culture and moisture con- 

 servation. 



I am most unwilling to dampen any man's en- 

 thusiasm or lessen his faith in his chosen habitat, 

 yet I can not help but remember that I have seen 

 the same thing attempted at least once before, and 

 the climate then did not stay changed, but perversely 

 became dry again, aridity resuming its ancient sway. 

 Yet I remember in my own desert home, in a region 

 too dry to attempt any farming at all except irriga- 

 tion farming, stray alfalfa plants grew and bloomed 

 and made great wealth of seed. In fact I had a scat- 

 tered row of alfalfa plants 30 mileR long beside the 

 trail to the ranch, where a sack borne on a burro's 

 back had leaked a tiny stream as the animal jogged 

 its slow way across the desert trail. Only here and 

 there a plant grew and survived, but those that got 

 rooted lived along, year after year, bloomed and 

 made seed. I often thought then, near 30 years ago, 

 that the desert could do one thing well, if nothing 

 more : it could grow alfalfa seed. 



Every bit of the semi-arid West, from the limit of 



