ALFALFA 



ALFALFA 



195 



did not prove generally successful. With the 

 improvement in methods of preparation and appli- 

 cation now being made by the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture, the effectiveness of the 

 artificial cultures promises to equal that of the 

 soil transfer method without its disadvantages. 



Enemies. 



Dodder, or love-vine. — (Fig. 276.) This is a para- 

 sitic weed with golden thread-like stems and no 



Fig. 278. First cutting of alfalfa in New Jersey, 



leaves. It is especially troublesome in New York 

 and Utah, being carried with the seed as an impu- 

 rity. The remedy is close cutting and careful' removal 

 of the stalks from the field. Burning the infested 

 area and close pasturing frequently are successful. 



Leaf-spot (Pseudopeziza medieaginis.) — (Fig. 277.) 

 This is the most common disease and is especially 

 noticeable when the plants are allowed to stand 

 for seed. It is held in check by mowing, as the 

 spore production is reduced and the growth of the 

 plants made more vigorous. 



Anthracnose {ColMotrichum trifolii, Bain). — This 

 is a new disease, reported only from the humid 

 states. It attacks the stems, producing well-defined 

 purple patches. The plants turn yellow at the top 

 and sometimes are killed over a considerable part 

 of the field. Mowing the infested area and the 

 application of a nitrate fertilizer probably are the 

 best procedures. It is sometimes necessary to plow 

 the infested area to prevent further spreading. 



Root-rot (Ozonium sp.). — This disease is confined 

 to the South and is the same as the cotton root-rot. 

 It spreads in circular patches in the field. The 

 only remedy is plowing under and keeping the 

 land out of alfalfa until the spores are destroyed. 



Animals. — Gophers (Geomys spp. and Thomomys 

 spp.) and prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) do considerable 

 damage in the West, especially where it is impos- 

 sible to irrigate. Traps, carbon bisulfid, arsenic 

 and strychnine are effective remedies. 



Insects. — The web-worm, army-worm and grass- 

 hoppers are destructive at times in the West. 

 Mowing the field promptly checks the increase by 

 reducing the food-supply. Fall disking is destruc- 

 tive to grasshopper eggs. 



Literature. 



Practically all of the experiment stations have 

 issued bulletins on alfalfa-growing in their respec- 

 tive states. The following list includes only a few 

 of the more important. Discussions will also be 

 found in most of the more recent general works on 

 agriculture and throughout the agricultural press : 

 Alfalfa, F. D. Coburn, 1901; The Book of Alfalfa, 

 Coburn, 1906 ; Lucerne Grass, B. Rosque, London, 

 1765; Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. (Paris) 134 (1902), 

 No. 2, pp. 75-80; Agricultural 

 Gazette, N. S. W., 7, 1896 ; United 

 States Department of Agriculture, 

 Farmers' Bulletins No. 194, "Al- 

 falfa Seed," and No. 215, "Alfalfa 

 Growing"; Canada, Central Ex- 

 perimental Farm, Bulletin No. 46 ; 

 Pennsylvania Bulletin No. 129; 

 Kansas Board of Agriculture Quar- 

 terly, March, 1900. The following 

 bulletins of state experiment sta- 

 tions : Alabama, Bulletin No. 127; 

 Colorado, Bulletin No. 35; Kansas, 

 Bulletins Nos. 85, 114 ; Michigan, 

 Bulletin No. 225 ; Minnesota, Bul- 

 letin No. 80 ; Mississippi, Circular 

 No. 18; Maryland, Bulletin No. 85 ; 

 Nebraska, Bulletin No. 35 ; New 

 Jersey, Bulletin No. 190; New 

 York, State Station, Bulletins Nos. 

 16, 80, 118, N. S.; New York, Cornell Station, Bul- 

 letins Nos. 221, 287 ; North Carolina, Bulletin No. 

 60 ; Oregon, Bulletin No. 76 ; Texas, Bulletins Nos. 

 22, 66 ; Utah, Bulletins Nos. 48, 58, 91 ; Wiscon- 

 sin, Bulletins Nos. 112, 121. 



Alfalfa in the Central West. 

 By F. D. Coburn. 

 The appreciation and increased sowings of al- 

 falfa, within recent years, in the states and terri- 

 tories west of the Missouri river, and especially in 

 the plains region eastward from the Rocky moun- 

 tains, have constituted one of the phenomena of 

 American agriculture. Typical of this has been 

 its advancement in Kansas, where, prior to 1891, 

 no ofiicial cognizance had been given it as one of 



Fig. 279. 



Practical way of protecting alfalfa from rain 

 while curing. 



the state's products, and where, in that year, the 

 ofiicial enumerators discovered a total of but 34,384 

 acres. In 1906, there were 614,813 acres, and two 

 counties (which in 1891 had together but 800 

 acres) had, combined, an acreage of more than 



