Il8 ^ CLOVERS 



simply as alfalfa, while that grown from seed Euro- 

 pean in origin has been more commonly called 

 Lucerne. The former of these has a tendency to 

 grow taller than the latter and to send its roots down 

 to a greater depth. In addition to these, such strains 

 as the Turkestan, the Rhenish, the Minnesota and 

 Sand Lucerne have been introduced. 



The Turkestan variety was introduced by the 

 United States Department of Agriculture during 

 recent years. It was brought from provinces be- 

 yond the Caspian in Russia, Asia. The object 

 sought was to introduce a variety that would better 

 withstand the rigors of a climate dry in summer and 

 cold in winter than the variety commonly grown. 

 Some strains of this variety have proved drought 

 resistant to a remarkable degree. It has also shown 

 itself capable of enduring without injury tempera- 

 tures so low as to result in the destruction of plants 

 of the common variety. In trials made by growers 

 in North Dakota and Northern Minnesota, it has 

 been found able to endure the winter's cold in these 

 areas. But it has also been found that while the plants 

 produced some seed in the Central Mountain States, 

 they did not produce much seed when grown in the 

 Northern States. Unless seed can be secured from 

 plants grown in the latter in sufficient quantities to 

 meet the needs of growers, it is feared that in time 

 some of the hardy characteristics of this variety will 

 be lost if the Central and Southern Mountain States 

 must be relied upon as the American sources of seed 

 supplies. 



The Rhenish strain comes from Central Europe. 



