HEARINGS BEFORE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE. 161 
to buy any seed of that kind. I do not know where this came from. 
I found it growing in the grass garden when I came here. I am sav- 
ing the seed of that grass very carefully, and I am going to plant it 
by hand, either in the spring or fall—I have not made up my mind 
just when. 
The Cuarrman. Was it put in by Mr. Scribner? 
Mr. Srriuuman. I do not know who planted it, but it is a wonderful 
thing. I have found a few references to it in literature, and it is said 
to make good hay. From the way it is growing in our grass garden 
I know it will yield a big crop. 
Mr. Scorr. Does it sureadt 
Mr. Spruiman. Oh, no; not of its own accord. It would spread by 
the seed, but we are saving every seed of it carefully. As soon as we 
get seed enough we are going to try to find out where it will grow 
best, and so on. 
Mr. Grarr. How do you ascertain the food value of those legu- 
minous plants? 
Mr. Spruuman. By feeding them in comparison with other things 
that we already know of. 
Mr. Grarr. It is not done by chemical analysis? 
Mr. Sprnuman. Yes, we carry on chemical work in connection with 
it. That requiresa careful laboratory experiment. We are doing that 
now with the Missouri Station and several others. Here is a crop 
[exhibiting a photograph] showing the production of alfalfa on a farm 
in Missouri. I do not know how familiar some of you gentlemen are 
with the West, but those of you who are from the West will proba- 
bly feel homesick when you look at that picture. That is typical of 
the way alfalfa fields look in the West. 
Mr. Bowrs. To what extent is the alfalfa grown in the South? 
Mr. Semuman. It is grown in small patches in every State of the 
South; I might say in almost every county of the South? 
Mr. Bowrr. You have no statistics as to the amount? 
Mr. Sprtitman. No; not since the census of 1900. In some places 
you find little patches, more experimental than otherwise. 
Mr. Grarr. Is the crimson clover as good a food plant as the other 
clover? 
Mr. Sprutman. No. Its particular function is as a manure crop and 
a cover crop. : 
Mr. Bowig. Is your alfalfa your principal recommendation for this 
diversification of crops? 
Mr. Srrruman. That is one of the principal ones. I should say 
alfalfa must become the standard crop all over the cotton belt. There 
are some difficulties in growing it in the South, but the people there 
will learn them. 
Mr. Bowiz. The question in the South always in diversifying crops 
is the question of market. You may already have explained that. I 
do not know. 
Mr. Spruuman. No; I was going to take that up. 
Mr. Bowrs. I thought perhaps you had already discussed it. 
Mr. Sertiman. No; I will take that up later. Now, the next thing 
I want to call your attention to is our Johnson grass work. That is 
the worst weed pest we have in the United States. I was told when 
I undertook that by my old tutor, aman who had been director of an 
experiment station in the South and had handled Johnson grass for nine 
c a—l1 
