52 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 
and that alfalfa was the best of the legumes for this 
purpose of enriching soils. 
Note too that he found it a good food for horses. 
It is said that the chariot horses were fed on alfalfa 
hay, and the colts destined to become war horses 
were raised largely on it because it made them 
larger, heavier and more impetuous. 
From Italy alfalfa naturally spread wherever the 
Roman farmer colonist penetrated, through France, 
Spain, England and doubtless Germany. It may be 
that Spain also received alfalfa from Africa through 
the Moors. The name alfalfa comes from the Ara- 
bic and means the best forage, and this name the 
Spanish people adopted. Through the introduction 
of the plant in America by the Spanish colonists 
and our taking it from them on our Pacific coast we 
get the name alfalfa. In France, England and most 
other European countries, and in Utah and formerly 
through all our eastern states, the name lucerne is 
in common use. This name comes from a river val- 
ley in northern Italy. 
Alfalfa throve in Italy, in much of Spain and in 
parts of France. Where it throve no other forage 
plant could compete with it. It was introduced Jong 
ago into England and there it throve in spots. It 
was much extolled by some, its planting advised, 
yet it never became common and today is seldom 
seen in extensive use on the British Isles. It was 
brought to America in two ways, from Spain to 
Mexico, Peru, Chili, Argentina, from Mexico to 
Texas, New Mexico and California; later from Chili 
