GROWING ALFALFA SEED. 445 
Seed Growing im the Sem-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 miles 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 
