SUMMARY OF ALFALFA SOWING. 495 
lands where manure is not easy to get. The Melilo- 
tus alba, or white sweet clover, is the strongest 
growing species and best worth considering. The 
yellow-blooming sort makes a finer-stemmed hay 
and might perhaps sell a little better. They are 
probably of about equal feeding value. 
Melilotus on the Lime Lands of the South—In 
the lime soils of Mississippi and Alabama melilotus 
grows spontaneously, although it is not a native. 
In truth, it is said that it was first brought to the 
lime lands from Chile, South America. It has now 
overspread most of the region and is growing on 
the lime soils. Mixed with Johnson grass, it makes 
splendid pasture and hay. It is recognized that 
cattle pastured on these mixed pastures thrive re- 
markably well. Melilotus sown on worn black lime 
soils and grown for two years, the last growth 
turned under, has advanced the yield of corn from 
18 bushels to 55 bushels per acre. At the present 
time, curiously enough, melilotus is little sown on 
these lands. It is expected to come in of its own 
accord, if it comes at all. Nor has there been devel- 
oped a well recognized market for melilotus hay. 
Instead most farmers on the limy black soils try to 
grow alfalfa, with varying degrees of success, when 
they might have absolute success with melilotus. 
Alfalfa on the Lime or Prairie Lands of Alabama 
and Mississippi—A strip of limestone, soft, white 
and easily disintegrating, called Selma chalk, ex- 
tends down the eastern edge of Mississippi, across 
into Alabama and eastward to a little south of Mont- 
