520 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 
a considerable acreage is grown, especially in the 
northwest. 
Grimm has several characteristics which make it 
more desirable than the ordinary alfalfa. In the 
first place it is extremely hardy and resists cold 
weather almost as well as do the Siberian varieties. 
It is a hybrid alfalfa, the result of an accidental 
cross between the common purple-blooming alfalfa, 
Medicago sativa, and the yellow-blooming Medicago 
faleata. Its blossoms commonly are a greenish-yel- 
low or greenish-purple, and this is one of the easiest 
ways to identify the plants. Commonly several dif- 
ferent-colored blossoms will be found on the same 
plant. 
The crown of the Grimm plant grows somewhat 
larger than that of the common alfalfa and fre- 
quently is submerged about an inch below the sur- 
face of the ground, although this is not always the 
ease. Then the root is more often branched than is 
the common variety; nor does it extend down so 
deeply in the soil. Grown in the cornbelt under 
ordinary conditions, it often is difficult to distin- 
guish between the Grimm and the common alfalfa 
while the plants are still young. The bloom is the 
one really apparent distinguishing feature of the 
Grimm. When one finds a greenish cast in the blos- 
som he can be certain that it is the Grimm. It is 
also believed by some that, due to a larger number 
of shoots which come up from the large crown of 
the Grimm, it will yield heavier than the common 
