ALFALFA SEED PRODUCTION. 19 
RELATION OF THE NUMBER OF FLOWERS PER RACEME TO THE 
NUMBER OF PODS FORMED. 
In Table III there is some slight evidence to indicate that racemes 
with many flowers produce proportionately fewer pods than racemes 
with few flowers. This matter was further investigated by McKee 
at Chico, Cal., in 1909, and his results areshown in Table X. Accord- 
ing to these results it would appear that few-flowered racemes produce 
proportionately twice as many pods as many-flowered racemes. 
While this factor is evidently one to be taken into consideration, it 
could hardly modify materially the results shown in Table II, owing 
to the very large number of flowers counted in these experiments. 
These data are the combined readings from 15 different plants. 
Exactly analogous conclusions are shown, however, by tabulating the 
results of each individual plant. 
TaBLE X.—LH fect of the number of alfalfa flowers per raceme on the percentage of pods set. 
Number of seeds. 
Number 
Number { Number Flowers 
Number of flowers per raceme. of O poe of pees setting 
racemes. | flowers. eS a Pp Average | pods. 
aceme. | Total. per pod 
Per cent. 
DEE OLO Re ye ae ae eestor A 153 707 317 2.07 553 Ie 7/ 44.8 
ACPO) PIL hi At ANN RU ae a 138 1, 212 464 3.36 806 si 38.2 
TQ stop e repeater al tl 50 205 4.1 401 1.9 30.6 
TEZP THO) PAs ate NEN aati re a 17 344 68 4.0 96 1.4 19.7 
AUTOMATIC TRIPPING. 
The term “automatic tripping” is used when an alfalfa flower 
becomes tripped without the aid of insects or any other external body. 
This phenomenon was first actually observed at Chinook, Mont., in 
1909, but was suspected from observations of the previous season at 
the same place. In 1909 two of the plants inclosed in netting pro- 
duced pods on racemes from which insects had been excluded. To 
obtain further facts in regard to the process, all wilted and all un- 
opened flowers were removed from a number of the racemes under 
the netting, leaving only opened, untripped flowers, which were 
closely observed during the following days. In the course of a day 
or two several of the flowers had become tripped. On one of these 
two plants the keel petals were partially separating in some of the 
flowers. While these flowers were being examined one flower was 
seen in the process of tripping. The pistil and stamens snapped up 
vigorously against the standard, scattering the pollen around. No 
object had come in contact with any portion of the flower. 
The calyx of each tripped flower was marked with carbon ink as 
soon as it was detected. Those which did not trip were watched until 
the corolla had wilted or the flower had fallen. The number of 
