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SABRI eee eeeeoreoo ns ate Ie Sr Lee a A A ee OO ce ee te 
MEDICAGO FALCATA, A YELLOW-FLOWERED ALFALFA. 53 
taining a satisfactory stand from broadcast seeding, the cultural re- 
quirements of J/edicago falcata are essentially the same as those for 
Medicago sativa. 
CULTIVATED ROWS. 
There is nothing unusual in the behavior of Medicago falcata in 
cultivated rows. The yields of both hay and seed bear approxi- 
mately the same relation to the yields of Medicago sativa under such 
conditions as they do in broadcast sowings. The poor germination 
of the seed and the slowness of growth of the seedlings occasion diffi- 
culty in the cultivation of the rows while the plants are young. 
This can be obviated to some extent by mixing with the seed a small 
Fic. 21.—A broadcast plat of Medicago falcata after cutting with the mowing machine. 
Note the failure of the mower to cut many of the decumbent stems. 
quantity of some quickly germinating seed that produces large 
seedlings which disappear before endangering the alfalfa plants. 
In experimental plantings, refuse radish seed has answered the pur- 
pose very well, but such seed is not available for planting on a field 
scale. A 42-inch row has given very satisfactory results in tests. On 
account of the spreading habit of most of the forms, rows appre- 
ciably closer than this would be somewhat difficult to cultivate after 
the first two or three years. 
HILLS. 
In some respects Medicago falcata is better suited to cultivation in 
widely spaced hills than Medicago sativa. The larger development 
of the crown of the former is an important factor in this connection. 
