MEDICAGO FALCATA, A YELLOW-FLOWERED ALFALFA. AT 
The actual water requirement of the first, second, third, and com- 
bined crops for each year is given in the second to fourth columns 
of the table, and the relative water requirement of each crop, with 
Medicago sativa taken as 100, is given in the last four columns of 
Table VI. Considering the water requirement of the combined crops, 
it will be noted that Medicago falcata has a slightly lower require- 
ment than Medicago sativa. The water requirement of Medicago 
falcata, based on data obtained from 29 separate pots which are 
summarized in the table, is 663-15, and the water requirement of 
Medicago sativa, as determined from 25 separate pots, is 713-++18, or 
a difference of 50+23 in favor of Medicago falcata. This difference, 
in view of the large probable error, which was in part due to varia- 
tion in season and location, is not significant. It would appear from 
the above data that Medicago falcata is relatively efficient in its use 
of water during the early part of the season, but inefficient during 
the late summer. 
There is little doubt that the drought resistance of Medicago fal- 
cata 1s quite as high as that of Medicago sativa, but it is unlikely that 
the former can be grown profitably where the latter succumbs. There 
is a vast agronomic difference between being able to maintain an 
existence under extremely dry conditions and being able to produce 
sufficient growth to be profitably utilized for hay or pasture. There 
is certainly no definite evidence that Medicago falcata will be profit- 
able where the better adapted strains of Medicago sativa. fail. 
SEED PRODUCTION. 
The seeding habits of Medicago falcata are such as to give serious 
concern in connection with its utilization as a cultivated forage crop. 
Not only is the quantity of seed produced comparatively small, but 
a large percentage shatters before it can be harvested by ordinary 
methods. Even in harvesting by hand the loss of seed through 
shattering is great. There are no data available on yields of seed 
- under field conditions, but there are numerous data on yields from 
individual plants, from which estimates can be made of the yields 
which might reasonably be expected under field conditions. 
At Brookings, yields from a large number of plants were recorded 
from 1910 to 1913, inclusive. The plants were grown in hills 24 by 36 
inches, thus providing what are generally considered very satisfac- 
tory conditions for seed production. Special care was exercised in 
harvesting the seed to reduce the shattering to a minimum. There- 
fore the yield was appreciably greater than if the plants had been 
harvested by ordinary field methods, and was high also for a fair 
comparison with Medicago sativa. 
