MEDICAGO FALCATA, A YELLOW-FLOWERED ALFALFA, 7 
tween Verkhoyansk and Yakutsk and that Lake Baikal may be con- 
sidered its eastern limit with the exception of the locality around 
Verkhneudinsk, more than 100 miles east of Lake Baikal and 
Charonte. The range of the species in eastern Asia extends south- 
ward to Peking and westward following the northern edge of the 
great Mongolian Desert, including the region south of the Trans- 
baikal Mountains and across the Himalayas into northern and west- 
ern India. Continuing westward, it extends through Turkestan, 
Persia, Syria, Palestine, and European Turkey. So far as has been 
reported, the species is not indigenous along the Mediterranean 
region in northern Africa. 
There are no localities in which Medicago falcata is especially 
abundant throughout the wide region over which it occurs. Accord- 
ing to Meyer and others, the section of Siberia in which it is most 
abundant is that lying to the north of Semipalatinsk. Hansen re- 
ports it to be very common in the Provinces of Tomsk and Akmo- 
linsk in western Siberia; likewise in the country adjacent to the Irtish 
River and in the district immediately to the east of Lake Baikal. 
According to Dr. N. H. Nilsson,’ of the Experiment Station, Svalof, 
Sweden, it is found in considerable abundance on dry, sandy soils 
in many parts of Sweden. ; 
CLIMATIC AND SOIL REQUIREMENTS. 
Medicago falcata occurs naturally under a great variety of soil and 
climatic conditions. It is found in moist as well as in dry climates 
and on soils ranging in character from stiff, heavy clay to almost 
pure sand. That its requirements with regard to both factors are 
similar to those of Afedicago sativa is clearly shown in the nature of 
its distribution. However, it seems to have a greater range of gen- 
eral adaptability than Medicago sativa and is also less exacting in 
both its soil and climatic requirements. , 
It is on the dry steppes of Russia and Siberia that the species at- 
tains its greatest importance, and over a large portion of that general 
region it is a fairly common constituent of the native vegetation. 
The area in which it is most plentiful under humid climatic condi- 
tions is in Norway and Sweden on sandy soils, the calcareous nature 
of which doubtless has much to do with its abundance. 
With regard to altitude, the species has an unusual range from 
below sea level in Palestine to 13,000 feet elevation in Afghanistan, 
according to J. G. Baker (4). Meyer found forms of it growing at 
an altitude of over 4,000 feet between Dushet and Passanura, Cau- 
casus, Russia, and at 3,700 feet in the Valley of the Chong Djighilan, 
Tien Shan Range, Chinese Turkestan. Booth Tucker? reports it as 
occurring in India in the Lahul Valley at an elevation of between 
1 In letter on file in the United States Department of Agriculture. 
