MEDICAGO FALCATA, A YELLOW-FLOWERED ALFALFA. 3) 
possesses promise as a forage crop in the colder and drier portions 
of the country and partially because of the recognized part which 
it has played in the development of the most hardy and drought- 
resistant commercial strains of alfalfa and the promise it presents 
from a plant-breeding standpoint. In connection with this systematic 
search, Prof. Hansen made two trips to Europe and Asia for the 
express purpose of collecting seéd of the numerous forms of the 
species. The first trip was made in 1906 and the second in 1908. 
Mr. Frank N. Meyer, the department’s regular agricultural ex- 
plorer, has also devoted much attention to procuring seed of the 
various forms of the species, especially from localities in Asia. The 
efforts of both explorers were directed by the Office of Foreign Seed 
and Plant Introduction of the Bureau of Plant Industry. Through 
its contacts with various collectors and investigators that office has, 
in addition, succeeded in obtaining a large number of forms from 
many parts of the Old World where the species is indigenous, so 
that the collection now in the possession of the department is prob- 
ably more nearly complete than any that has previously been brought 
together. Furthermore, it probably represents nearly all of the 
striking forms at present in existence. 
As in the case of many other wild plants, difficulty attended the 
procuring of seed, so that only small quantities of most of the forms 
were obtained. In a few cases, however, collectors offered to supply 
it at a comparatively low price, approximately $1 per pound. 
Each lot of seed procured by the Department of Agriculture was 
assigned a regular accession number, which serves the purpose of 
identification. Below is a list of these numbers, together with brief 
notes taken from the published inventories of the Office of Seed and 
Plant Introduction. 
842. 50 miles east of Rovnaya, Russia. 
9748. Madrid, Spain. From Botanic Gardens. 
19534. Valuiki, Samara Government, Russia. 
20717. Kharkof Province, Russia. From wild plants. 
20718 and 20719. Omsk, Siberia. From wild plants. 
20720. Irkutsk, Siberia. From hay in market. 
20721. Samara Province, Russia. From wild plants. 
20722. Saratof Province, Russia. From wild plants. 
20724. Tomsk, Siberia. From wild plants. 
20725. Don Province, Russia. From wild plants. 
20726. Samara Province, Russia. From wild plants. 
23625. Orenburg, Russia. 
24452. Obb, Tomsk Province, Siberia. From wild plants. 
24453. Omsk, Akmolinsk Province, Siberia. From wild plants. 
24454. North of Irkutsk, Siberia. From wild plants. 
24455. Ten miles north of Semipalatinsk, Siberia. From wild plants. 
24456. Station Charonte, Siberia. From wild plants. 
