£^try  h  Qj^ 
NEW  YORK,  JURY  1,  191« 
A  Plant  of  Siberian  Alfalfa 
A  Possible  Help  For  Pasture 
LAST  year  we  pictured  a  root  of  Semipalatinsk 
Alfalfa,  showing  about  two  mouths’  growth 
from  a  transplanted 
root.  Now,  on  this 
•page,  is  shown  a 
plant  dug  June  13 — 
the  root  having  been 
transplanted  last 
year.  As  this  plant 
has  not  bloomed  yet, 
it  woul  d  probably 
grow  10  inches  or 
more  for  the  first 
growth. 
The  roots  were 
brought  from  South 
1  )akota.  When  put 
into  the  ground  they 
were  about  as  large 
as  a  lead  pencil,  and 
perhaps  five  to  six 
inches  long.  T  h  e 
seed  was  originally 
put  in  about  like  cel¬ 
ery  seed,  and  tlie 
plants  grew  in  drills 
until  the  late  Fall 
w  h  e  n  they  w  ere 
plowed  up  a  u  d 
stored  over  Winter 
for  Spring  distribu¬ 
tion.  Prof.  Ilansen 
of  South  Dakota  is 
using  this  method  of 
distributing  roots  in 
order  to  enable  many 
farmers  to  test  the 
newer  varieties  eas¬ 
ily  and  at  little  ex¬ 
pense.  When  these 
roots  came  f  r  o  m 
South  Dakota  to 
New  Jersey  we  sim¬ 
ply  heeled  them  in 
for  a  time  and  then 
transplanted  about 
as  we  would  cabbage 
or  strawberry  plants. 
Last  year  these 
transplanted  roots 
m a d  e  a  strong 
growth,  and  could 
he  cut.  three  times, 
though  we  let  part 
'  of  them  make  seed. 
They  lived  through 
the  Winter  and,  as 
we  see  from  the  pic¬ 
ture  of  this  plant, 
made  an  early  and 
strong  growth. 
We  call  attention 
first  to  the  root  sys¬ 
tem  of  this  Alfalfa. 
We  all  know  that  the 
ordinary  Alfalfa 
makes  a  single  deep 
tap-root  with  few,  if 
any,  side  roots.  With 
us  such  plants,  es¬ 
pecially  on  soils  not 
well  drained  or  pre¬ 
pared,  have  been  pulled  out  by  the  frost  much  as 
Crimson  clover  is  lifted  out  and  killed  on  many 
Western  farms.  This  Semipalatinsk  Alfalfa  has  a 
root  system  like  that  of  a  Northern  Spy  apple  tree, 
and  it  is  very  difficult  to  pull  such  plants  away  from 
Sample  Plant  of  Semipalatinsk  Alfalfa  Grown  From  Transplanted  Root,  Fig.  358 
the  soil.  The  lower  roots  surely  go  deep  enough, 
but  there  is  a  mass  of  side  roots  in  the  upper  soil 
anchoring  the  plant  and  giving  it  a  better  feeding 
range  and  system.  We  find  that  this  variety  does , 
quite  well  in  a  soil  so  sour  that  Red  clover  does  not 1 
flourish  while,  unless 
lime  is  heavily  used, 
the  ordinary  Alfalfa 
fails.  We  cannot  go 
on  record  yet  as 
claiming  that  this  Al¬ 
falfa  and  the  variety 
known  as  Cossack 
will  do  as  well  as 
A  1  s  i  k  e  clover  on 
slightly  acid  soils, 
yet  this  is  indicated 
in  our  experience. 
There  are  possi¬ 
bilities,  we  think,  in 
this  Alfalfa  as  a  re¬ 
inforcement  for  old 
pastures.  Semipala¬ 
tinsk  is  very  hardy. 
It  comes  from  a  very 
cold  and  bleak  spot 
in  Siberia,  and  we 
think  it  will  prove 
well  suited  to  some 
of  the  hilly  pastures 
in  the  Eastern 
States.  It  does  not 
grow  uprigh  t — at 
least  the  first  sea¬ 
son — but  spreads  or 
sprawls  over  the 
grou  n  d  somewhat 
like  a  vine,  thus 
making  a  growth 
more  suitable  for 
pasturing  than  for 
hay-making.  As  a 
rule  it  is  not  practi¬ 
cal  to  break  these  o-ld 
hill  pastures  up  for 
reseeding,  and  thus 
experiments  in  trans¬ 
planting  the  roots 
are  worth  trying. 
Many  practical  farm¬ 
ers  will  consider  it 
child’s  play  to  at¬ 
tempt  such  trans¬ 
planting.  In  South 
Dakota  machines  are 
used  which  put  the 
roots  into  10  or  more 
acres  a  day,  but  of  . 
course  the  soil  is 
first  properly  fitted. 
Judging  from  the 
growth  this  variety 
has  made  with  us,  it 
would  grow  iu  many 
of  these  old  pastures, 
and  if  the  stock  can 
be  kept  away  until 
the  plant  has  a  fair 
chance  to  establish 
itself  we  believe  it 
will  give  a  sure  and 
large  quantity  of 
good  pasture.  At  any 
rate  the  scheme  will 
not  cost  much,  and 
