- 8 9 - 
1 he writer is not familiar with the conditions in Cali¬ 
fornia, I exas, etc., but the results of the analyses show in 
some cases most remarkable differences. With us in Colo¬ 
rado, the youngest, plants analyzed (cut while very imma¬ 
ture—May 5th—from three to four weeks before blooming), 
show 25.72 and 31.52 per cent, of crude hber for two differ- 
ent types of plants. I hese are the lowest percentages ob¬ 
tained by us for crude fiber from any Colorado sample ; but 
none of the New Jersey samples reach 25 per cent. The 
I exas samples vary greatly, and the Kentucky samples are 
all below 25.2 per cent. The fat in these samples is from 
two to four fold that found in our samples, and the nitro¬ 
gen free extract is as a rule higher, though in some cases it 
is lower. Those of all the samples which approach nearest 
to Colorado alfalfa are given by the Massachusetts Experi¬ 
ment Station. 1 here are two points in which all the analy¬ 
ses agree, i. e., in showing high percentages of ash and pro- 
teids, the latter reaching its maximum in the Texas sam¬ 
ples, followed closely by the Kentucky and Georgia sam¬ 
ples; while the Colorado samples are very low in the series, 
the single samples from California and Vermont being the 
only ones below them in this respect. 
It is futile for a person unacquainted with the soil con¬ 
ditions, the climate, the cultivation, and every detail of the 
conditions under which the plants were grown, the stage of 
development of the plants at the time of cutting, treatment 
of samples, etc., and even to these are to be added other 
very imperfectly understood factors, to attempt to explain 
the causes of the differences in the samples. The distance 
between Cape Ann and New Brunswick, N. J., is nearly the 
same as that between Fort Collins and Rocky Ford, and 
from New Brunswick to Raleigh, N. C., is about twice as 
far, while the latitude of New Brunswick and Fort Collins 
differs by only about one degree. Yet, the samples 
from Massachusetts and North Carolina are nearly identi¬ 
cal with the Colorado samples; while the New Jersey sam¬ 
ples differ very materially from them. We have four sam¬ 
ples grown in different climates and soils; three of them 
agree in composition and the fourth one differs. The dif¬ 
ferences are not so marked in the other samples. I have 
found no complete analyses of alfalfa ash in any of the 
Station bulletins; the only ones that I have noted being 
four partial analyses given in Texas Bulletin No. 20, and 
two in Massachusetts State Experiment Station Report for 
1888. These analyses were made with reference to the fer¬ 
tilizing value of the mineral constituents contained in them 
and not to determine all of the ash components. 
