New Hardy Wilt-Resistant Alfalfa 
Four years ago upon recommendation of Professor H. D. Hughes, of the 
Ames, Iowa, station, I secured Ladak alfalfa seed to plant four small fields. 
Being a very dry spring only secured two stands. From its performance in 
these two fields I now believe it to be the best of all alfalfa varieties. 
On both of these farms we have been trying to make seed so have never 
got a check as to its ability to produce quantity hay. During the past Summer 
a later planted field was well irrigated and the yield compared with Colorado 
Common growing alongside, with the result that hay from the Ladak weighed 
an even ton per acre more than Common under the same conditions of soil 
and water. That extra ton of $15.00 hay per acre repaid several times over 
the extra expense for seed. 
Ladak’s great virtue is the ability to withstand Wilt. Wilt has done 
more to reduce the alfalfa acreage in the West, and to take the profits out 
of hay growing, so that Ladak would be extensively used if it was a poor hay 
producer. The past Summer competent experts examined my two fields of 
Ladak and pronounced their freedom from Wilt remarkable. Wilt is in the 
alfalfa producing sections to stay. There is no cure or control for it outside 
of the new resistant Ladak. Using cheap Wilt susceptible seed is like hiring 
high priced workmen to put on cheap paint or wall paper. Taken into con¬ 
sideration in getting a stand of alfalfa the price of seed is only a small part. 
Ladak hay always looks like third cutting, it is so fine stemmed and 
leafy. For this reason it will often bring extra price for use as rabbit and 
poultry hay. Fed to your own stock it is worth much more than the old 
coarse stemmy Common on account of the extra food value. 
As yet we have not had a good Winter hardiness test made here, but at 
Fort Collins, a couple of years ago, it got a good test and showed up much 
better than any of the other sorts, in fact was the only variety that came 
through with a stand and did not have to be replanted. 
One characteristic of Ladak is that it makes a very heavy first cutting of 
hay. This makes it especially valuable for the dry land farmer or the man 
under a canal that only gets water once a year. It is unquestionably far the 
best variety for the dry farm belt. 
PRICE for Certified Blue Tag Ladak Alfalfa seed is 75c per pound for 
14 pounds or less. Over 15 pounds, 70c per pound. This price is good until 
my stock of seed is exhausted. While the price per pound is higher than 
Common seed, due to its stooling habit but half as much seed is needed, which 
reduces the difference in the cost of seeding considerably. 
