1029 
Of the many varieties we have tried, there is 
one that stands out pre-eminently as the most suc- 
cessful, for the reason (1) that it is thoroughly 
hardy, having withstood temperatures of 66 to 70 de- 
grees below zero, and (2) it produces seed at our 
Rampart Station, in latitude 65° 30', which is an 
equally important point, inasmuch as we should be un- 
able to propagate it in a practical way, unless we 
could raise, the seed. I have looked up the source of 
this hardy variety. It was transmitted to me by you 
in your letter of May 13, 1910. The S. P. I. number 
is No. 24452, but Medicago falcata is the most valuable 
plant for Alaska that has ever been Introduced from 
any source. It grows freely, the leaves are small but 
thick on the stem, the stems are in most plants pro- 
cumbent and they will grow from two to four feet in 
length. They bloom early and seed freely. The blossoms 
continue to come until frost. It has one fault: The 
ripe pods split open very readily and shatter the 
seed in the process of handling. To save the seed, 
which I regard as very precious, we, therefore, pick 
it by hand to a large extent. We have hybrids between 
this species and M. saliva, variety Grimm, which promise 
to be of still greater value. The Grimm has a spiral 
pod; falcata has a nearly straight pod. Some of the 
hybrids have curved, or even spiral pods which do not 
split open readily and the seed does, therefore, not 
shatter in handling. I find that there is very great 
variation between individual plants as to habit of 
growth, size, abundance of leaves, seed production, 
etc., and in order to select the best types and 
eventually propagate from them only, we grow these 
valuable alfalfas as individual plants in rows two by 
three feet apart. This enables us to study individuals 
and select seed from those that possess the most val- 
uable qualities. This process will be continued for 
a few years longer until an upright, vigorous, leafy, 
seed-bearing strain has been Isolated. Altogether we 
have now some three acres at the Rampart Station, in 
these alfalfas, two acres of which were seeded last 
spring. Medicago falcata will be of untold value to in- 
terior Alaska. The problem .now is to produce enough 
seed so that before long we can begin to distribute 
it in minute quantities to farmers who will appreci- 
* ate its value. A word concerning Grimm: It is an ex- 
cellent variety, and some years it does well, with- 
standing two or three winters, but each spring we 
find that a number of plants have winter killed, and 
