16 ASSOCIATED SEEDS, INC. 

LEGUMES 
Legumes comprise a vast group of more than 7,000 species, among which are many 
extremely important crop plants such as peas and beans high in protein for food; 
soybeans of great value for food, feed, and industrial uses; alfalfa, clovers, lespedeza, 
and vetches which provide high protein forage and hay. The majority of the native 
species and the cultivated forms are characterized by the pea-type flower, the pod 
fruit, and the nodule-bearing soil-improving roots. The penetrating power of the 
roots enables them to improve the soil texture, and the bacteria which live in the 
nodules fix the free nitrogen of the air into available plant food. When these bacteria 
are not naturally present, the correct culture for a given legume may be easily and 
inexpensively mixed with the seed before sowing. 

The nodules on legume roots are caused by nitrogen-fixing bacteria 
ALFALFA 
Medicago sativa 
Alfalfa is a perennial legume but not a clover, and for almost any climate there is an 
adapted variety. It prefers fertile, well-drained, rich, deep limestone soils; neutral 
to slightly alkaline, and well fitted. To establish alfalfa, a firm, moist, subsoil is 
very important, with the first two inches of the surface soil loose and of open 
structure, free from debris to permit soil and seed to be firmly pressed together with 
a roller or a float after sowing. 
Alfalfa ranks first as a high grade hay crop, furnishing high protein feed with very 
excellent keeping qualities. The somewhat bushy leafy growth and soft, pithy stems 
make it easy to cure without waste. A valuable grazing crop for all classes of live- 
a though care must be exercised in grazing cattle and sheep on it to prevent 
Oat. 
