174 Report oF THE DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY OF THE 
INTRODUCTION. 
PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THIS BULLETIN. 
The purpose of this bulletin is to give an account of the hind- 
rances, both great and small, to the successful culture of alfalfa tm 
New York; to state their relative importance, their nature and dis- 
tinguishing characters and the best means of overcoming them. 
Special attention is given to dodder, fungus diseases and the im- 
purities and adulteration of seed. Along several lines there is a 
regrettable lack of data. Some of the topics are treated “only 
briefly because they do not properly belong in the province of the 
Botanical Department. In order to facilitate the labors of those 
who wish to pursue the subject further, an attempt has been made 
to make the list of alfalfa diseases complete. Following the dis- 
cussion of the diseases of alfalfa in New York there is given a list 
of other alfalfa diseases not known to occur in the State. 
ALFALFA AS A FARM CROP IN NEW YORK. 
According to Dawley! the successful culture of alfalfa in New 
York dates from 1867. On the Station- farm it has been grown 
continuously and successfully since 1882. The Federal Census for 
1900 gives the total acreage of alfalfa in the State as 5,582 acres 
which yielded 13,002 tons of hay. Over four-fifths of the entire 
acreage was then in three counties in the central portion of. the 
State; viz.: Onondaga (3,767 a.), Madison (588 a.) and Oneida 
(212 a.). The remaining acreage was divided among 36 counties 
with from 1 to 87 acres each. At the present time, the acreage 
must be considerably larger and somewhat more uniformly dis- 
tributed. During the past few years interest in alfalfa has been 
growing rapidly. With a better knowledge of the requirements of 
the plant it is now grown successfully in every agricultural county 
in the State. However, there are many localities in which alfalfa 
culture is still in the experimental stage. 
It is grown chiefly for hay, being cut two to four times each 
season according to weather conditions and fertility of the land. 
It is used to a considerable extent, also, as a soiling crop. Some- 
times it is put into the silo either alone or mixed with corn. It is 

"Dawley (22). The number in parenthesis refers to the bibliography at 
the end of this bulletin. 
