NEw YorK AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, 175 
seldom pastured and no seed is produced. While fed more or less 
to all farm animals it is regarded as especially valuable for milch 
COWS. 
VARIETIES GROWN. 
The botanical name of alfalfa is usually given as Medicago 
sativa L.* There are but a few named varieties. Very little is 
known as to the value of the different varieties of alfalfa for New 
York conditions. New York farmers, when buying alfalfa seed, 
seldom inquire about the variety or where the seed was grown. 
Much of the seed used is imported from Europe, Asia and South 
America and the remainder comes from various parts of the 
western United States. There is no home-grown seed available. 
THE CHIEF DIFFICULTIES. 
The greatest difficulty with alfalfa culture in New York is to get 
the crop established. Several factors may be concerned in this: 
Poor seed, poor fitting of the seed bed, sour soil, wet soil, sowing 
with a nurse crop, lack of nodule bacteria, lack of humus, weeds, 
leaf spot disease, close cutting and winter injury. If the first winter 
is passed safely the chances of ultimate success are excellent. Dod- 
der (Cuscuta spp.) is often a serious pest, being sometimes so 
destructive as to necessitate plowing up the crop. Leaf spot 
(Pseudopesiza medicaginis) is a common disease causing enormous 
loss in the aggregate, although seldom ruining the crop completely. 
Heavy losses also result from the frequent rains in June which 
often prevent prceper curing of the first cutting. 
UNCONGENIAL SOIL CONDITIONS. 
Some common causes of failure with alfalfa fall under this head. 
However, the discussion of them here will be brief for two rea- 
sons: First, because the writers have been unable to give much at- 
tention to this phase of the subject, and; second, because the Bac- 
teriological Department of the Station has under way special in- 
vestigations covering parts of the field. 
POOR FITTING. 
All writers on alfalfa agree that the land should be very thor- 
oughly fitted. It should be disked, rolled and harrowed until it is 

*For the botany of alfalfa see Brand (6, p. 18) and Scofield (92). Ac- 
cording to the latter the correct name of alfalfa is Medica sativa (L.) Mill. 
