
FARM 
ROYAL QUALITY SEEDS 

29 

Alfalfa 
ALFALFA SEED 
The origin of this wonderful plant is lost in 
the mists of history. It was cultivated by the 
Greeks and Romans, 470 B. C., probably origi- 
nating in Persia. Since, it has spread over 
most of the civilized globe, being extensively 
cultivated in Argentine, Chili, Italy, France, 
Spain, Germany, Siberia, Canada and the 
United States. Exceeded only by Timothy and 
Red Clover, it is the third most important 
forage crop in America. It has long been the 
main perennial forage crop in the semi-arid 
regions and great plain districts of the West. 
It is now crowding Red Clover for popularity 
in many parts of the Central West and East 
and also growing to advantage in the favored 
sections of the South. 
ADVANTAGES — For a general purpose 
forage crop, Alfalfa has no superior, in this 
country. For Hay, it is unsurpassed. For Pas- 
ture, it has a large carrying capacity of both 
cattle and hogs. As a soiling crop, it can be 
managed to yield heavy dividends. As a soil 
builder, it enriches the land by bringing nitro- 
gen into the soil. 
CULTIVATION — Requires a deep, well- 
drained soil, free from acid. Seed-bed should 
be well settled, moist and free from weeds as 
possible. Inoculation is recommended except 
in sections where the extensive cultivation of 
Alfalfa or Sweet Clover. results in natural in- 
noculation. One pound of Alfalfa contains 
about 220,000 seeds; 12 to 20 pounds to the 
acre is generally sown. May be sown in the 
spring, late summer or early fall. Seed is 
variously sown, either broadcast or by seeders. 
A nurse crop of oats, barley, wheat or rye has | 
resulted favorably in many sections. Alfalfa 
should be covered *% to 1 inch deep, not sown 
on the surface, as with some grasses and 
clovers. 
Quality of the seed is of first importance. 
The origin of the seed should be known and 
due care taken to obtain plump berry, free 
from noxious weeds and refined to test 98 to 
99.50% purity and 90% growth. 
Our facilities for marketing Alfalfa seed 
are second to none. We are among the first 
two or three largest handlers of Alfalfa seed 
in America. Our Kansas City plant taps the 
large producing areas of the plains of Kansas 
and Nebraska, together with the mountain 
valley districts of Utah, Colorado, Idaho, etc., 
our annual tonnage amounts to several million 
pounds. Seed recleaned and refined by us has 
been successfully sown in most states of the 
Union. We specialize in Kansas, Nebraska 
and Northwestern grown seed. 
CANADIAN VARIEGATED — While a 
local strain of variegated ancestry, it is pro- 
duced under such cold climatic conditions as 
to make it a most desirable strain for North- 
ern regions. Some of the districts producing 
Canadian Alfalfa are in Northern Saskatche- 
wan, reaching toward the Arctic Circle. 
COSSACK ALFALFA—Introduced by the 
U. S. Department of Agriculture from Russia. 
It has merited considerable attention in the 
Northern states. Like Grimm, this variegated 
strain is best adapted to severe climatic con- 
ditions. 
GRIMM ALFALFA — Was introduced into 
Minnesota by a German immigrant by the 
name of Grimm, in 1837. Since that time its 
culture under rigorous climatic conditions has 
resulted in a very hardy strain, says U. S. 
Government Bulletin 757: “On account of its 
superior hardiness, the variety is particularly 
recommended for the northern part of the 
great plains region and all parts of the North- 
west, where little protection is afforded by 
the snow. The greater cost of the Grimm 
seed, and the inability to produce a large 
yield of hay in a mild climate, as the common 
alfalfa, will have a tendency to confine it to 
the more northern states.” 
KANSAS GROWN —On the great prairies 
