Harvesting 
the seed. 
Yield of seed. 
Purchase of 
seed, 
Impurities. 
152 
chafled straw, green maize, etc. Cattle fed on such mixtures are not so lable to flatulence, 
a result frequently following the use of very young lucerne; but in general, lucerne is 
less liable to cause flatulence than red clover. Its hay is relished by horses as well as 
by sheep. 
Harvesting, impurities and adulterations of the seed. Old fields soon 
to be broken up are selected for the seed-crop, because plants cut when 
in seed, are much exhausted and to some extent perish. In southern 
countries, seed is taken from the second cutting; in Germany, often 
from the first. The seed is ripe, when the pod (fig. 60) has become 
spirally twisted and dark in colour; at this stage, the seeds are yellow 
and of a cheesy consistence. The seed-crop is harvested in the same Fig. 60. 
way as that of red clover. In the field, the seeds are not liable to Lucerne. 
Medicago sativa, L. 
9 ; <a AW OF vever re eASsi ’ re wed DV bLHhres panes 
fall out of the pods; they are, however, more easily removed by threshing senate Set. 
than those of red clover. In the south, it is customary to thresh the 
seed plants immediately after cutting. 
The produce of seed per acre, according to Sprengel. varies between 530 and 700 Ibs. According 
to Langethal, between 350 and 530 Ibs., and according to Arafft, between 300 and 490 Ibs. 
In Switzerland and northern countries, a seed crop is not profitable; is is better to 
procure the seed from the south. The best, having the largest seeds and the highest ger- 
minating power, comes from Provence. The seed of Poitou, of Italy and of Hungary is not 
so good. During the first years, Italian lucerne is as good as that of Provence, but it is 
less lasting. 
A common impurity is dodder (Cuscuta trifolii, Bab., fig. 61); the seed ought, there- 
fore, always to be cleaned, to free it from this parasite. An excellent machine for the 
purpose is sold by #gli & Co. of Gibswil in the canton of Zurich; with this machine, dodder 
is removed and the loss of lucerne seed is very slight. Metallic seves of */1 mm. mesh do 
not clean the seed so well. and the loss of lucerne seed is greater. When seed is purchased, 
the seedsman should be required to guarantee it free from dodder; a sample weighing 
about half a pound is necessary for analysis. Nothing is more vexing than to find dodder 
breaking out when, by careful attention to purchase of seed, this outbreak could easily 
have been avoided. Two impurities are very common in French seed, viz. Centaurea 
Dodder. = 
Cuscuta trifolit, Bab. 
(C, epithymum, Murr.) ae et 62 : 
ig, 62. 
a. The end, natural size. Yell t 
b. The same 12 to 15. PA AE dehig 
1 > v4 Centauria solstitialis, L. 
a. The fruit without the pappus, natural size. 
b and c. The same 10. 
d. The fruit with the pappus * 10. 
