Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1901-03-13
FARM AND GARDEN.
MATTRRe OF INTEREST TO
AORlCuLTURiST6
eeAs Up-to-Dass Hints About Cuitiva-
tion OF the koii aud Yields Thereof
Horticulture. Siticaitors aud EiOrteal-
t0rA
rurk.stan. Alfalfa

Colorado and Wyoming. and many
fields In the central prairie states to
the eastward were badly damaged. but
the Turkeston alfalfa grown In the
states mentioned was not affected. Al
the Wyoming Experiment station
plat Of Turkestan alfalfa was exposed
for two weeks without injury to tenn
perature of-35 degrees. the lowest
point reached being As degrees. In
California 1t was subjected without
damage to drouth which seriously In
Jured ordinary alfalfa. In view of the
notable success OF this plant In with
standing drouth and cold. II has been
decided to purchase large amount OF
seed grown in America from our Inn
ported stock and distribute 1t widely
over the arid west until II has been
thoroughly tested under all the diner-
ent climatic and soil conditions exist
ing In that region. From the results
already secured Ii is believed that this
one introduction will add millions OF
dollars to the annual hay product of
the United States,
At the Experiment station at Brook
ings. s. D., with a minimum temporal
ture last winter of 40 degrees below
zero with the ground bare common al
taifa was killed. while this alfalfa from
the heart of Asia came through I'M
harmed. One OF the main instructions
OF Secretary Wilson In sending the
writer on this trip in 97-'9s. OF nearly
ten months was To secure. II possible.
. hardy. drouth-resisting leguminous
forage plant, from the elevated table
lands of Asia. Upon reaching Russia
the government agricultural author
tiles at Moscow and st. Petersburg told
me OF this plant. II Is distinct from
common alfalfa, which has come TO US
largely from Spain. Botanieally. the
difference Is expressed by Russian au-
thorities In naming Turkestan alfalfa
Medicago Saliva Turkastanica, while
common alfalfa is called Medieago sa-
tivn learned. especially from Prince
Massalski. Of the Department OF Ag-
riculture at ST. Petersburg. that IL had
been found In parallel experiments east
OF the Caspian sea in the Merry Gases
In Russian Turkestan that the native
Alfalfa was vastly superior to the com
mon alfalfa. especially where there was
lack of water. as It WAS able to give
satisfactory crops with q minimum
supply Of water so small that the Eu-
ropean tcommonJ alfalfa pefished from
drouth.
Along the Voign river at the dry re-
zion experiment stations OF eastern
European Russia. found this plant
doing well, and when / got to the
desert and semi-desert regions OF Tur-
comania. Bokhara. and the Semi
retchnisk province of Russian Turke-
stan. all east of the Caspian Sen. +
made careful study of the plant Here
we're camels by the thousands. and
clouds of dust often SO thick that a wei
sponge was found essential for rela-
tive comfort in breathing. I was 80
pleased with what was seen of this
plant. that | did not stop until fully
$4,000 pounds OF the seed was secured
chiefly from the eotton-growing sec
tons among the Sarts. or native Mo-
hammedans. The main reason for
making the overland journey of over
1900 miles d.300 by wagon. 700 by
sleigh from Tashkent. the capital OF
Russian Turkestan. to Omsk. In ST.
IBERIA. Via Kuldta. In western China
was to trace this plant to it's northern
limits. which was found to be near
kopal, In Siberia tlatitude As do.
grees 10 minutes, longitude, 70 degrees
east of Greenwich.) kuldIa. In Sur
garia. western China. Is in latitude a
degrees 30 minutes. longitude. 81 de-
grees 20 minutes east, and was the
farthest point reached In my Journey
tabout half way around the elobel
Seed was secured from eight different
sources, but, OF course, only small Iots
could be obtained from the places Wis
Tied In the overland journey. The In
teresting, and to me the most surpris-
ing fact. Is that the alfalfa which
proved 30 hardy at Brookings was
from the cotton section of Turkeatan
10 that the plant stands cold as wolf
as drouth. This Indicates that in this
plant we have an alfalfa that will he
-~s~sNy W Jul uoI UQTueTS and
probably north into Canada. II Ia
gratifying to the writer that the rough
journey In Asia, In which the shadow
Of the death angels wings fell upon
him more than once or twice, has ap-
parently resulted in giving the north
west. AZ well as the southwest. the
hardy forage plant desired by secre-
itary Wilson.
It will be we'll to note that have no
seed Of Turksstan alfalfa to sell or
give away. All the seed was distrtb-
uted from Washington. and the United
States Department OF Agriculture takes
care Of all applications. To those who
lost their alfalfa fields last winter II
will be good news that there Ia In az
istence an alfalfa harder than the one
now cultivated in America, which was
brought over by the spaniards. The
original home Of the alfalfa from
Spain, in southern Europe and Asia
appears to have been warmer and
moister than that OF this new intro
duction. The word alfalfa IL spanish