New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1909-03-31
BOON FOR ARID LANDS
Professor Hansen Returns With
Seeds of Arctic Alfalfa.
FARMERS WILL BE GAMERS.

FARMERS WILL BE GAMERS.
Agricultural Departments Chief Plant
Explorer Tells Of Hardy Varieties
That Will Grow In Dry Sections of
United States-Grapes Suitable For
Semiarid Regions Also Found.
Niels Ebbesen Hansen, professor of
horticulture at the State College of Ag-
riculture, Brookings, S. D., and chief
plant explorer for the department Of
agriculture at Washington, recently re-
turned from his third journey into
northern Asia, bringing back three new
varieties of arctic alfalfa, a clover that
will grow through ice and a grape
that is suitable to the semiarid re-
gions of the United States. Professor
Hansen has spent several years hunt
ing through ancient and faroff coun-
tries of the world for useful plants,
grains and fruits that we do not have
in the United States, but are suitable
to the climate Of our northern ATTITUDES
and will furnish our farmers with
greater opportunities to diversity their
crops and practice a rotation which
| will not exhaust the SOIL
Professor Hansen has explored Rus
STA, Siberia, Turkestan, Mongolia, Man
chura, western China, Japan, Trans
caucasia, Persia, Lapland, Finland
and other countries in search of plant
life that will endure the cold climate
Of our northern border and flourish in
the dry air Of the semiarid regions Of
the west and has been remarkably
successful.
He started May %, 1908, upon his
latest expedition, from which he re-
turned short time ago, going first to
Moscow, where he organized little
expedition Of four assistants, who are
familiar with the languages as well as
Of the botany of northern Asia With
them he started eastward, crossing ST.
IBERIA into Chinese territory and tray
ersing Mongolia and Manchuria. he
returned by way of southern Siberia
and through the foothills of the Alti
mountains and made journey of 400
miles by wagon across the northern
part of the desert of Cobb and the
Hunger desert of Turkestan. Then,
when he reached the Mediterranean,
he visited the desert of Sahara, look
ing for plants that will grow in dry
climates.
'"The object Of my journey was espe-
cially to find hardy alfalfas that will
grow in the colder regions of our
northwestern states" said Professor
Hansen. 'We wanted the northern
most plants of Asia for the farmers of
| Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakota and
Montana, who lose millions of dollars
from the excessive cold and open win
| tiers without SNOW Two years ago,
when visited part Of the same
country that I have been visiting the
last year, l found three varieties of
yellow flower alfalfa which grow in
| ATTITUDES as high as GO degrees SO min.
utes, across the arctic circle. I got
some seed of one Of the varieties,
which is being tested at the expert
ment stations of the agricultural de-
partment, and this time 1 got a good
supply of all three, but they will not
go out Of government hands for some
time yet, until our experiments are
complete and we have had an oppor-
tunity to determine which are the best
soils and climate for them to grow in
We are constantly receiving applica-
tons for this and other seeds, but it
will be several years before they are
ready for distribution
81 had considerable difficulty in col
lecting seed, because most of the al
falfa grows wild, sparsely scattered
over desert land, and that which is
cultivated is so valuable to the farm
ers that they do not want to let their
seed go. The farms are few and
| widely separated in most Of the coun-
tries l visited, and the farmers treas
| ure these plants. 1 was treated with
the greatest kindness by everybody,
both the officials and the people.
In some places, however, particu-
larly in Mongolia, it was necessary
for me to have Cossack escort for
protection as well as for guides"
Vudl Is Tue ulOSL Interesting IuluS
you found on your journey?'' 1 asked.
''The most interesting things found
were clover plant and an alfalfa
growing near the point of greatest cold
in northern Asia. It was between va
kutsk and Verl1hoyansk, north of Lake
Baikal, on the sixty parallel Of
latitude. Glover and alfalfa grow wild
there and live through the winters
where the temperature falls to so and
Is degrees below zero and the mercury
freezes in the glass. They are not cul-
| tiyated at all. There are no farms in
! that region. The people are nomads
| and have no towns.
81 got my seed little farther south,
where the mercury freezes every win
ter at 40 below, and both plants will
endure that degree of cold with the
| ground bare Of snow I brought linn
tied amount Of the seed and will plant
IL at the eyneriInant stations of tho