The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1910-09-16
INTERESTING STORY OF QUEST
OF FEM,NENT PLANT EXPERT
IN NORTHERN SIBERIA
WANTED HARDY ALFALFA
The Government Had Commiss ssioned
Him to Obtain Seed of Hardy
Varieties For Introduce
ton in the States


E. Peary mailed the stars and stripes
to the geographical north pole early
in the spring of 1909, there returned
to the United States from northern
Asia another explorer who had found
a pole, the discovery Of which, in all
human probability, means hundreds Of
millions of dollars to the people OF the
United States" This is the opening
sentence of a story in the Outlook
concerning the great work of former
Iowa man, Prof. n. E. Hansen of
South Dakota.
This POLE" continues w. p. Kirk
wood. was the north pole of alfal a,
and the splendor of the achievement
of finding it lies in the fact that the
alfalfa seeds brought TO America from
its vicinity mean the extension of the
alfalfa belt on this continent north
ward to the Arctic circle, if men care
to take it SO far; successful alfalfa
culture, that is, for an immense re-
gion from which by extreme cold 1t
has hitherto been barred; an increase
of something like 500 an acre in the
values of northern farm lands; an
added income of millions upon MIL
lions of dollars for American farm
be assumed, greater prosperity for al.
The discoverer, who came back
unheralded and went ungarianded
when he came, was Nlels EbDesen
Hansen, a hardy bodied and high splr-
tied Dane by birth, an ardent ana 10y
al American by adoption, plant eA-
plorer for the United States govern
ment when there is exploring to do IN
especially difficult regions, and re9u-
larly the head of the Horticultural ana
forestry department of the South Ia
kota experiment station, winch Is
connected with the South Dakota col
lege of agriculture and mechanic arts
at Brookings, S. ID.
But why?" asks some one. There
is abundance of alfalfa in this coun-
try. enough to supply any quantity OF
seed to the north Obviously, the
trouble is the seeds are net Of the
right kind Plants from the seed OF
common alfalfa, such as are under
irrigation in California give nine cLt-
tinss a season, and without lr lsat on
in Oklahoma give as many, often WIN
+ ter-kill in the extreme cold or MIME
sofa and the Dakotas. That Is, the
kind of alfalfa which thrives in the
southern states will not stand the
severe winters of the north without
a snow blanket, and such a blanket
cannot be had to order from the
weather man. In the winter of 1889
the farmers of the west lost mllllons
of dollars just because OF this TACT
when Mr.. Wilson became secre-
tary of agriculture and developed his
great plan to search the word for
plants adapted TO cold and dry elm
ates. he chose Hansen for his eXplor-
err Accordingly in 1897 the latter set
ont. the agricultural bureaus first
plant explorer plenipotentlary.
"Pursuins his search Professor
Hansen crossed Russia twice and ther
went southwark through Trans au-
casia and across the Caspian sea into
the land of the Turkoman. 1t was
there, thirtee years ago that The
north pole of alfalfa idea laid it:
relentless grip upon him.
"One memorable day he came upo1
the trail of a hardy alfalfa. The dis
coyery set his blood tingle,
"At once he set his face toward
the alfalfa pole. The compass was
useful only in SO far as it indicated
that the trail led northward. HI:
guide was the alfalfa plant itself, ant
weary though increasingly allur
ing journey it led him.
"Thirteen hundred miles northeast
ward along the Tian-Shan mountain
in the very heart of Asia, In BODY
racking and cumbersome covered
blackboard, the tarantass, he followed
the plant. questioning Russian arm,
officers, natives, the very horse
munching their hay In the marke
places and oftenest of all the wide
wide plains Nothing but the hardles
of this hardy new alfalfa woul'
satisfy.
."Then winter, the traditional enem.
of pole-hunters, boisterously fell upol
him lust as he returned from an ex
cursion to Kuldja, in Northwestern
, China, and the quest was up Tor ina
: year, at least.
at was nine years before the asri
cultural department could send hin
ont again. The Spanish-Amerlcan
the Filipino, and the Russo-JaF anes
wars and the Russian revolution wer
obstacles in the way.
But in 1906 the way was open, eX
) cept for continued bloodshed in Rus
tsia and Hansen went to norther
: Europe. Including Lapland and i'm
5 land, with Instructions to go on t
Siberia if. upon Investigations, h
thought conditions in Russia woul
, hermit Conditions id not look prom
} sing but he decided to take the risk
and made straight for western Siberia
| "A second great alfalfa discover
: was the early result. This was tina
e away UP in Siberia there grew vii
: a yellow fowered alfalfa, forage c
great feeding value, on which the ma
: Sioux Falls-During the visit of Co
Y Rnnceuelt to Sioux Falls. MANY c