El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-05-31

Q shall be upright in its habit Of growth
and an abundant producer of hay. To
them it would be worth incalculable
Z sums; and much hope is entertained
[ by the department of agriculture that
{ the new hybrid described WIII meet
I the demand.
Many varieties both unfamiliar and
interesting have been obtained from
northern Africa by George ". Oliver,
an expert plant breeder in the en-
plOy of the gOVernmenL-mOst of them
derived from abandoned patches OF eX-
ceedlngly poor soil at one time Culri-
forms Of alfalfa occur in northern
Africa than IN any other part of the
world Seedlings representing 40 Of
them are now growing IN Washington,
and will be tested to ascertain their
availability for crossing. One Of these,
from the neighbOrhOOd of Algiers, has
underground stems of extraordinary
length sometimes over three and a half
feet long Mr. Oliver came across one
plant of it that covered an acre of
fully nine square feet
The alfalfas from Siberia, Turkestau.
and other Asiatlc sources vary in
height from Few inches to nearly
six feet. Some, from very cold re-
giOns, have exceedingly long taprOOts,
which evidently do not branch until
they reach depth Of several feet in
the ground.
Promising alfalfas for pasturage pur-
poses have been secured from the Cri-
mea and the Caucasus Burying the
resting buds of their rOOtStOckS sew
eral inches under the soil, they thus
obtain protection not only against
cold, but against destruction by broWs-
ing animals. Though their crowns be
wholly eaten off, they soon sprout
again These buds develop at each
internOde on the rOOtstock, enabling
the plant, though repeatedly set back
by unprOpitiOus weather, to branch out
anew from points well underground.
Of H-=
casian alfalfaS never attain a height
Of more than six inches, yet they give
a large quantity of forage. Even in
their present form they are fairly well
adapted for grazing, and for such pur-
poses probably would excel all other
low growing legumes.
Many of the alfalfas from northern
Africa have underground stems that
travel three feet or more by the middle
of June, before coming to the surface,
and during this subterranean growth
prOfuse branching takes place. The
luXuriant Development of such plants
as seen under the intense heat and
drought of African summers, would
be a most welcome spectacle in the
semiarid parts of the United States.
In some places they seem actually to
revel in what appears to be almost
pure sand.
Many Distinct Species Found.
AS one result of the study of the
largest number of distinct species and
IL has become manifest that until re-
Gently very little was known about
the life history of the alfalfas of the
world. They are a much mixed lot
Of plants, and hardly any of them come
invariably true to seed-a fact evil
IDENTIFY attributable TO the indiscrim-
mate cross pOllindtion of their flowers
by insects But as already proved
by the plant bureaus experiments they
can be bred to come true to type
The Alfalfa Flower.
If one examines an alfalfa flower,
one finds that il is composed of a
banner" two wings" Con either side
of the banner. and a keel" opposite
the banner. It is the keel that con-
tains the reproductive parts of the
blossom When q humble bee comes
along, and thrusts her prObOscis into
the keel out jumps a little greeuish
rod, strikes violently upon her 'thoraX.
and scatJers pollen grains all over the
under part of her body. Presently she