Sweet Clover (Melilotus alba.)
The seed of Sweet clover is an occasional adulterant of alfalfa. The plant is much taller than any of the species of Medicago. The flowers are white and borne in rows on elongated flower stems
Yellow Trefoil (Medicago lupulina.)
A common adulterant of alfalfa. The leaflets are broader and more clover-like than alfalfa. The flowers are yellow and sparsely scattered in small, hop-like clusters at tips of long flower stems
NORTH CAROLINA
Dr. B. W. Kilgore, Director North Carolina experiment station.—Alfalfa has been grown in a small way in this state, particularly in the section around Hillsboro, for 75 to 100 years. The soil there has become well inoculated and there are some small areas of good alfalfa grown there. There has been for a number of years past considerable interest in the production of this crop, but its cultivation has not been very successful. On our experiment farms in different sections of the state it has done reasonably well, and there have been put out quite a large number of small areas during the last few years, which give hopes of success with the crop. When some further details regarding the time and method for seeding and treatment, especially to prevent crab grass and weeds from getting the upper hand of the crop during the summer have been worked out, we believe that alfalfa will be grown to quite a large extent and be a most valuable addition to our present forage crops.
NORTH DAKOTA
Prof. J. H. Shepperd, Dean of the North Dakota Agricultural college.—Alfalfa has not been given a thorough trial by the people of North Dakota, but the results secured by the experiment station indicate that it is capable of producing paying crops here. It will yield two or more tons of hay per acre annually and will, when sown on well drained land, continue to live from year to year as it does in old alfalfa districts. A little growth should be allowed to stand through the winter season to protect the roots by catching a covering of snow over the entire field. Our people are thoroughly awakened and encouraged by the results secured at the experiment station, and its growth is likely to soon be a common practice in the state.