. Cyclopedia of farm crops. Farm produce; Agriculture. ALFALFA ALFILARIA 197 Alfalfa in the East. By F. E. Dawley. It should be known that alfalfa was independently introduced in the East, although its present vogue has been quickened by the interest arising in the West. An earnest attempt was made to introduce it into New York state (under its French name, lucerne), in 1790 to 1800. In 1793, Robert Living- ston had fifteen acres growing in Jefferson county, divided into seven plots, each given different treatment. It is reported as " growing luxuriantly " during the first season, th
. Cyclopedia of farm crops. Farm produce; Agriculture. ALFALFA ALFILARIA 197 Alfalfa in the East. By F. E. Dawley. It should be known that alfalfa was independently introduced in the East, although its present vogue has been quickened by the interest arising in the West. An earnest attempt was made to introduce it into New York state (under its French name, lucerne), in 1790 to 1800. In 1793, Robert Living- ston had fifteen acres growing in Jefferson county, divided into seven plots, each given different treatment. It is reported as " growing luxuriantly " during the first season, then turning yellow and " pining ; In 1812, it was tried in Central New York by Sterling Lamson and Moses Dewitt with about the same result, although straggling plants from this parentage, it is thought, are still growing. In 1852, Henry Meigs exhibited a few plants loefore the American Institute in New York. All of these attempts seem to have proved un- satisfactory, and alfalfa-growing on a successful basis can be traced to a shipment of seed in the chaff, which was hand-gathered on the Pacific coast and sent to Onondaga county. New York, in 1867. With this came the inoculation which seemed nec- essary to prevent the plants dying the second year because of the lack of root nodules. In 1894, the New York State Experiment Station at Geneva issued a bulletin on " Alfalfa Forage for Milch Cows," and the agitation of the subject at farmers' institutes, together with the reports of successful fields in Onondaga county. New York, seemed to awaken new interest in the crop; and a little later, when it was learned definitely that old fields where it was growing successfully contained bacteria which could be transplanted to other fields and cause the plant to grow there, its spread be- came more rapid and today marks one of the great achievements of science as applied to agriculture. Where drainage and physical conditions are favor- able in the East, alfalfa will
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