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Show GOVENMENT EXPERIMENTS WITH ALFILARIA SEED. In connection with the Bureau of Industry of the Department of Agriculture, Agri-culture, tire forest sonvicc has bci.ii carrying- on a scries of experiments relative to the rcsecding of ovar grazed graz-ed areas upon the National Forests in the west. Among othctr important forage plants selected for experimental work is the common alfilarai (Erodium cicutarium)of the southwestern deport dep-ort of southern California Arizona and New Mexico, and .furnishes one of the best plants for fattening live stock, especially sheep, known to the stockmen. It grows m the early spring whcJn green feed is most desirable desir-able and in a few weeks will cover the desert with a rich green blanket until it looks almost like an alfalfa field. The plant generally reaches- a maximum height of from eight to ten inches inside of six weeks and in six weeks more has all died down and blown away, leaving the ground . bare as a floor. The seeds of th; plant have been carricfl from California, Califor-nia, in the wool of migrating shcap, into the adjoining stales, but while it will grow at high altitudes, it doss not reach any great height above an elevation of 3,ooo feet. The first obstacle the . ivcrnmcnt experts ran against was the impossibility impossi-bility of obtaining seed in the open markets that would germinate. The seed commands a high price snd is M hard to obtain, but of samples .pur- M chased from various seed houses the M germinating power was never higher M than thirteen p'cr cent and the aver- H age of several samples was about eight M per cent. H T11 order to determine, if possible. M where the fault lay, in the non-gcr- H mi'iiating power of the seeds purchas- H cd, tho forest service sent one of its H plant exports, A'rthur W. Sampson, H into the field in southern California H where alfilaria was known to be most H abundant, with orders to gather seed H of this plant and .makes a careful study H of the conditions governing its H growth. M This has been done and it h very H evident that if the seed can be path- H ercd at the proper time and under ptO- M per conditions, it will have a high H gcrminat.n ipowcr. Samples of H the seed gathered by Mr. Sampson H showed a germination of over ninety- H one p'cr cent which is certainly high H enough to be satisfactory to any pur- H chaser. Mr. Sampson has been able H to outline a. method of gathering this H ocd by which one man can gather a H very large Amount with very little jH trouble. Enough of the seed can be H easily secured with a high gcrmina- H tivc power with which to make ex- H perimcntal plantings on several of the H National FotWsts where this plant H would make an admirable addition to H the local forage supply. Alfilaria, un- H dcr notrmal condition seems to do best H in a soil composed mostly of decom- 'H po&'cd granatc, but it is believed it vyfll H flourish in most light sandy soils H where there is sufficient moisture n H the carJy spring to start th growth. H Now that the forest service has H shown how to gather the seeds thejc H is no doubt but that the local secdmen H will avail themselves of the cxperi- H ment and that in future the grade of M seed sold by seed men will be ofu M muQh better gonnmaii&c, gtngth. |