Field research notebook of N.E. Hansen. Alfalfa, grasses, corn, flax, wheat, millet, sorghum and clover plats planted 1906. Some plats identified as being in Highmore, South Dakota. The notebook mentions plats that were taken from prairie land. Handwritten.

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Alfalfa plant specimen

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198. The Siberian alfalfa as found wild at Omsk in western Siberia. In my Siberian investigation I learned that as found wild upon the Siberian steppes, this is a valuable forage plant in regions where the mercury freeze, sometimes without snow; that it is green very early in the spring; that it endures severe drought, that it does well upon soils underlaid with hardpan; that it is considerably resistant to alkali; that it flourishes where the common alfalfa from Europe winterkills; that the Siberian form of this species is so much superior to the European form in hardiness and other desirable characteristics that to go by the botanical name only, is very misleading. The present sample is from hay cut from wild plants before my arrival.

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199. Siberian alfalfa from Omsk, Siberia. This sample I picked from wild plants in the dry steppes near Omsk late in the fall when there was a little snow on the ground. I found the plants held their own perfectly with other native plants in the compact prairie or steppe sod. Omsk is in latitude 55 degrees.

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201. As found wild in the Samara province, of the northern Volga River region of extreme east European Russia, on the edge of Siberia, See no. 206.

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205. Sample of the third generation under cultivation by Prof. Williams of the Moscow agricultural college of seed obtained from wild plants in the Don province of the lower Volga River region of southeastern Russia.

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197. As found wild in the Kharkov province of southeastern Russia.

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200. Picked from a lead of wild hay brought in by the Buryats, native Mongolians, to the hay market at Irkutsk, on Lake Baikal, eastern Siberia

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206. Another sample from wild plants of this promising forage plant from the province of Samara, in the northern Volga River region of extreme east European-Russia, on the edge of Siberia. See no. 201.

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194. Originally from a single plant growing wild in the Voronezh province of the central Volga River region, Russia. It is a natural hybrid of Medicago falcata and Medicago sativa and found wild in the dry steppes. This spontaneous or natural hybrid will sometimes have blue flowers on one branch, yellow on another and sometimes both colors on the same branch. The present sample is the fourth generation raised by Prof, Williams at the Moscow agricultural college and is his No, 571X572

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196. The same source as no. 194 and 195 and also the fourth generation from a single plant found wild in the dry steppes of the Voronezh province in eastern Russia, and now in the fourth generation under cultivation. A beautiful plant, very hardy, very productive and with black green flowers.

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195. The same source as no. 194 and also the fourth generation from a single plant found wild in the dry steppes of the Voronezh province. The present strain bears yellow flowers, in fact is almost Medicago falcata in its characteristics and is not a heavy a yielder as No. 194 and 196.

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255. A hardy, vigorous, broad-leaved form of alfalfa found in Norway by O. Malthe, Christianna, Norway. The present variety was selected a few years ago in the Romerike Valley a few miles north of Christianna, Norway.

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191. The name Turkestanica is not a botanical distinction, but one given by Russian agronomists to distinguish the alfalfa found in Russian Turkestan in central Asia. The present sample is originally from Tashkent, the capitol of Russian Turkestan, grown at Moscow, and originally the seed from one plant. At Moscow agricultural college Prof. Williams has found this strain very hardy, very productive, and beautiful plant; while the French Lucerne, by which is meant the ordinary south European or north Agrican form of the species, winterkills at Moscow, Russia.