8. Flowers,--how borne (whether singly or in clusters), color, form, resemblance to any other flowers you may know. Do they vary in color? 9. If possible, find the seed-pods and seeds, and describe. 10. Make inquiries as to whether alfalfa is becoming well known in your vicinity. _Agricultural Account of Alfalfa._ You may be asked some practical questions about alfalfa; therefore we give you a brief agricultural account of it. If you desire further information, write to the College of Agriculture, Ithaca, N. Y., for Bulletin 221, "Alfalfa in New York." Alfalfa is grown mostly for hay. It is not adapted to pasture, because the new growth springs from the crown at the surface of the ground, and if this is destroyed the growth will not be renewed vigorously. New York is a hay-producing State. Grain feeds can be grown more cheaply in the West. It is of great importance to the State, therefore, if a better hay-producing plant can be found. We have seen that New York leads the States in dairy cattle. Other livestock also is abundant. Last year more than half a million horses and mules were fed in the State. Success has not attended efforts to grow alfalfa in all parts of New York. This is due to two principal reasons: (1) farmers have not known the plant and its habits well enough to give it the care and treatment it demands; (2) the soils of many localities, because of their physical condition or composition, are not suitable for the plant. The alfalfa seedling is not a strong plant. It cannot compete with weeds nor overcome adverse conditions of moisture; it cannot adapt itself to conditions resulting from poor preparation of land, and it is not vigorous in its ability to get food from any source. Care must be given to the preparation of the land in order that sufficient moisture may be supplied during the early stages of growth and that there may be an abundance of quickly available plant-food. After growth has started, alfalfa has the power to get some of its nitrogen from the air through the nodules which grow upon its roots; yet during the early stages of growth it is essential that the soil be supplied with all elements of plant-food in available form.