A Drought Resisting Plant

The chief reason why alfalfa hay wil! grow iu the short grass country is that it has long roots. They have beeu known to strike 25 feet deep for moisturo. The plant will not thrive, therefore, in soil that is not open and deep. An ideal place for its growtb is along the river bottoins in the western part of Kansas - land uuder which great lakes of "sheet water," miles upou miles in extent, are found froni 10 to 25 feet below the surface. The roots of alfalfa readily push down to the water and drink when they need moisture, and the result is that the plant blossoms aud prospers and becomes a never failing source of revenue to the man who cultivates it. Ou the rolling uplands, where there is scarcely an average rainfall of 25 inches a year, the plant will live aud produce hay nearly always. It makes go&d pasturage under ordinary couditions there and is almost certain every year to produoe a fine erop of seed. All the uplands are fertile enough, the only trouble about making use of that fertility being the lack of moisture. Irrigation bas not yet Bucceeded in bringing water in abundance to thp assistance of the tiller oJ" the soil in this región, and therefoie only such a plant eau live as has deep roots and a pertinacity that even the hot winds of Kansas canuot shake. - ■