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.~ rout that can penetrate more than 6 feet. Sicklepod milkvetch is grazed by big <br />game in summer, but mature plants are valuable in winter because they often pro- <br />trude above the snow (Plinnmer, et.al., 1968). <br />Cook et.al. (1974) recommends that Sicklepod milkvetch be included in a seed mix <br />fur big sagebrush-grass vegetation type and in the mountain brush vegetation <br />type. <br />Medicago sativa <br />alfalfa <br />(Varieties: Ladak, Rambler, or Teton) <br />Alfalfa, an introduced legume, has been seeded for years on irrigated and dryland <br />farms throughout the west. IC begins growth early in the spring but retains c~n- <br />siderable basal succulence late in the summer after grasses have dried. Alfalfa <br />makes excellent regrowth any time in the growing season when soil moisture is <br />available. Where it is established in range areas, it effectively keeps game <br />• animals on these ranges and helps prevent their invading of cultivated fields. <br />Four strains of alfalfa - Rambler, Nomad, Travois, and Teton - are we 11 adapted <br />to ranges where annual precipitation exceeds 9 inches. These four strains pr~- <br />duce much larger crowns than the usual field strains; they have much more elabor- <br />ate root systems, and they better survive underground attacks by gophers and <br />other rodents. On some plants, definite ground stems develop below the crown, <br />and new plants develop from them. Nence these four strains are superior fur <br />seeding rangelands. <br />These desirable characteristics have been derived chiefly from the sickle, or <br />yellow blossom, alfalfa (a Siberian species), from which these strains were <br />developed. Sickle alfalfa is very well adapted to western ranges - possibly <br />better than the strains developed from it - but it is difficult to obtain seed in <br />quantities large enough fur extensive seeding because it matures unevenly and <br />shatters quickly. Seed of the other four strains named above is on the market, <br /> <br />3-134 <br />REVISED FEB 13 '87 <br />