1906.] ALFALFA IN CONNECTICUT. 221 



The same is true of alfalfa, all the more because of the 

 greater burden of the mowing. It is not quick to dry, but if 

 too dry loses its leaves like clover and with them a large part 

 of its value. Rain on the nearly cuj-ed crop spoils it. It must 

 be cut too, when ready ; for the stalk gets woody very quickly 

 as it comes into bloom. We have much to learn about making 

 clover or alfalfa hay. Most of us, I think, err on the side of 

 too much drying. If we can get in clover or alfalfa without 

 dropping any leaves, pack it down well in the mow, close the 

 barn and have it heat a good deal, without fire-fanging, \j-e 

 shall be sure of good feed. 



At the West, in a dry climate, where the praises of alfalfa 

 are chiefly — and with most reason — sung, this matter of 

 making hay is, by comparison, simple, for there is no danger 

 from rain and it cures much more safely in the cock than here. 



For these reasons, I say, a successful alfalfa culture de- 

 pends firstly on our ability to get and to keep a good per- 

 manent stand, and secondly on learning how to house it for 

 winter use. 



ALFALFA IS A CROP TO HARVEST^ NOT TO PASTURE. 



Under the best conditions, when well established, cattle 

 may be pastured on it lightly. If they feed too long on it 

 they will bloat, as on clover, and if they eat it too closely, as 

 sheep are likely to do, they may damage the stand permanently. 

 It is ver\' hard to patch an alfalfa field by re-seeding the thin 

 places. The new-sown plants never get vigorous and fill the 

 gaps. 



ALFALFA IS A NITROGEN-GATHERING CROP. 



So much has been said too on this point, both of alfalfa 

 and of all the cultivated legumes, that any more words may 

 seem quite unnecessary. But let us have our heads clear as to 

 the facts. The crop contains each year very much more pro- 

 tein — of which the distinguishing element is nitrogen — than 

 any of our cereals or hay crops. Yet it does not seem to ex- 

 haust or diminish the store of nitrogen in the tilled soil as they 

 do, but rather increases its store, and yet keeps up its yield 

 year after year, while cereals, if raised continuously, steadily 

 decrease their product till they come to a certain minimum 

 production which they can keep up for a long time perhaps. 



