1906.] DISCUSSION. 233 



In the fall of 1904 we plowed up the old alfalfa field where 

 we g^ot such a good crop in 1903, and a fair crop in 1904. This 

 year, I said, I will see if we cannot get ahead of those weeds. 

 So I re-plowed the field last spring, manured it, and re-plowed 

 it again. During the summer we cultivated and harrowed thor- 

 oughly once in about two weeks. The seed was sown about the 

 middle of August, and when the cold weather came on the 

 alfalfa was a thick mat about four to five inches in height. It 

 was looking in good condition as the winter season came on. 

 I think we shall get something in the way of a crop the coming 

 year as the field is now quite free of weeds. 



I believe in following out, in a very careful way, the direc- 

 tions that Dr. Jenkins has given, and especially that we must 

 have these inoculating bacteria from some source. If they are 

 not in the soil they must be placed there. I believe if we will 

 follow Dr. Jenkins' advice, and work with the very best 

 methods we can get, there is a fair degree of certainty that we 

 can prove that alfalfa may be raised successfully in Con- 

 necticut. We must, however, clear our fields well of weeds 

 during the early summer season, and seed after mid-summer. 

 I should have preferred to have seeded two weeks earlier than 

 I did, or about August ist, but the working conditions on the 

 farm are sometimes such that one cannot do things just when 

 he wants to do them. I believe fully that alfalfa, and a good 

 many of the other legumes, are crops that we must grow more 

 generally if we are going to produce cheap nitrogen for the 

 feeding of our plants, and if we are going to produce a cheaper 

 form of protein for the feeding of our animals. We certainly 

 should do more than we have been doing in the past toward 

 producing and saving nitrogen on the farm. 



Mr. J. B. XoBLE. I would like to ask Dr. Jenkins if we 

 can get a crop of alfalfa in Connecticut whether it is a desirable 

 dairy feed? We know that they do grow large crops of it, 

 and it is fattening for animals, but is it a good dairy feed k»r 

 the production of milk and butter ? 



