20 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. I906. 



the acre. In drills six or seven inches apart, 15 pounds will be 

 sufficient. This seed should not be sown with any nurse-crop, 

 and the seed should not be drilled deeper than an inch or an inch 

 and a half. On moist soils much less than this is better. 



Inoculation for Root Tubercles. The Montana grown alfalfa 

 seed sent herewith has been inoculated with the bacteria that 

 produce root tubercles and enable the plant to acquire nitrogen 

 from the air. Hence soil inoculation is not necessary. 



Treatment the First Reason. Drills should be cutlivated 

 frequently enough to keep down weeds until the alfalfa has a 

 good start. Young alfalfa is unable to compete with weeds. It 

 is better for the young alfalfa to mow it frequently, setting the 

 cutter bar rather high, the idea being to cut back the young 

 plants, so that they will branch freely. Frequent cutting also 

 discourages weeds. It should not be cut much later than August 

 15, in order to leave a good winter protection of vines. 



Notes wanted. Kind of soil and previous treatment. 



Date of sowing and whether in drills or broadcast. 



Notes and appearance during the season. 



Dates of cutting. 



Length of vines when ground freezes. 



The last of October (1905) blanks for reports were sent to 

 the experimenters and replies were received from 61. Of these 

 61, less than half succeeded in getting a good stand. Choking 

 out by weeds and the damage from drouth were the two most 

 common causes of failure. Twenty-five of the experimenters 

 report the plants as in good condition for the winter. Another 

 season these 25 plots w^ill be looked after and if the results are 

 instructive, either negatively or positively, they will be reported. 



NOTES AND INFERENCES. 



Alfalfa growing has been tried many times in the State and 

 while there are no alfalfa fields of any considerable size in 

 Maine, there are a few people who have had partial success in 

 growing the crop. At Bath there are alfalfa plants that have 

 been established for more than ten years. The roots of a speci- 

 men sent to the Station last May were more than a half inch 

 through at the crown. On the fine fibrous roots there were a 

 few root nodules. A Topsham farmer has been experimenting 

 with alfalfa for six or seven vears and in a letter written last 



