New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 559 



as a mulch during the dry weather. On rich soil sometimes two 

 crops can be secured the first summer, but on poor soil, or in a 

 dry season, no crop can be expected until the second year. 



Established Fields. 



Alfalfa should be cut every time it begins to blossom, whether 

 the growth is short or tall, unless a seed crop is desired. The 

 second crop of the season is better for seed than the first, probably 

 on account of the greater number of insects that assist in fertil- 

 izing the blossoms. 



The chief value of alfalfa, before stated, is as a soiling crop 

 to be cut and fed fresh. From a field in area suited to the 

 number of animals to be fed, there can be obtained a fairly regu- 

 lar succession of cuttings of green fodder. By cutting each day 

 across the field there will be, by the time the field is cut over, 

 a new growth where the first cutting was made. The field that 

 will produce ample fodder during the dry weather of late sum- 

 mer will yield an excess during the more favorable weather of 

 spring. This surplus can be made into hay — for the crop should 

 always be cut when the purple blossoms show. The first crop 

 of the season will, as a rule, prove much the heaviest if allowed 

 to reach full development, the later cuttings being light. For 

 this reason it may often be found preferable to begin the first 

 cuttings when the fodder is rather imature, in this locality early 

 in May. 



Pasturage. 



Alfalfa is not a safe pasturage for cattle and sheep, for it is 

 liable to cause bloat. Where cattle and sheep are allowed to eat 

 all they will, the fodder should be allowed to wilt before it is fed. 

 Horses and pigs can be pastured on alfalfa, but by pasturing 

 heavy animals, many of the crowns are broken by the hoofs and 

 the plants are injured. Sheep cut off the crowns too close to 

 the ground. When used to supplement dry pastures it is best 

 to cut the fodder and carry it, when wilted, to the nearest place 

 where it can be fed. 



