Alfalfa in New York. 407 



viously manured the ground with stable dung. This, with a very 

 wet season, has brought up so many weeds as to injure the lucern 

 by overshadowing it, though it came up very vigorously. On 

 the 20th of August mowed the weeds and turnip tops, which were 

 very large, not, however mowing very close. The lucern at 

 this time, October 1st, though very full of weeds, has a line, 

 healthy appearance, and I have no doubt of its doing very well. 

 The turnips do not appear to have been injured by the mowing." 



Experiment No. 6. 



" Soil as above. May 1st, planted three-fourths of an acre 

 with early potatoes. The beginning of August 1st took them 

 up and put in upon one plowing 12 pounds of lucern seed. This 

 has come even and thick, and is very free from weeds. If it 

 stands the winter, which I hardly doubt, it will make a very fine 

 crop the next year." 



Experiment No. 7. 



" One acre of gravelly clay sown this spring with vetches left 

 for feed, cut about the last of August, and the beginning of Sep- 

 tember, sowed with 16 pounds of lucern. It is now October 

 1st, but just beginning to show itself, owing to there having 

 scarcely any rain fallen since; and the result of this experiment 

 will determine whether it may safely be sown with wheat in good 

 soils, and how far it is capable of bearing cold when very young." 



Mr. Livingston, having made, with a view to introduce this 

 very useful plant (as I believe), more experiments, and upon a 

 larger scale than any other farmer in America up to that time, 

 drew the following conclusions, and based upon them, gave in- 

 structions to others who might choose to cultivate lucern : 



" First, it appears to me to be fully as hardy as clover, and 

 like it, to delight in a warm, dry soil, though it will flourish in 

 a moist clay, subject, however, to the same casualties in open 

 winters, when both will be thrown out by the frost. 



" Second, when very young it requires a natural or artificial 

 warmth in the soil, otherwise it languishes, and when the weeds 

 and natural grasses come up, it is unable to contend with them. 



" These two observations point, first, to the soil in which it 

 should be sown; to-wit, a warm, dry soil in tolerable heat; the 

 second, to the means of procuring the warmth which I speak of 

 as necessary to the plant. This may be obtained in two ways. 

 First, by dung, and, second, by sowing when the sun has given the 



