372 



EXPERIMENT M t FARM S 



2 GEORGE V., A. 1912 



Several strains of seed have been under trial, but up to the present there has been 

 very little difference in hardiness shown. Turkestan alfalfa is generally considered 

 somewhat hardier than the common alfalfa but it is not always so. Grimm's alfalfa, 

 a strain grown in .Minnesota for some years, has been found somewhat hardier than 

 any other strain tested at the Experimental Farm, Indian Head, Sask. A plot of 

 Grimm's alfalfa sown at Brandon in the spring of 1908, has given good returns and 

 has not winter killed, but neither has any of the other strains sown the same year. 



The seed may be sown any time after the middle of May until July 1. A nurse 

 crop of grain should never be used in this climate, as alfalfa sown with a nurse crop 

 has always been a failure. Fifteen or twenty pounds of seed per acre is sufficient. 



For several years we have sown our alfalfa with the ordinary grain drill. The 

 seed is mixed with about twice the quantity of coarsely chopped barley or wheat to 

 regulate the feed. The seed can be sown at a uniform depth by this method and is 

 much better covered than when sown broadcast. 



The plants should be clipped once or twice with a mower during the first season. 

 This keeps weeds from seeding and makes the young plants root better. The cuttings 

 may be allowed to lie on the ground as a mulch unless they are very heavy. The last 

 clipping should not be later than August 15, as the alfalfa should go into the winter 

 with a good top. The alfalfa should not on any account be pastured the first season 

 and should never be pastured close. 



Much of the value of alfalfa hay depends upon the curing. After it starts to bloom 

 the stalks rapidly become hard and woody and lose their feeding value. It should, 

 [therefore, be cut as soon as it commences to bloom, or, as it is sometimes stated, when 

 ,it is one-tenth in bloom. The most nutritious part of the plant is the leaves, and, to 

 save the leaves, the curing must be done in the cock. It should be raked into windrows 

 soon after cutting and at once put into small cocks to cure. In this way, the leaves 

 are all retained on the stalks and the hay has not lost any of its nourishing qualities. 

 It is usually an advantage to upset the cocks an hour or two before stacking or draw- 

 ling to the barn, to air the part that has been next the ground. Two cuttings are usu- 

 ally all that can be secured in Manitoba in a season. The last cutting should not v be 

 made later than the middle of August to enable the plants to make some growth before 

 Winter. 



To those who contemplate growing alfalfa, I would suggest that it be tried first 

 on a small scale, not more than one or two acres. When a small area becomes estab- 

 lished, it will furnish soil to inoculate as much land as it is desired to sow. 



Several different strains of alfalfa are growing at present on the Experimental 

 Farm. These were sown in 1907 and 1908. There has been practically no winter 

 killing up to the present. The mixtures of alfalfa with Eye grass and Timothy yield 

 a crop of mixed hay at the first cutting and a crop of pure alfalfa at the second cutting. 



Alfalfa Plots Sown in 1907 and 1908. 



YIELD OF HAY IX 1910. 



Name. 



Alfalfa (Indian Head seed) 



Alfalfa (Common) 



Grimm's alfalfa 



Turkestan alfalfa , 



Alfalfa and Timothy 



Alfalfa and Rye grass 



