15 



alsike clover, 2 lbs. ; white clover, 2 lbs. ; meadow fescue, 4 lbs. ; orchard 

 grass, 4 lbs. ; tall oat grass, 3 lbs. ; meadow foxtail, 2 lbs. ; and timothy, 

 2 lbs. ; thus making a total of 24 pounds of seed per acre. These varie- 

 ties are all very hardy. Some of those used in Great Britain are not 

 permanent in this country. None of the smaller growing varieties, such 

 as the blue grasses and the bent grasses are mentioned, as there is scarcely 

 a farm in Ontario in which the Canadian blue grass, the Kentucky blue 

 grass or the red top will not grow naturally. The varieties here recom- 

 mended are strong vigorous growers. Some of them produce pasture 

 very early in the spring and others later in the season. Most of the 

 varieties are superior to timothy in producing a growth during the hot, 

 dry weather which occasionally occurs in the months of July and August" 

 The seed can be sown in the early spring either alone or with a light 

 seeding of spring wheat or of barley. Such a mixture as this when well 

 established on suitable land should furnish a pasture, abundant in growth, 

 excellent in quality, and permanent in character. 



Conclusion. 



Alfalfa should be very carefully tested on many farms throughout 

 Ontario. Its large yields of nutritious feed for farm stock, its perennial 

 character of growth, and its beneficial influence on the soil, are all 

 features which commend it very highly for those farms on which it can 

 be grown succesfully. 



There are different ways of laying down a plot or a field to Alfalfa, 

 and we would suggest the following method as one which is likely to 

 give very excellent results. Select land having a clean, mellow, fertile 

 surface soil overlying a deeply drained subsoil having no acidity. Use 

 large, plump seed, free from impurities and strong in germinating power. 

 Inoculate the seed with the proper kind of bacteria, providing Alfalfa has 

 not been grown successfully on the land in recent years. As early in the 

 spring as the land is dry enough and warm enough to be worked to good 

 advantage, make a suitable seed-bed and immediately sow about twenty 

 pounds of Alfalfa seed per acre from the grass seed box placed in front 

 of the grain drill, and about one bushel of spring wheat or of barley per 

 acre from the tubes of the drill. Smooth the land with a light harrow or 

 with a weeder, and if it is very loose and rather dry, also roll it and again 

 go over it with the harrow or the weeder. As soon as ripe, cut the grain 

 and avoid leaving it on the land longer than necessary. Give the Alfalfa 

 plants every opportunity to get a good start in the autumn in preparation 

 for the winter. If for hay, cut each crop of Alfalfa in the following year 

 as soon as it starts to bloom. In curing, try to retain as many of the 

 leaves on the stems as possible, and to protect the crop from rain. Never 

 cut or pasture Alfalfa sufficiently close to the ground to remove the crowns 

 of the roots, and thus injure or possibly kill the plants. If these direc- 

 tions are followed, the Alfalfa may be expected to produce large and 

 valuable crops for a number of years without re-seeding. 



