EXPERIMENTS WITH ALFALFA. 31 



mixturo with timotliv. wlncli appears to bo uiuil)le to compete with 

 alfalfa. In the mixture of several j^rasses it was the orchard oruss 

 that took the lead, the ])lot l)eiiio- estimated to consist of about one- 

 third of this o-rass. 



Another plot of alfalfa and brome-gTass sown in equal parts in 1899 

 has had a similar development, but at the present time the l)rome- 

 grass has succeeded in nearly crowdino- out the alfalfa. In the plots 

 where l)rome-o-rass was sown with alfalfa — both the conunon and 

 Turkestan — it was noted that the grass appeared mort> vigorous in 

 those places where the alfalfa was thickest, and that the grass in these 

 plots appeared also to be more vigorous than in adjacent plots where 

 there was no alfalfa. It would ai)])ear that the ])rome-grass derived 

 some advantage from the fertilizing etlect of the alfalfa. (See PI. 

 IV, tig. 2.) 



It will be of interest to record here the results obtained hy two 

 correspondents in sowing alfalfa upon native grass in the sand-hill 

 region. 



William Faoan, foreman of the Robert Tavlor ranch at Abbott, Hall 

 County, states that he disked the sandy sod three times, lapping the 

 disk half each time, and sowed 20 pounds of seed ])er acre. This was 

 in the spring of 1902. A good stand was obtained, and in 1908 a 

 crop of hay was cut consisting of about one-third prairie hay and 

 two-thirds alfalfa. The alfalfa succeeded better on the knolls where 

 the sod was more thoroughly ])roken. 



Mr. H. yV. Sullivan, Broken Bow, Custer County, states: "Begin- 

 ning in the early spring and continuing up until August, I caused light 

 sandy soil to be broken. I disked this well, harrowed it down 

 smoothly, put seed in with a press drill, 15 pounds to the acre, and got 

 a splendid stand on every foot of it.'' He remarks that the best stand 

 seemed to follow the August sowing. 



Meadow Fescue. 



Meadow fescue {Festticajyratensis) is a native of Europe and has been 

 cultivated in this country for many years. It can not compete with 

 timothy Avhere the latter is at its best, but being more drought resist- 

 ant, its range is somewhat more extended in the West, as indicated in 

 the paragraph upon orchard grass. It is more common in the Middle 

 South, Avhere it is grown as a winter grass, being sown in the autunni. 



In Nebraska it is recommended that it be sown with orchard grass 

 in the spring. It can also be sown alone or with clover, and in 

 Nebraska is best adapted for pasture, though it can also be used for 

 hay. For the latter purpose, however, brome-grass or alfalfa give 

 better returns. 



Many seedsmen sell meadow fescue under the name of English blue- 

 grass, but the latter name is inappropriate, as the grass is not a 



