Rural School Leaflet. 



963 



VIII 



Alfalfa 

 G. F. Warren 



LFALFAisof interest to farmers of New York 

 State, and it would be well to have the chil- 

 dren in rural districts make experiments in 

 growing it. 

 There are four things which often cause the failure of 

 alfalfa, — weeds, lack of lime in the soil, lack of inocu- 

 lation, and lack of fertility. On some farms all four of 

 these points need to be considered; on some the grower 

 may ignore all and still be successful; on other farms 

 one or more of them must be taken into account. In 

 order to see whether alfalfa will grow on the school grounds and in 

 order to see how best to grow it, lay out the following plats, each one a 

 rod square. Drive stakes at each corner. 



Sow about eight quarts of lime on plats 2 and 4; that is, four quarts 

 for each square rod, which is equivalent to twenty bushels on an acre. 

 Obtain some soil from a place where alfalfa or sweet clover is growing, 

 and scatter a few quarts of it on plats 3 and 4, being careful not to get 

 any of it on the other plats. Sow a light seeding of oats or, preferably 

 barley. A little over a quart of either one is sufficient. Sow three- 

 fourths of a pound of alfalfa on the area and rake it all in. 



After the soil has been sown on the plats, care should be exercised 

 not to rake any of the soil from the plats that receive inoculation to 

 those which did not receive inoculation (the soil from the alfalfa or 

 sweet clover field carries bacteria for inoculation). 



