436 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



Ordinarily, in our climate, the crop can be cut from three to four 

 times, although in no case should the last crop be harvested so late 

 as to prevent a growth of 8 to 10 inches before winter. If the crop 

 goes into the winter without a top, there is much danger of loss of 

 plants, especially if the land is not covered with snow. 



Harvesting for Hay. 



While alfalfa is somewhat difficult to cure, we have not found it 

 more so than red clover. It should be cut in the morning, after dew 

 is off, run over with a tedder early in the afternoon, to remove any 

 'iwater and admit air and heat, and raked and put into small cocks 

 before night. The cocks may be thrown out early next morning, 

 tedded once or twice, and again cocked, if not dry enough to haul to 

 barn. Throw out again the next morning, and then haul in. B> 

 this method of handling the alfalfa when in the wilted stage, the 

 leaves are not lost, and the bright green color and the aroma are re- 

 tained. If the weather is catchy, the cocks should be covered with 

 hay caps to prevent injury from rain or dampness. The cocks should 

 not remain too long in one place, or the plants under the heaps will 

 be injured, if not killed. Many farmers with large areas do not cock 

 at all, but rake and cure in windrows, bunching the hay with rake, 

 and hauling directly to the barn. This method, Avhile it does not 

 make so high a quality of hay, saves labor and avoids any possible in- 

 jury to the plants from the standing cocks. If care is taken to re- 

 move all adhering water, the haj-^ can be safely put in the barn, when 

 still containing considerable moisture. 



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The After-Fertilizers. 



Fertilizing the crop after seeding is also important, not only in- 

 creasing the yield, but extending the period of profitable crop])ing. 

 In our experience, the use of commercial fertilizer is preferable to 

 yard manure, iirovided, in the first j)laco. the lani! is good and the 

 croj) is allowed to go into winter with considerable top, as the man- 

 ure is usually a carrier of weed and grass seed, and the latter is quite 

 as bad, if not worse, than ordinary annual weeds, the former of which 

 may be kept down by continuous cutting, while grass is rather en- 

 couraged in its growth, and grass of any kind will surely and effectu- 

 ally crowd out the alfalfa. 



We use an annual dressing of a mixture of 150 11 s. arirl jthosplinte 

 and 50 lbs. of muriate of potash, applied at the rate of 200 to 400 lbs. 

 per acre, depending upon the character of soil applied, just after the 

 fir.st cutting, or just before the last cutting. The amount should not 

 be stinted as we must remember that enormous einantities are 

 oar'-if'd off" in a ooni]varativ(dy short time. Tf we could see the 

 trrowth of one year in ov.o crop, our ideas of the ])lant-food require- 

 ments would, I think, be clarified — we have obtained, by actual 

 measurements, in one season's crop a total height of 8 feet. We 

 also lime the growing crop once in three years, unless very heavily 

 limed when seeded. 



Enemies. 



Thus far the growers in the East have not encountered anv 

 serious difficulties in the way of insect pests and diseases, although 

 tbiere are many things to watch for and contend with in the way 



