The Bulletin. 41 



rolled and reharrowed until a good seed bed is formed. Either soil 

 from a field where alfalfa is growing successfully at the rate of 500 

 pounds per acre, should hare been applied and harrowed in, or culture 

 should be obtained to inoculate the seed. "Where one has a disk grain 

 drill the seed could be wet and mixed with the soil and sowed out of 

 the fertilizer attachment of the drill. Set the drill to sow from 300 to 

 500 pounds of soil per acre and have the seed, about 30 pounds per 

 acre, thoroughly mixed with the soil. If no soil is available and culture 

 is to be used, the directions accompanying the culture should be fol- 

 lowed to the letter. In seeding it is well when sowed by hand to divide 

 the seed and sow half of them one way and them sow the other half at 

 right angles to the way the first was sowed. In this way there will be 

 a more even distribution of the seed than if they were all sowed one way. 

 This same method would also give more even distribution of the seed 

 when sowed with a drill or with a seeder. They can be covered by a 

 weeder or light harrow, going over the land first lengthwise and then 

 crosswise, covering the seed from a half inch to an inch deep. If soil is 

 of a compact nature, less than one inch of covering will prove sufficient ; 

 while if more or less open, the seed should be placed in the soil two 

 inches. In other words, the more open the soil the deeper, other things 

 being equal, the seed may be put with safety. Should the land on which 

 the alfalfa is sown be of such a character as to run together and harden 

 when dry, it will frequently be found advisable to run over the field 

 with a light harrow to break the crust formed should a rain fall 

 before the seed have sprouted very much, because if this is not done a 

 large percentage of the young and tender plants will perish in their 

 futile efforts to reach the air and sunshine. Where spring seeding is 

 permissible or advisable, the same thorough preparation advised for 

 fall seeding should be given for the spring seeding. 



In spring seeding, sow early. A great deal is to be gained by the 

 early sowing. For the warmer sections of the State, sow as early as the 

 middle of March and up to the middle of April for the cooler and 

 mountainous sections. However, spring sowing is not advisable in 

 sections where crab-grass grows freely. In these sections it is far pref- 

 erable to sow alfalfa in the fall. 



Treatment First Year. 



The first year is the most critical period of its life, for if the proper 

 treatment is not given its failure will almost invariably follow, notwith- 

 standing the fact that the young plants mav have started off with every 

 prospect of success. With early fall seeding, it is not usually best to 

 clip before winter, as an eight or ten-inch growth is necessary to carry 

 it through the winter and give it a good start the following spring. Or- 

 dinarily the normal mowings for hay when the alfalfa plants have gone 

 to bloom will be sufficient to hold the weeds in check during the first 

 year, as with a good start the preceding fall the plants will usually pro- 

 duce a good crop of hay by the middle of May or before the weeds have 

 had time to prove themselves troublesome. 



If at any time, however, the plants turn yellow or the weeds threaten 

 to choke them out, it will be best to set the cutter-bar on the mower 



