306 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



"I think alfalfa will grow in any place in the state, seeing that it grew 

 here." 



''I have been trying to grow alfalfa for some time but will have to re- 

 port a failure." 



"Alfalfa is a very valuable crop for this section as quite a little stock 

 is kept." 



PARTIAL SUMMARY. 



1. Alfalfa is rapidly coming into favor as a farm crop in Michigan, 

 ninety-two ]>er cent of llie farmers reporting, expressing a good or 

 medium opinion of alfalfa a?; a farm crop in their respective sections. 

 More successful seedings have probably been made during the past three 

 or four years than in all the previous history of alfalfa in Michigan. 

 Many growers who have been successful in former attempts to grow 

 alfalfa are now seeding much larger acreages. 



L*. The two i)rincipal causes of failure in growing alfalfa have been 

 poor preparation of the seed bed and the lack of inoculation. A de- 

 cided improvement, however, is noticeable in the cultural methods prac- 

 ticed throughout the state and in practically all the new seedings some 

 means are taken of securing an inoculation of nitrogen fixing bacteria. 

 Among other imjiortant causes of failure are acid soils, light infertile 

 soils, poorly drained soils, use of nurse croj) and in case of late seedings, 

 winter killing. 



8. Alfalfa is being grown successfully on a variety of soil types 

 throughout the state. The particular type of soil does not appear to be 

 of much imjjortance but soils that are shallow by reason of the water 

 table or rock formation near the surface and very light infertile soils 

 should be avoided. Farmers on light sandy soils should seed on their 

 best land and may need to take some special means of building up the 

 fertility of the soil. Farmers in the better agricultural sections should 

 as a rule seed on the higher lands of the farm because this land is most 

 in need of improvement; because the alfalfa as a rule is productive on 

 this land and because the soil most productive with corn and other 

 crops is left for the growing of these crops. 



4. Alfalfa should not be seeded after a grass sod but may follow 

 a cultivated or small grain crop. The j)reparation of the seed bed should 

 be thorough and extend over a period of several weeks, so as to secure a 

 firm and finely pulveri/.ed seed bed in which the weeds and weed seeds 

 have been as completely eradicated as possible. 



5. The use of manure in seeding alfalfa is advisable if applied some 

 time before seeding or after the alfalfa has come up and made some little 

 growth. It is not advisable to turn under a heavy ai)plication in a 

 (piickly prepared seed bed as this tends to hold up the soil and allow it 

 to dry out, or to apply as a top dressing shortly before seeding, because 

 of the introduction of the weed seeds. 



0. There are doubtless many conditions under which commercial fer- 

 tilizer.^ judiciously applied, may profitably be used to stimulate a more 

 vigorous growth both in the new and old seedings but the idea that is 

 more or less prevalent that commercial fertilizers may be used to im- 

 mediately make any soil productive is a fallacy, and until further data 

 is available at least, commercial fertilizers should be ai>plied in an ex- 

 I>erimental way to learn what may best be used under local conditions. 



