222 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



ALFALFA IX MICHIGAN. 



C. U SMITH. 



t 



Bulletin No. 225. 

 INTRODUCTION. 



There were discussions concerning the value of alfalfa to Michi^sran farmerp 

 as early as 1888. when the crop was editorially recommended for trial, especially 

 on the lighter soils of central Michigan and on worn lands in the southern part 

 of the State. Not much was written on the topic, however, and there were few 

 successes recorded. Some correspondents in Eaton, Lenawee and Oakland counties 

 reported trials hut usually the winters were found too hard for the crops as 

 they were then handled. 



On the other hand the rural press for the last five years has heen full of re- 

 ports of trials of alfalfa under all kinds of conditions, some correspondents re- 

 porting success, others failure. Clover has failed occasionally and there has been 

 an earnest effort to secure another forage crop richer still in protein. Alfalfa 

 has succeeded in western United States and has yielded abundant crops of hay 

 rich in protein and very palatable. It is therefore to be expected that it should 

 be extensivly tested in Michigan. 



The first mention of alfalfa in the publications of the station occurs in the 

 report of Professor Samuel .Tohnson, Agriculturist, in 1889, page 271 of the Annual 

 Report of the Secretary, 1889. Professor Johnson says: "Plat 2 (one acre) was 

 sown with twenty pounds of alfalfa seed. This came up in one week from the 

 date of sowing and continued to grow, and June 9 covered the ground fairly 

 well. The highest plants were four inches above the ground and the roots extended 

 more than this below the surface. A frost on the night of June 1 injured the 

 alfalfa to quite an extent. The alfalfa was dark green, and until affected by the 

 drouth in July when it turned yellow, made a fair growth; although some of it 

 seemed dead, the roots were not affected and later in the season it revived and 

 made a fair growth. The alfalfa feeds mainly from the subsoil, and for this 

 reason many fail to get as good results as they look for. It thrives best on an old 

 soil, that which has received deep thorough tilling for some years." The farther 

 history of the field is not given, beyond the fact that the crop did not withstand 

 the winter. 



On each succeeding year, small fields of alfalfa have been sown on the college 

 farm or the station plots, studying the adaptation of alfalfa to Michigan condi- 

 tions. In 1893 and 1894 special efforts were made to bring this forage crop 

 into prominence because the depredations of the root borer had made the suc- 

 cessful growing of clover impossible. 



Early in the year 1894 the station issued a brief press bulletin in which alfalfa 

 was recommended for further trial and at the close of the same year Bulletin 

 125 was issued giving facts in regard to alfalfa with the preliminary statement 

 as to the kind of soil on which it might be expected to do best, and directions 

 for sowing and caring for the growing crop. In 1896 Bulletin 141 was sent out 

 in which the history of alfalfa in Michigan for that year was recounted. 



A two acre field on the south bank of the Red Cedar River was sown to alfalfa 

 in 1895. The soil varied from a stiff clay to a light coarse sand of low fertility. 

 The seed was purchased in the open market and was said to be fresh and 

 American grown. It was sown on well prepared ground at the rato of 20 pounds 

 of seed per acre, in May. The crop survived the winter in good shape and four 

 cuttings were made in 189C, May 28, June 29, August 17 and September 2G. The 

 total yield of dry hay per acre was 9.937 pounds. After the last cutting tha 

 alfalfa made a good growth and the field was green and very promising. In the 

 spring of 1S97. however, not a living alfalfa root could be found on the entire tw© 

 acres. Although the winter was not extraordinarily severe, and although the 

 field was fairly well covered with snow the destruction of the alfalfa seemed 

 to bp complete. 



