Relation of Weather to Crops 55 



to be a little stemmy, and the plants are somewhat hairy, but these 

 difficulties are largely overcome when it is grown in a thick stand. 



Aside from the Peruvian, out of the 26 imported strains tested 

 at this Station only four seem worthy of further trial. These include 

 two from Europe and one each from South America and Turk- 

 estan. The strains from Arabia and the Mediterranean region 

 were very promising for the first year or two of their growth in the 

 experimental plots at Phoenix, but they soon lost stand to such 

 an extent that their yields dropped below the margin of profit. The 

 same difficulty has been experienced in other parts of Arizona where 

 these strains have been tested. The Mediterranean alfalfas are 

 vigorous, among the first to start in the spring, and the last in 

 autumn to cease growth. For these reasons they will generally 

 yield one more cutting to the season than any other variety, with 

 the exception of the Peruvian. Were it not, therefore, for their 

 tendency to lose stand, or if hardy strains of them could be devel- 

 oped, they would make a valuable introduction. 



Finally, with regard to varieties, it may be stated that with the 

 exception of the Peruvian alfalfa already mentioned, and in the 

 absence of selected, tested, and purified strains of other sorts, our 

 home-grown seed is probably better than any regional strain which 

 we would be able to import indiscriminitely at the present time. 

 The fact that Arizona now is, and should .iitinue to be, an exporter 

 of high-grade alfalfa seed rather than an importer, perhaps more 

 than anything else emphasizes the necessity of carefully guarding 

 the purity of our local type and standard of excellence. 



Cutting and curing. — The mowers should begin early in the 

 morning, as soon as the dew is off, if such has fallen. As soon as 

 the leaves are well withered, but before they become crisp, the 

 hay should be raked into windrows. If the leaves are allowed to 

 dry into a crisp before raking, many of them will shatter off and 

 be lost in this operation and, moreover, the subsequent curing 

 of the hay in the windrow or cock is not so satisfactory. The reason 

 ascribed for this is that the evaporation from the withered leaves 

 serves to extract water from the stems. If allowed to dry 

 quickly into a crisp their condition is such that they are no 

 longer able to do this. The stems therefore cure slowly and the 

 haymaker must either allow the leaves to become so dry that they 

 are for the most part lost by shattering, or else the stems must be 

 put into the bale or stack with such high moisture content that 

 injury by heating or moulding will occur. 



