Swine Growers' Sessio?i. 89 



grass, blue grass, white clover, and in some instances, Japan clover, 

 had crowded or smothered it out, and asking what to do to get it 

 cleaned again. Perhaps I cannot answer those questions better 

 than to give my own experience along that line. I had about three 

 acres that got in just the shape these writers tell me theirs did, i. e., 

 foxtail, crabgrass, blue grass, white clover and Japan clover were 

 crowding it to where it was dying out. I saw something must be 

 done or I would lose the piece. I tried the disk, cutting it both 

 ways, but when I would set the disk at an angle that would destroy 

 grasses it would injure the crown of many of the alfalfa plants, 

 and was not a success. I next tried a heavy spike tooth harrow, 

 that I had made to order for a new piece of stump land, and this 

 was no better, in fact, the Japan clover thrived under the treat- 

 ment. I have a spring tooth attachment to my cultivator, five little 

 plows on a side — ten in all. I tried this and in very few moments 

 I found I had struck the key note. I bought a spring tooth harrow 

 at once and went after the Japan clover. After going over it each 

 way I had torn up so much that I was compelled to rake it up in 

 wind rows with the hay rake and haul it off before I could do any 

 more. After another going over I had it cleaned and no injury to 

 the alfalfa was noticeable, as springs are flexible and will either 

 hang and jump over the plant or slide around and cut all the grass 

 right up against the roots. I might mention that there was a cor- 

 ner of that piece that was set with wild onions, and they were so 

 strong in the hay that the horses did not like to eat it, but the 

 spring tooth harrow made short work of them. After every cut- 

 ting I go over my entire alfalfa field with the spring tooth harrow 

 and do not have any more trouble with any foreign growth, and it 

 cultivates the plant and makes it grow much thrifter. The spring 

 tooth harrow is the tool to use on the alfalfa, in fact, it is a good 

 implement to have on the farm for many purposes. Since getting 

 mine I seldom use the steel smoothing harrow any more. 



DISCUSSION. 



Q. How many hogs do you feed to the acre of alfalfa? 



Mr. Gose — You can take a patch of alfalfa, say 14 acres, and 

 14 brood sows, one sow and her litter to one acre of alfalfa, let 

 them run through the year on the alfalfa, and it will hardly make 

 any impression on the crop. You will find they have trampled it 

 down in a few places and beat a few paths through it, but you 

 will go right on and get your crop oft* of it, and put your hogs on 



