484 



Reading-Course for Farmers. 



On the College farm there are two soils on which we have grown 

 Alfalfa successfully. One produces it abundantly without lime, manure 

 and inoculation, the other on the same farm requires all these treatments 

 for success. If any one of the three things is omitted the Alfalfa fails. 



EXPERIMENT loi 



The object of this experiment is to see if Alfalfa will grow on your" 

 farm and to learn the most profitable way of growing it. 



Materials required, six-tenths of an acre of land, twelve stakes, six 

 bushels of lime, fifteen pounds (J) bushel of Alfalfa seed, soil from an 

 Alfalfa field or from a place where sweet clover grows. 



Directions. Unless the land selected is very rich, manure should be 

 applied to all the plots at the rate of about ten loads per acre or six loads 

 for this area. Plow the land early in the spring. 



Lay off a plot 8x12 rods and drive a stake every four rods as in the 

 figure. 



X X X 1 



Lime 



X- 



I 



X- 



-X- 



X Stakes 



I 



^ )>Sow alone 



3 

 Soil 



Lime Soil 



-X- 



-X- 



5 



Soil 



X- 



I 

 -X- 



Lime Soil 



Sow with barley or 

 oats 



-X^ 



Apply six bushels of lime to plots 2, 4, 6. This is at the rate of twenty 

 bushels or about 1500 pounds per acre. 



Inoculate plots 3, 4, 5, 6 with soil from an Alfalfa field or from a place 

 where sweet clover grows, using about one or two bushels. 



Sow one-third of the Alfalfa seed on plots 5 and 6 with about seven 

 quarts of barley or oats. 



Continue to harrow the other plots until all weeds are subdued, then 

 sow the Alfalfa alone, not later than August ist. 



The plots may of course, be of any size. The above areas are large 

 enough to answer the questions. If one desires to plant a larger area 

 the following year, he will know the best method to use and will have 

 soil for inoculation purposes, if inoculation proves to be necessary on 

 the farm. 



