176 



Farmers' Bulletin SSV gives the following cost of production 

 for the Eastern States : 



Plowing $ 2.00 



Harrowing 1 .00 



Fertilizers 10.00 



Lime 5.00 



Rent 3.50 



Seed. 25 lbs. at 18c 4.50 



Seeding 50 



Harvesting 3 tons at $2 6.00 



Plowing under alfalfa . . . ; 3.00 



Total cost $35.50 



Three tons alfalfa at $15 $45.00 



Cost to be deducted 35.50 



Profit $ 9.50 



The experiments at the College of Hawaii were begun last 

 August, and the yearly cost and yields cannot be accurately cal- 

 culated at present, but $175 may be considered as a fairly good 

 estimate of the annual cost per acre. This is rather high because 

 of the necessary accuracy of weighing, etc., during the experi- 

 ments, and the small plots which do not permit of the use of ma- 

 chinery to any extent. While the cost to establish the crop is 

 high, the crop is lasting and subsequent harvests and cultivation 

 cost but very little. At our last harvest, the total cost of cutting, 

 weighing and cultivating a single crop was $19.92 per acre, or 

 $2.25 per ton of green fodder obtained, not a bad investment witli 

 the market price of the product at $5 per ton. 



1. I'arictics Under Test. Utah. Kansas and .\ustralian 

 strains of the common alfalfa and the Arabian variety were 

 seeded August 20-22. 1912. in >^-acre plots at the rate of 15 lbs. 

 per acre. The seed was drilled in rows 12 inches apart and 200 

 feet long. A light rainfall during the night of August 21 left the 

 soil in good condition, with the result of good strong germination 

 in all four plots. 



2. Troubles Begin. Germination of the alfalfa seed was ac- 

 companied by that of a greater number of weeds, which kept what 

 little labor there was to be had con.stantly busy at weeding. Be- 

 fore the i)lants had become more than a few inches high, the at- 

 tack of cut worms described above made things still more discour- 

 aging, not only by their destructiveness, but also by their per- 

 sistence. 



