252 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



before and summer plowed. In the spring harrowed once, sowed the seed 

 broadcast by hand, then harrowed twice and then rolled. The second 

 year cut it five times and got two tons to the acre at each cutting. That 

 was the dry year of 1901. This year cut it four times and it yielded two 

 tons to the acre at each cutting. 



The first cutting was the hardest to cure; the leaves would get dry 

 before the stems. I have another friend living on the Missouri river bot- 

 tom, whom I frequently visit, and from whom I caught the "hay fever" 

 that has been raising alfalfa for a longer period, some seven or eight 

 years. 



This he harvests, bales and hauls a distance of ten miles and sells 

 enough each year from each acre to more than pay for the land on which 

 it grows, and it is all gumbo at that. Before I was much acquainted with 

 the plant I asked him one time what he fed it to. "What would eat it 

 Oh, he says, everything on the place will eat it, and we make tea out of 

 the leaves and drink it ourselves. It tastes much like store tea and is 

 very much cheaper. It is needless to say this man is getting rich raising 

 alfalfa, and that in Iowa. 



Someone in high authority has said that the utility and great value 

 of alfalfa is beyond question No one at this stage of the business dis- 

 putes its value. The fact that it grows everywhere in the state, on hill, 

 valley, slope and table is now conceded. The only difference is in the 

 producing capacity of the various locations. The rich valleys just exactly 

 situated are the greatest producing lands for the crop, but the hill and 

 high table are producing good crops successfully. It is coming, brother 

 farmers, and if you want to be in the procession, you can's climb into the 

 band wagon too quickly. 



AN ALFALFA SEED BED. 



The Homestead. 



The drouth of 1901 aroused much interest in drouth-resisting plants. 

 Since much of the clover was killed out during the dry spell, the interest 

 naturally centers around other legumes that are mlore hardy, more espec- 

 ially the alfalfa. Without even giving this crop a trial on a small area 

 many persons are about to undertake its production on a large scale. To 

 those who have determined to grow 'alfalfa there is no reason why they 

 should be cautioned at this stage of the proceedings. However, we would 

 like to point out a few conditions that must be complied with right in the 

 beginning if a reasonable degree of success is to follow. 



A better seed for alfalfa may be prepared on fall than on spring 

 plowing, and we would strongly advise the use of such a soil. It should 

 be prepared the very first thing in the spring after the surface is dry 

 enough to work without puddling. The importance of this is not always 

 appreciated, and it is not uncommon to find alfalfa being seeded after 



