582 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



that it may become thoroughly established before animals are allowed 

 to tramp over it. It should never be pastured closely, as this injures the 

 crowns of the plants. Horses and sheep are more likely to do damage in 

 this way than are cattle or hogs. With cattle and sheep, care must be 

 exercised to avoid bloating. At first the animals should be turned in for 

 only a short time each day, and when the alfalfa is wet with dew or 

 rain there is still greater need of care to avoid bloating. It is wise to be 

 a little more careful than with clover. 



SUMMABY. 



Alfalfa may be successfully raised on almost any type of soil providing 

 that it is well drained, free of weeds and in a reasonable state of fertility. 



Good drainage must be provided. 



The ground must be made free of weed seeds. 



Soils lacking in fertility should be well manured, as alfalfa requires 

 large amounts of plant food. If sufficient manure is not to be had, it 

 should be supplemented with a commercial fertilizer rich in phosphoric 

 acid and potash. 



If the soil is sour, it must be limed before alfalfa can do well. 



Inoculation of the soil will generally be necessary. 



THE TIME TO CUT ALFALFA. 



(breeders gazette.) 



There are today a multitude of men with their first crops of alfalfa on 

 their hands, wondering when it ought to be cut. I am assured that to know 

 when to cut alfalfa after one gets it is absolutely essential to one's success. 

 Half the novices hurt or ruin their alfalfa by ignorance of this thing. 



Never cut alfalfa until it is ready to cut. Alfalfa cut too early is very 

 seriously injured, receiving a setback from which it may not recover for 

 some weeks. Why this is true we do not know, nor does it matter since 

 it is an indisputable fact. Sometimes alfalfa cut too soon is almost killed 

 outright. This is more apt to be true of the second or third cutting than 

 of the first, but it is true also of the first cutting. Do not pasture alfalfa 

 in the spring before it has reached near to the blooming tihie. This is a 

 rule that, if observed, will immensely conserve the alfalfa and result in 

 the least possible loss of animals as well. 



When you suspect that the alfalfa may be ready to cut, when it has 

 begun to show bloom, get down on your knees in the field and, parting 

 the stems look closely at the bases of them to see if small shoots have 

 started that are to make the next crop. If these shoots have not started 

 delay your cutting until they do start. If they are an inch long start the 

 mowers. The crop should be all cut before these shoots are long enough 

 so that they will themselves be cut off by the mower. For that reason 

 once one finds his alfalfa ready to cut he should hurry the work as much 

 as possible. I. O. O'Donnell of Montana cuts down 400 acres at one time 

 when the alfalfa is ready for cutting, but he has a rainless climate in 

 which to get up the hay and much facility for getting it up rapidly. Do 

 not delay long to cut when the time is ready, even though the weather 



