Spraying for the Alfalfa Weevil. 7 
put them at the mercy of the weevil larvee, somewhat as does the cut- 
ting of the first crop. Spraying has been done in such cases, ap- 
barontly with good results, but this is still a matter for experiment. 
In the average season the conditions he between those of the two 
extremes just described. The checking of growth occurs about 10 
days before the first crop is ready to cut, and spraying at that time 
enables the crop to finish its growth. This fully repays the cost of 
the treatment and is one of the principal arguments for it, especially 
in districts where the scarcity of late water makes the first crop the 
important one. 
Fig. 4.—Second crop saved by spraying. The strip of bare stubble near the fence was 
left untreated at the spraying of the first crop. 
SECOND-CROP PROTECTION. 
In well-watered sections of the country, where a second crop can 
be grown, the profit realized by the first crop is only part of the re- 
sults of spraying. The greater gain is in protection of the second 
_ crop, as shown in figure 4, from the larvee which gather upon the 
small buds and prevent all growth during the three weeks or more 
that their feeding continues. Spraying produces a more uniform 
second crop than does brush dragging, as shown in figure 5. If the 
larvee have been poisoned through spraying of the first crop, the 
second crop sprouts and grows without delay, and no treatment of 
the stubble is necessary. 
