ALFALFA. 117 



unless the roots can find their way through cracks. Alfalfa will 

 stand a certain amount of alkali in the ground, but it should be 

 leached out from the surface before the seed is sown, and afterwards 

 should be kept from five to six feet below by irrigation. Acidity 

 has always a detrimental influence. Where the soil is sour, an appli- 

 cation of lime will prove beneficial. 



Climate: As the roots go deep. Alfalfa, although dwarfed in 

 growth, is not seriously affected by severe drought. It likes a 

 reasonable amount of moisture but is sensitive to an excess. If the 

 subsoil is impervious, so that after a heavy rain the surface water 

 cannot drain off rapidly, the accumulation will prove disastrous or 

 will at least reduce the vitality of the plants. The soil must 

 therefore be kept well drained, especially in early spring. In poorly 

 drained fields, Alfalfa will be injured and sometimes killed in the 

 low spots where water has accumulated. An excess of water in the 

 ground will at least keep the plants back and prevent them from 

 making an early start. Where the drainage is poor, alternate freez- 

 ing and thawing does more harm than in well drained land as the 

 heaving of the soil injures the root system. The strain is often so 

 great that the taproot is ruptured and the plant dies. 



Inoculation: Like other leguminous plants. Alfalfa depends 

 for its vigorous development on the bacteria in the nodules of the 

 roots, which are closely related to, or perhaps identical with, those 

 on Sweet Clover; it thrives well on soil where Sweet Clover has been 

 grown. 



Habits of growth: Alfalfa is generally sown in the spring. 

 The young plants are delicate and succeed best where there is no 

 competition. The land should therefore be as free as possible from 

 weed seeds. As the plants are rather tender the first y( ar, they 

 should be given every chance to become as strong as prssible to 

 withstand the winter. It is therefore not advisable to cut or pasture 

 Alfalfa the first season. During the second and following years the 

 growth starts early and continues until late in the fall, new branches 

 developing from the crown of the root. Under favourable conditions 

 Alfalfa reaches a great age and gives large returns. 



Agricultural value: The feeding value of Alfalfa was recog- 

 nized in Persia long before the Christian era and it was highly es- 

 teemed by the Arabians. At present no fodder plant is known which 

 can compete with it in nutritive value and general importance for 

 feeding. It is relished by all kinds of stock, horses, cattle, sheep 



