33S 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



May 



clayey. After it gets a good start it can be 

 cut every four or tive weeks. It should be 

 put on rich hind, well drained. It will not 

 stand too much water. This is indicated 

 by its i)reference for tlie desert wastes in 



ALFALFA BL003I AND FOLIACiK. 



the rainless regions. Some writers tell us 

 that there should be a depth of soil above 

 the rock, ten or tifteen feet, and some go 

 even so far as to claim that the roots will 

 go down in search of moisture as much as 

 twenty feet. If sown early, and a good 

 stand obtained, it may be cut the first year. 

 The second year it yields two cuttings, and 

 afterward three and four cuttings, in a sea- 

 son. It has been grown successfully in 

 Wisconsin, but no rei)ort has been made of 

 honey obtained from it there. 



It yields from three to five tons per acre, 

 and some rejjorts go as high as eight or ten 

 tons. It gives from three to five cuttings to 

 the season, and, under favorable circum- 

 stances, even six or seven have been made. 

 For drill jdanting, 10 or 12 lbs. of seed per 

 acre is sufficient. For broadcast, however, 

 15 or 20 lbs. is better. For the best hay it 

 should be cut when blooming commences. 

 If raised by bee-keepers, however, they will 

 prefer to leave it until the bees have made a 

 pretty good crop of honey from the bloom. 



The liay is said to be better, however, when 

 cut about as soon as it is in full bloom. All 

 kinds of stock, even i)Oultry, take to it with 

 avidity at first sight. For soiling purposes 

 it is probably imetiualed, especially if cut 

 and wilted two or tliree hours in the hot 

 sun. Thus a supply may be kept for morn- 

 ing, noon, and night feeding. Working an- 

 imals will get along with very little grain 

 when su])plied in this way with alfalfa. 

 IS'othing gives better results for milch cows. 

 Pigs, lambs, and colts, are very fond of it, 

 and thrive when so fed. It may be grazed 

 moderately, but heavy close grazing will de- 

 stroy it. Properly managed, it will yield 

 lioney crops for 40 years. We are told that 

 there are heavy fields of it in South Ameri- 

 ca that have been growing continuously for 

 centuries. It has been tested by the States 

 more or less for perhaps 50 years past. From 

 the fact, however, that it has been mostly 

 abandoned, except in the great West, I am 

 inclined to think it will not come into gen- 

 eral favor unless under very favorable con- 

 ditiinis, or because it yields honey as well 

 as hay. 



Some writers claim that the amount of 

 rain we have here would be fatal to it during 

 the majority of seasons. Others say, how- 

 ever, that the rain will do no harm, provid- 

 ing the land is thoroughly imderdrained. It 

 is quite certain, I believe, that great quan- 

 tities of seed have been sold l)y seedsmen at 

 enormous prices, because of exaggerated 

 accounts given in the seed catalogues— that 

 is, exaggerated in regard to the great dei)th 

 to which the root grows in ordinary soils, 

 and also in regard to its adaptability to all 

 localities. At tjie ])resent writing, the seed 

 is worth witli us about $7.5!) per bushel ; but 

 we see it advertised in the Pacific States as 

 low as three or four dollars a bushel. Tlie 

 price of the seed will, however, probably be 

 very soon equalized, to the advantage of 

 both parties. In rainless regions, where ir- 

 rigation is depended upon, there is none of 

 the difficulty in growing it perfectly that we 

 have here. On this account it has been sr.g- 

 gested that alfalfa hay may sometimes be 

 shipped from the Great American Desert to 

 ('luca2,o, and i)ossibly other jioints, cheaper 

 than hay of equal (juality can be ])ro(luce(l 

 in regions where rain is plentiful. 



