ALFALFA 109 



27. At what stage should red clover be cut for hay? 



28. In what kinds of fields are permanent pastures often found? 



29. Name the plants to be grown in the best pastures. 



30. Mention some of the bad conditions associated with permanent 

 pastures. 



31. Tell of five things to help maintain permanent pastures. 



References. — U. S. Farmers' Bulletins: 28, Weeds: And How to 

 Kill Them; 121, Beans, Peas, and Other Legumes as Food; 164, Rape as 

 a Forage Crop; 224, Canadian Field Peas; 278, Leguminous Crops for 

 Green Manuring; 312, A Successful Southern Hay Farm; 315, Progress 

 in Legume Inoculation; 323, Clover Farming on the Sandy Jack- 

 pine Lands of the North; 331, Forage Crops for Hogs in Kansas and 

 Oklahoma; 361, Meadow Fescue: Its Culture and Uses; 362, Conditions 

 Affecting tlie Value of Market Hay; 402, Canada Bluegrass: Its Culture 

 and Uses. 



CHAPTER XL 

 ALFALFA. 



Alfalfa is the best milk-producing crop we can grow. 

 It may be used either for green feed or for hay, but in the 

 East it is best not to pasture it. It is so rich in protein that 

 a ton of the dry hay is equal to a ton of bran for dairy cows. 

 It produces heavy yields; the farmer may expect from four 

 to five or even six or seven tons of cured hay each season 

 from an acre. 



Alfalfa as Green Feed. — As a green feed there is nothing 

 that will excel it. Alfalfa reproduces itself frequently and 

 constantly throughout the summer, by a quick new growth 

 each time it is cut. A good stand of alfalfa on four or five 

 acres will supply all the green feed needed for a herd of 

 twenty-five cows from the latter part of May until the middle 

 of September. A little is cut at a time so as to keep it always 

 rather fresh for the cows. By the time the entire field is thus 

 fed off, the side of the field first cut is again ready for cutting. 



A Soil Improver. — There is one more strong argument in 

 favor of alfalfa growing, viz., it is a soil improver. The roots 

 reach down deep and recover lost minerals such as potash 

 and phosphoric acid. The plant is a great feeder on nitrogen 



