CLIPPING ALFALFA SEEDINGS 233 



sembled well-graded roads; the summit of each ridge 

 was about 2' above the furrow. The land being im- 

 mensely hard, broke up in great lumps and clods. These 

 we made no effort to subdue, as they were quite hopeless. 

 When rain came at last the clods melted, then the disk 

 and other harrows were used and the land made into a 

 fine seedbed. In September, weather and soil conditions 

 were right, and the seed was sown. It came up well and 

 made a good growth before cold weather. The follow- 

 ing year each of the fields made fine harvests of hay, 

 probably the best that had ever been grown in the Mis- 

 sissippi bottoms in Louisiana. These buckshot soils need- 

 ing no inoculation, none was given. I mention this in- 

 stance to point a lesson. The preparation for alfalfa 

 went on up to seeding time. All the land that was 

 plowed early made good alfalfa, the first plowed lands 

 the best. From this degree of value there was steady 

 deterioration, till at last there was complete failure. The 

 early-prepared land is the winner with alfalfa sowing, 

 since one can not in late plowings often get a fine, moist, 

 firm seedbed. 



Do Not Clip Seedings of Alfalfa. Nothing is to be 

 done with late-seeded alfalfa except to leave it alone. If 

 one can stimulate it by fertilization at the time of seed- 

 ing to make rapid growth well and good; one can help 

 it no more after the seed is sown in the ground. Neither 

 clip, pasture nor even let an animal set foot- on it again 

 till warm weather in spring. The one thing that one 

 may do in the North is to go over it with the manure 

 spreader after the land freezes and sprinkle it with ma- 

 nure enough to prevent the frequent freezing and thaw- 



