38 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 



it is certainly true when the hay is fed and the 

 manure carefully saved and returned, to make an- 

 other spot rich for alfalfa to grow upon. 



The story of Woodland Farm is 'only half told; 

 the rest lies in the future. We have some acres that 

 yield as much as 6 tons of hay each year, yet the 

 average of the whole farm is less than 4 tons. Thus 

 we are not yet inclined to boast of our success with 

 alfalfa. We now are proceeding to try to spread 

 these good yielding areas. What is the secret of the 

 lands yielding alfalfa so well? Perhaps we do not 

 know the whole story, but here is what we can readily 

 observe. One of these spots is a round hillock. It 

 is a strong, tough, tenacious limestone clay. Stick- 

 ing all through that clay are bits of limestone peb- 

 bles, as large as grains of corn, as large as a man's 

 foot, and of all sizes. These pebbles are of soft mag- 

 nesian limestone. They readily decay and keep the 

 land very sweet. Alfalfa roots seem to like actually 

 to touch carbonate of lime. On that hillock the al- 

 falfa never gets old. It is one of the most productive 

 spots on the farm. On it our father put much ma- 

 nure, for it was, when he bought the farm, extremely 

 unproductive. We have not manured here for many 

 years. 



On other lands we find the limestone pebbles all 

 dissolved away in the surface soil. When we dig 

 down two feet we find them in abundance, but on 

 the surface there are none. Here we are assuming 

 that lime is needed, and are putting on more car- 

 bonate of lime, buying ground and unburned lime- 



