284 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 



be plowed deeply and made mellow. It is then laid 

 off in furrows parallel to each other and spaced ac- 

 cording to the soil from 12" to 2' or 3' apart. Vari- 

 ous implements are in use for opening these furrows. 

 It is often done with a common plow, making rather 

 shallow furrows as close together as may be neces- 

 sary, or a special implement with several large 

 shovels affixed to a frame is used; this opens fur- 

 rows exactly parallel. A roller with ridges turned 

 to fit the furrows sometimes follows these plow 

 shovels and makes very smooth, even furrows down 

 which water may flow very nicely. 



The reader may wonder why these furrows are 

 made if the land is to be flooded. It can not be 

 flooded until the alfalfa is well established. 



Sowing Alfalfa on Irrigable Land. The next 

 thing to consider is sowing the seed and getting a 

 stand. Here one may as well foTget all that he has 

 known of alfalfa in the East. None of the condi- 

 tions are the same. In the arid regions one need not 

 trouble to inoculate; as a rule inoculation comes of 

 itself, we do not know how. He can sow in the early 

 spring to good advantage; later the sun is rather 

 hot and irrigation more difficult, though if that can 

 be effected it is as well to sow late as early. 



Fertilization is unknown, as the desert soils are 

 rich already in lime, some of them having in them 

 as much as 4 per cent of carbonate of lime, or as 

 much as 75 tons to the acre in the top foot of soil 

 alone. They are also rich in phosphorus, in potash, 

 in nearly everything that alfalfa desires. 



