seed bed fairly well prepared, but somewhat weedy, the replies were 

 decidedly for the heavy seedings: 



91 per cent declared in favor of 20 pounds an acre. 

 7 per cent declared in favor of 1 5 pounds an acre. 

 2 per cent declared in favor of 10 pounds an acre. 



Naturally the farmer would prefer the ten-pound rate because of 

 the lower seed cost, but in spite of this his judgment is for double 

 the amount, especially for those beginning alfalfa growing. This 

 should not convey the impression that a few extra pounds of seed 

 will make up for a pODrly prepared seed bed, but it does mean that 

 weeds and blue grass necessitate heavy seeding for the farmers of 

 the East and Middle West. 



Less Seed Required with Good Soil Preparation 



After alfalfa has been successfully grown for a number of years 

 on a farm and the soil has become thoroughly inoculated and adapted, 

 ten to fifteen pounds an acre may prove sufficient. This is especially 

 true when good seed of the hardy and wide-spreading strains of 

 variegated alfalfa, such as Grimm, Baltic, Canadian or Cossack, is used. 



The Eight-Inch Rule 



It is not possible to formulate a rigid set of rules for growing al- 

 falfa, but here is one that can always be safely followed: Alfalfa 

 should have a growth of at least eight inches before winter weather 

 occurs. It requires this amount of growth to withstand the rigors 

 of alternate freezing and thawing. (See Fig. 45.) 



Late Summer Seeding Dangerous 



This means that the seed must be sown in the spring or early 

 enough in the summer or fall to arrive at eight-inch development 

 before the first alfalfa-killing frosts. August seeding may do very 

 well where "growing weather lasts well on into November, but it is 

 very risky in such northern states as Wisconsin, Michigan and Min- 

 nesota. In the northern part of these states I have known of failure 

 by winter-killing of alfalfa seeded July fifteenth, while success ob- 

 tained in adjacent fields seeded in June. 



Because of widely varying soil and climatic conditions it is im- 

 possible to set a definite date after which it is too late to seed alfalfa 

 in any given locality, but the eight-inch rule will apply most em- 

 phatically where winter-killing is a problem to be contended with. 



Slow Spring Growth Follows Late Summer or Fall Seeding 



A plant with its root system well established is equipped to with- 

 stand cold and freezing much better than one that has just started 

 to grow. This is well illustrated by an experiment at the Wiscon- 

 sin station. Seedings were made August fourth and twenty-fifth, 

 September fifteenth and twenty-fifth, The following spring a re- 

 markable difference in the size and vigDr of growth resulted the 

 later seedings being decidedly weaker, in spite of the fact that ex- 

 cellent fall growing weather occurred after each seeding and the 

 winter was very mild. Under severe climatic conditions undoubt- 

 edly the last three plantings would have entirely winter-killed. The 

 relative root and stem growth the following May is shown in the 

 table: (See Fig. 33.) 



34 



