36 



Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 



FERTILIZING. 



Alfalfa requires a fertile soil, and where fertilization is found neces- 

 sary in Kansas barnyard manure is used almost exclusively. The little 

 commercial fertilizer that is used is used in the southeastern corner of 

 the state, where on the uplands there is often a shortage of phosphorus. 

 Manure is best applied with a spreader, a year previous to seeding. The 

 amount applied varies somewhat with the condition of the soil and the 

 climate. About ten or twelve tons per acre seems to be the average. In 

 the western part of the state the amount is given at about eight tons, be- 

 cause in that dry climate it does not decay so readily and has a tendency 

 to fire and burn and to admit of too thorough an aeration of the soil. 



A report from Wilson county in regard to fertilization reads as fol- 

 lows: "I have used a great deal of manure and find it very beneficial, 

 but have watched alfalfa seedings after cowpeas, and think cowpeas the 

 very best kind of fertilizer." (See pages 238 to 241.) 



FIG. 24. Manure is best applied with a spreader, at the rate of ten or twelve 

 tons per acre. [Courtesy International Harvester Company.] 



FIG. 25. A wasteful way of distributing manure, which is rapidly passing out 

 of practice. [Courtesy International Harvester Company.] 



