50 Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 



of the state. Returns indicate that a nurse crop is not successful unless 

 there is a very abundant supply of moisture, returns from the western 

 part of the state particularly indicating that such a crop is likely to rob 

 the alfalfa plants of much-needed moisture. The chief value of a nurse 

 crop is supposed to lie in its ability to choke out weeds. It is also said to 

 be sometimes of value in pumping excessive moisture out of the soil. 

 Oats, at the rate of one bushel per acre, are used for the nurse crop, al- 

 most exclusively. (See page 236.) 



ALFALFA IN COMBINATION WITH GRASSES. 



Eighteen per cent of our correspondents report having sown other 

 grasses with alfalfa. Of those who have so planted, 62 per cent report 

 success and 38 per cent report failure. Where other grasses are so 

 sown, the object is to get pasture that will not cause bloat. Here are some 

 of the replies : 



Allen county: "Yes. I now have the best tame-grass pasture I ever 

 saw. It was seeded with alfalfa, sweet clover, red clover, English blue 

 grass, timothy, and orchard grass." 



Butler county : "I have had good results with red clover, English blue 

 grass and alfalfa for pasture." 



Franklin county: "Yes, with blue grass, for pasture. Stock won't 

 bloat." 



Rooks county : "I have tried, but have not found a grass that will live 

 among it here." 



Wabaunsee county: "Yes. I have seeded alfalfa with Kentucky blue 

 grass, orchard grass and timothy, but the blue grass soon killed out the 

 others." 



Nearly all of the successes in combining alfalfa with other grasses are 

 reported from the eastern part of the state, where rainfall is plentiful. 

 The only grass that seems to have succeeded where tried in combination 

 with alfalfa is English blue grass, and that in regions where it is most 

 commonly grown. There are no data to indicate the proportions, the 

 amount and the time of seeding. 



BROADCASTING VERSUS DRILLING. 



Taking the state as a whole, grbwers are almost equally divided on the 

 question of broadcasting versus sowing by drill. In the western third of 

 the state, 57 per cent drill and 43 per cent broadcast; in the central 

 third, 51 per cent drill and 49 per cent broadcast; and in the eastern 

 third, 42 per cent drill and 58 per cent broadcast. Those using the drill 

 prefer to have the drill rows about three or four inches apart. It would 

 seem that there is preference for broadcasting where considerable mois- 

 ture is present, and for drilling where drier conditions prevail. The 

 opinions of some of the growers, in the matter of broadcasting versus 

 drilling, follow: , 



Barton county: "I prefer broadcast seeding. It makes it easier to 

 mow and there is an evener stand than with drill seeding. Drilled alfalia 

 grows too thick in the drills to cut easily." 



Rooks county: "The drill gives a good stand, but as it grows the al- 

 falfa roots bind." 



