Alfalfa in Kansas. 



51 



Kingman county: "I prefer to drill if it is possible to get one that will 

 sow thin enough, though I usually broadcast." 



Cloud county: "I prefer to sow with a drill and keep the disks so they 

 barely touch the ground, covering very shallow." 



Logan county: "I think the drill the best if it does not get in too deep." 



Kingman county: "If the ground is moist and in good condition I 

 broadcast." 



Clay county: "I broadcast if it is wet, and drill if it is dry." 



Johnson county: "I prefer a drill if it is dry, and broadcast if there 

 is plenty of moisture." 



Graham county: "Broadcast if you have cool, cloudy weather; other- 

 wise drill." 



Sedgwick county : "Broadcast when the weather is calm, but drill when 

 the weather is windy." 



Trego county: "I have most always sowed broadcasti If drilled the 

 wind is likely to fill in the drills when the first two leaves come and bury 

 the alfalfa, or a heavy rain will do the same." 



Clay county: "Drilling gives a better stand, but broadcasting stands 

 the heavy rains best." 



Osage county: "If you drill be sure and close the drill marks with the 

 harrow or roller, as a heavy rain will bury the young plants." 



Greenwood county: "If I sow in the fall I prefer drilling, and broad- 

 cast in the spring." 



1 



/47 



FIG. 43. Comparative yields of alfalfa from thick and thin stands. Each square 

 represents a square yard, and the dots the number of plants growing in such an 

 area. The columns above the squares indicate the yields of air-cured hay per acre 

 from the corresponding stands. [Courtesy North Dakota Experiment Station.] 



AMOUNT TO SOW PER ACRE. 



The reports on the amount of seed to sow per acre vary considerably, 

 ranging all the way from 6 to 20 pounds. The average amount sown in 

 the eastern third of the state is 16.09 pounds, in the central third 15.44 

 pounds, and in the western third 14.61 pounds. The estimates in the 

 western third vary from 6 to 20 pounds, in the central third from 11 to 

 20 pounds, and in the eastern third from 12 to 20 pounds. These amounts 

 are for high-grade seed. 



