332 Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 



both sills, and when the wagon is not loaded with hay may be laid down 

 in the central depression of the wagon floor. If desired the central de- 

 pression may be covered with loose boards, making the wagon floor level 

 all the way across, although the depression helps to hold a load of hay 

 solidly on the wagon. 



Such a hay wagon is strong, durable and saves a maximum amount of 

 alfalfa leaves. As much as 6890 pounds of hay have been hauled upon it. 

 It is easy to load and to unload, and has the additional good feature of 

 being usable for other purposes. The total cost of material for the rack 

 is approximately $11, to which must be added the cost of the running gear. 



WEEDS IN ALFALFA. 



By ROBERT SCHMIDT, Seed Analyst, Department of Botany, Kansas State 

 Agricultural College. 



Pernicious weeds are commonly introduced on the farm by the sow- 

 ing of impure seeds;* that is to say, by sowing seed that has mixed with 

 it the seeds of many noxious weeds. This is often due to the ignorance 

 of the person sowing such seed, but more often to the unwillingness of 

 farmers to pay the comparatively small difference in price between good 

 and poor seed. Good, clean seed should always be sown; the best ob- 

 tainable is often none too good. If there is any question as to its purity 

 the seed should be tested to ascertain what weed seeds are present. 



Weeds are alfalfa's worst enemy, especially so during the first year 

 of the crop's growth. Very often a good stand of alfalfa has been 

 ruined by vigorous weeds that have choked it out before it had become 

 well established. Weeds also constitute a rather serious menace to the 

 successful production of alfalfa seed. They not only crowd the plants 

 in the field, but their seeds are harvested with the alfalfa seed, and are 

 thus often sold with it and carried to other sections. 



The problem of weed destruction in stands of alfalfa is difficult. 

 Alfalfa is less aggressive than many weeds. The alfalfa plants do not 

 spread by runners or rootstocks as do many of the grasses and weeds, 

 while old alfalfa stands do not ordinarily thicken up from self-sown 

 seed, as is the case with most of the weeds. The weeds in an alfalfa 

 field tend to increase more rapidly when the stand is allowed to remain 

 for seed each year than when the field is mown regularly for hay. When 

 this weedy condition develops a year or two of regular mowing for hay 

 will do much toward reducing the number of weeds present in the field. 



There is a large number of species of weeds which infest our alfalfa 

 fields. Their seeds are generally present in clover and alfalfa seed, and 

 the weeds themselves have been associated with these forage plants so 

 long that it is now difficult to get seed in the market that is absolutely 

 free from such pests. Descriptions of some of the worst follow. 



Dodder, foxtail, Russian thistle, pigweed, crab grass and star thistle 

 are annual weeds ; that is, they live for only one year, depending on their 

 seeds for further propagation. Curled dock, sorrel, buckthorn, and chicory 



* See 'Weeds" and "Seeds," in index. 



