CHAPTER VII 

 ALFALFA 



1. The Alfalfa Plant 



FIRST of all secure, if possible, samples of growing 

 alfalfa plants. Go into the field and dig up several 

 plants of different sizes, one year old, two years old, and 

 three years old. Try to obtain the entire root system of at 

 least one good-sized plant. This may be hard to do, as the 

 roots usually extend from eight to ten feet down in the 

 soil, and under favorable conditions more than twice this 

 depth. 



Study of the alfalfa plant. Study the plant, noting 

 the mode of branching, the system of leaves, the method of 

 flowering, and the arrangement of seeds and pods. Look 

 for the tubercles on the roots. These are most plentiful in 

 the spring. Later in the season they fall off and decay in 

 the soil. If the roots are pulled up roughly, the nodules 

 will be stripped off and remain in the ground. The indi- 

 vidual bacteria can not be seen except with a powerful mi- 

 croscope. 



TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION 



1. How many cuttings to the season are made of 

 alfalfa? How many of clover? Of timothy? 



2. What is the average cutting of alfalfa to the acre? 

 Of clover? Of timothy? Compare, then, the total crop 

 for the season of the three kinds of forage? 



3. What is the market value of alfalfa per ton? Of 

 clover? Of timothy? Compare the value per acre for feed- 

 ing purposes of each of the three hay crops. 



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