42 CIX> VER CULTURE. 



Alfalfa is adapted to all the soils found upon the slope of the mountains 

 in the above mentioned region, such soils as a whole being made up of 

 the disintegrated rocks of the region lying above them. In the erosion 

 of the rocks, and in the distribution of the material we find considerable 

 variation, for, in the first place, the rocks vary somewhat in character 

 and hardness. 



It is not usual to sow this crop upon prairie land broken for the first 

 time, although this is sometimes done. The best results are usually at- 

 tained when the land has been cultivated in two or three crops, such as 

 wheat, barley or oats, and then to have the land well prepared the fol- 

 lowing spring for the seed bed. In ordinary cases we are to suppose a 

 depth of plowing varying from five to seven inches. Great depth of plow- 

 ing, however, is non-essential, as the roots of the plant penetrate in ordi- 

 nary soils to many feet in depth, the plant having one well marked tap- 

 root which thrusts itself downward into the soil and largely sustains it, 

 while the lateral roots that are thrown off are few in number and only 

 contribute a sin nil portion to the nutrition of the growing plant. One 

 might supposa that it would be labor wasted to plow the ground again, 

 after a crop, unless he were to raise another crop of grain, but it has 

 been ascertained that the best way to secure a nice even stand of alfalfa 

 under irrigation is to raise it without other crops. This may seem like 

 losing the use of the land for a season, but the farmer will find that he 

 is well repaid in the end by the strong and better growth of the alfalfa, 

 during the year, making it strong to pass the first winter. Therefore, 

 where best results are expected, the ground should be plowed in the parly 

 spring or late in the previous fall, and as soon as danger from frosts is 

 passed, in April or May, the seed bed should be carefully prepared. This 

 must be done by repeated harrowings and the use of the roller or a plank 

 smoothing arrangement, so that there is a well pulverized seed bed 

 of one to two inches upon the surface. The ground should be moist, or 

 at least moist enough to sprout and grow the s^ed successfully without 

 irrigation. If there is not this degree of moisture in the land, it should 

 be irrigated before the seed bed is prepared. As alfalfa seed is about the 

 size and has the same appearance as red clover, it can be sown in approxi- 

 mately in the same manner, either broad-cast or drilled, but more seed is 

 generally used than of red clover. Various quantities are stated as be- 

 ing used bv successful farmers in the arid region, and with equally good 

 results. One of the finest fields the writer has seen was prepared as 

 above stated, and the seed drilled in about one inch in depth in two direc- 

 tions, making cross checks, using twenty-five pounds of good seed per 

 acre. The field produced one of the finest stands of forage that we have 

 ever seen. 



Alfalfa will grow at almost any elevation below 7,000 down to sea level; 

 above that the winters seem too severe and the nights in spring o- early 

 summer too cold and frosty for the plant to thrive well. The number of 

 cuttings of forage which alfalfa produces is marvelous. In northern Col- 

 orado and this parallel extending east and west at an elevation of 5,000- 

 feet, the usual number of cuttings in a single season is three, while in ex- 

 ceptional seasons, four and even five cuttings have been made. In south- 

 ern Colorado and northern New Mexico, four, five and six cuttings are 

 quite usual, and the yield at each one of these is as great as the yield of 

 good meadow gras*. If the total growth of the plant during one season 

 were taken, it would be found to vary from nine to fifteen feet in length; 

 this varies, of course, with the soil, local circumstances, latitude and the 

 elevation above sea level; in this case we are supposing a proper amount 

 of water for irrigation. 



The irrigation of alfalfa is comparatively easy after the young plants 

 are started, but sometimes the ground, if not well sloped and smoothed, 

 will tend to wash and some r.fi the seed will be covered too deeply by soil* 



