194 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



on the ground then it should be thinned 

 with a fork, so that the curing may bo 

 done as soon as possible. Hay ought to 

 be put up without rain or dew falling on 

 it, and kept in good shelter. It is short, 

 compact and nutritious and does not re- 

 quire so great a quantity in feeding as 

 does timothy or other grasses. Many 

 prefer to make a mixture of two or three 

 kinds in order to secure a more perfect 

 and satisfactory ration of forage. If fed 

 in a close barn with suitable floors much 

 of the seed will be saved and can be sown 

 in the chaff the next spring. 



Mixed grasses, for both permanent pas- 

 ture and hay meadows, are very desirable, 

 and for lawns are most beautiful. For 

 this purpose the blue grass is without 

 exception one of the finest grown. It has 

 the nice green turf of spring and the beau- 

 tiful carpet of Christmas to present, while 

 the other grasses have the volume of hay 

 for value. By getting a good mixture, 

 such as is presented by the experience of 

 many years, from such seedsmen as Hen- 

 derson, Salzer and others, the greatest 

 value of blue grass is obtained. It is 

 worthy investigating and giving a fair 

 trial by all. JOEL SHOMAKER. 



ALFALFA EXPERIENCES. 



During the winter of 1902 a list of be- 

 tween 600 and 700 successful alfalfa rais- 

 ers in Nebraska was collected, and to each 

 was sent a report blank calling for a defi- 

 nite statement regarding a number of the 

 processes he employed in obtaining his 

 stand of alfalfa, and also regarding his 

 subsequent care of the crop. More than 

 five hundred satisfactory replies were re- 

 ceived, representing eighty counties in the 

 state. A study of this large number of 

 reports from successful alfalfa raisers gives 

 some valuable information respecting al- 

 falfa culture. 



There were 288 stands reported upon 

 upland, and 273 upon bottom land. Even 

 in the western portion of the state the 



amount of alfalfa on the upland is shown 

 to be considerable, and very satisfactory 

 results are evidently obtained, although 

 naturally the yields of hay are smaller 

 than on the bottom lands of that region. 

 In the eastern part of the state somewhat 

 heavier yields appear to be obtained from 

 bottom land, but loss from winter killing or 

 other causes is greater. Twenty-three re- 

 ports state that upland is more satisfacto- 

 ry than bottom land. These come princi- 

 pally from the eastern portion of the state 

 or the irrigated land of the western por- 

 tion. 



An astonishing feature of the replies is 

 the large amount of alfalfa that they show 

 to be growing on land with a clay subsoil. 

 Sandy clay, clay loam, clay lime, etc., 

 were not counted as clay. In spite of this 

 limitation, 245 clay or gumbo subsoils are 

 reported. A clay or even a gumbo subsoil 

 does not appear to be a barrier to success- 

 ful alfalfa culture. 



The seed bed was prepared by plowing 

 and further working in 373 cases, and by 

 disking or cultivating in 75. Among the 

 latter is one method that appears to be 

 popular and satisfactory. This consists in 

 thoroughly disking corn land after all trash 

 has been removed from the field. In the 

 western part of the state there are a num- 

 ber of good stands of alfalfa obtained by 

 breaking prairie sod, disking it, and har- 

 rowing in the seed, also by disking 

 the unbroken sod and harrowing in 

 the seed. The latter commends it- 

 self as an easy way of supplementing the 

 native grasses in pastures. The tendency 

 to dispense with plowing on unirrigated 

 land increases with the distance westward 

 from the Missouri. 



A study of the dates of sowing alfalfa 

 seed in the spring shows a range from ear- 

 ly March to late June, although where ad- 

 vice was volunteered it was practically 

 unanimous in favor of early sowing. There 

 were only eight reports of summer or fall 

 sowing, of which one was sown in July, 



