ARID AGRICULTURE. 



125 



WILL THERE 

 BE A SEED 

 CROP 



ilo\vcr< arc supplied with a little trap, the spring- 

 ing of which insures getting the pollen where it 

 is needed. The honey bee seems to be one of 

 ilic most important agents for fertilizing alfalfa. 

 Alfalfa is one of the best honey plants known. 

 Every alfalfa seed raiser should keep bees. 



It is impossible to tell early in the spring 

 whether or not a crop of seed will be secured. 

 Tf the season is very wet and cold and the plants 

 make large, thick growth, it will be better to cut 

 the first crop instead of letting it go to seed. If 

 the blooms are light in color, and are few, if the 

 tlnw."is do not fertilize, but fall off, leaving the 

 stems bare ; if only one or two weak looking pods 

 are produced in a flower truss and there is a 

 small amount of curl in the pod or only one or 

 two seeds appear in it, the crop had better be cut 

 for hay. Sometimes there is early insect in- 

 jury, as from grasshoppers or early appearance 

 of leaf-spot or other disease which indicates that 

 a profitable seed crop will not be secured. Some- 

 times the bloom will increase and become well 

 fertilized later in the season, but the^e early in- 

 dications are almost sure evidence of what may 

 be exnected. 



CLIPPING 

 YOUNG 



PLANTS 



The younir alfalfa plants sown in rows for 

 seed should bo clipped in late summer or early 

 fall of the first season. This clipping should be 

 done not more than half way down the plant. 



