130 



ARID AGRICULTURE. 



SOILS FOB 

 ALFALFA 



ALFALFA 



HAY 



CULTURE 



Alfalfa will grow and thrive on almost any 

 character of soil found in the West. The kind 

 of sub-soil is more important than that of the 

 surface. If the subsoil consists of hardpan or 

 is filled with moisture which comes near the 

 surface, it is not so suitable for alfalfa. Some 

 of the strongest soils which produce the heaviest 

 crops are the clays and greasewood lands, but it 

 usually takes longer to get alfalfa established in 

 such soils. With proper soil management, alfalfa 

 will grow almost anywhere. If the soil is shal- 

 low, it requires more irrigation. If it is heavy 

 clay, also more irrigation will be required. If 

 the sub-surface water changes its position 

 through the year, being several feet lower in the 

 growing season than it is in the winter or spring, 

 its rise will usually drown alfalfa. Alfalfa is 

 not very resistant to strong alkali soils. At high 

 altitudes where the season is short, more care 

 will be needed in its culture, and under dry 

 farming special attention to the conservation of 

 moisture is necessary. 



Alfalfa is an intensive culture hay. The 

 plant is worth all the work and attention given 

 it. It responds to careful, persistent attention. 

 The fact that it is easy to grow should not make 

 the farmer careless. The profit in any kind of 

 farming does not lie in average crops, but in pro- 

 ducing more than average crops. 



