134 ARID AGRICULTURE. 



CULTIVATION If any cultivation is attempted the first sum- 

 mer, it must be carefully done. Young alfalfa 

 plants are very tender. At the end of the 

 season, however, a light harrowing crossways of 

 the drills may do more good than harm. If 

 weeds are thick, they should be mowed before 

 there is danger of smothering the young plants ; 

 but do not cut close to the ground. An excellent 

 practice is to apply a thin coating of manure 

 with a spreader over the alfalfa field in the fall, 

 either for new or old planting. 



It is only recently we have discovered the 

 great profit arising from cultivating alfalfa 

 fields. There are two indispensable imple- 

 ments for alfalfa cultivation: the disc, or the 

 spiked-tooth alfalfa harrow, and the drag har- 

 row. Cultivation should begin in earnest in the 

 spring of the second season. If the disc is used, 

 set the blades fairly straight. Weight the disc 

 so that it will cut two or three inches deep. Lap 

 it each round to leave the ground level, and do 

 the work thoroughly. The alfalfa spiked-tooth 

 harrow does not ridge the land like the disc and 

 does not split the crowns of the alfalfa plants. 

 It digs up the soil deeper, and does excellent 

 work in loosening and aerating it. If the soil is 

 left lumpy, follow with the drag harrow to finish 

 the work. This cultivation should always be 

 done in the early spring ; it may be done in the 

 fall and winter, and in many localities will pay 



