214 THE ESSENTIALS OF AGRICULTURE 



corn or sorghum. The second and third years following alfalfa, 

 corn or potatoes is the most profitable crop. The year preced- 

 ing the sowing of alfalfa the land should be sown in wheat, oats, 

 or barley, and not in an exhaustive crop like corn or sorghum. 



279. Making alfalfa hay. Alfalfa should be cut for hay for 

 cattle and sheep when one tenth of the flowers are in bloom 

 (Fig. 101). When making hay for horses from one fourth to 

 one half of the blossoms should be open. A safer guide to the 

 time of cutting is the stage of development of the new shoots. 

 It is important that the crop should not be cut until the new 

 shoots have formed at the crown of the plant and have at- 

 tained a height of one or two inches ; but cutting must not be 

 delayed until the new shoots have made such a growth that 

 they will be cut off. The first cutting will be ready to be har- 

 vested in May or early in June ; the second/in from four to six 

 weeks ; the third, in August. A fourth crop may be harvested 

 in September or October. In the South five cuttings are usually 

 secured each year. The hay is cured in much the same manner 

 as red clover (Fig. 102). 



280. Seed production. Economical seed production is possible 

 only in those sections of the country in which the rainfall is more 

 or less limited. With an abundance of moisture the plants pro- 

 duce a heavy growth of foliage, and while many flowers are 

 formed, few seed pods develop. When it is desired to produce 

 a seed crop, the second or third crop is reserved for this purpose. 

 When the alfalfa-seed crop is harvested a mower with a bunching 

 attachment is used to gather it and to deposit it in small piles. 

 If a huller is available the crop is threshed direct from the field ; 

 otherwise it is stacked. A very little wet weather will greatly 

 damage the seed. Alfalfa should be cut for seed when about 

 half the pods have turned brown. 



281. Weed pests. In the distinctive alfalfa regions of Kansas, 

 Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, and California, crab grass and foxtail 

 are the principal weed pests of alfalfa (Fig. 103). In the corn 

 belt Kentucky blue grass is perhaps the worst weed in alfalfa 

 fields, although crab grass and foxtail also do much damage. 



