FORAGE AND SOILING CROPS 103 



Seeds and seeding. — The seeds on the market are generally 

 unhulled. These contain a high percentage of ''hard seeds" 

 requiring twentj-'five to thirty pounds for a seeding, and some- 

 what less if hulled seeds are used. The seeding may be done at 

 the time it is customary to seed red clover. In the crimson clover 

 region, it may also be sowti at the same time and manner as that 

 clover with a good chance of success. When used for hay, it 

 should be cut just before the lirst blossoms appear or a little 

 earlier, for the stems rapidly become woody thereafter. Two 

 cuttings may be expected. However, care must be taken that it 

 is not cut too low, for, unlike alfalfa, the new shoots do not come 

 from the crown of the roots, but from the lower joints. 



Varieties. — Besides the white blossomed sweet clover, there 

 are two yellow blossomed varieties found in this country, one a 

 biennial, the other generally an annual. The biennial variety 

 is much less valuable than the Avhite variety while the annual 

 variety has still less value. 



Alfalfa. — This is a deep-rooted perennial legume living for a 

 nmnber of years under favorable soil conditions. A mature 

 plant has a large root up to an inch in diameter, and, when con- 

 ditions are favorable for its growth, extending many feet into 

 the soil. From the crown of the root many fine stems are senj 

 up early in the spring, and a second set about the time the firs^ 

 begins to show blossoms. The flowers of the common alfalfa 

 are violet or purple in color, and are arranged in head-like 

 clusters. 



Alfalfa is best adapted to regions having dry air with a good 

 supply of water in the subsoil. Consequently alfalfa occupies! 

 the same place in western agriculture that clover does in the 

 eastern part of the United States. In the West, little difficulty 

 is experienced in getting a stand, on almost any type of soil. 

 In the East, however, where the climate is more or less humid, 

 more precautions are necessary and the soil conditions are more 

 exacting. A deep, fertile, well-drained soil, free of acid, ia 

 required. It thrives best in loam soils, with an open subsoil. 

 A stand may be obtained on sandy soils provided enough lime 

 and organic matter is supplied. However, on loose, sandy soils, 

 especially if underlain with gravel, a higher percentage of fail- 

 ures is to be expected. Failure is almost certain on soils under- 

 lain, at shallow depths, with hard pan, with a layer of rock, 

 or impervious clays. Neither can success be expected, if stand- 

 ing Avater is found near the surface, nor if at any time water or 

 ice remains on the surface for any length of time. 



