96 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 



Sowing the Seed. The seed may be sown by 

 hand, with the hand sower, or with the grain drill. 

 Since alfalfa is a somewhat larger seed than red 

 clover it may be covered rather more deeply, 

 particularly on western soils. On some of these it 

 may be sown as wheat, that is to say, by using the 

 ordinary drill tubes used in sowing grain. 



On true alfalfa soils, the seed is seldom sown 

 with a nurse crop, but in moist climates this method 

 of obtaining a stand is quite feasible, and in some 

 instances commendable. It is generally deemed 

 preferable to sow the seed without a nurse crop, that 

 the plants may have the full benefit of all the season 

 to enable them to take possession of the soil to the 

 fullest extent possible. Any of the small grains 

 usually sown in the spring will answer for the nurse 

 crop, but of these barley is the best. And there are 

 instances in which winter wheat and winter rye may 

 form the nurse crop. It may frequently be unwise 

 to allow the nurse crop to mature, but the degree 

 of the advancement which it should be allowed to 

 make will depend upon conditions. If a nurse crop 

 is grown it should never be at the expense of the 

 alfalfa crop. And in a large majority of instances 

 it will be wiser to dispense with the nurse crop 

 altogether. 



Opinions differ much as to the quantity of seed 

 that should be sown. Amounts named as suitable 

 vary from twelve to thirty pounds per acre. Usually 

 from fifteen to twenty pounds will be found suffi- 

 cient, the last named quantity being rather more in 

 favor on true alfalfa soils. Twelve pounds per acre 

 may suffice in climates possessed of moist seasons. 



