50 THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



alfalfa. When cut off they leave the ground ready for 

 disking and other preparation. Millet is also excellent 

 for this purpose, leaving the soil unusually friable. 

 Potatoes make a satisfactory preparatory crop, but the 

 danger from them too often is neglect to keep the w^eeds 

 down. As soon as the land is free, it should be disked 

 and harrowed, and this repeated about every ten days 

 until the time for sowing. 



RECENT PLOWING NOT DESIRABLE 



It is seen that plowing for alfalfa just preceding the 

 seeding is not recommended. Plowing leaves the sub- 

 surface too loose, thus depriving the roots of a sufficiently 

 firm footing and making a full sowing more liable to 

 harm from freezing and thawing, and the spring sowing 

 to harm from a dry summer. The necessity of the most 

 perfect surface conditions cannot be to often empha- 

 sized, and this too includes considerable compactness 

 rather than a too light or ashy condition. There must 

 be no clods, no stiff and stubborn humps. 



If alfalfa is to follow clover, and to be seeded in the 

 fall, the sod should be broken early after the clover is 

 harvested and each day's plowing harrowed that day; 

 then the held disked and cross-disked and harrowed 

 again. After that it should be disked, lapping half, every 

 ten or fifteen days until time for seeding. Alfalfa may 

 follow timothy if the sod is not too old and stubborn, 

 and it may be treated the same as clover sod. 



INTRODUCE BACTERIA BY PREPARATORY SOWING 



Another form of preparation followed by many suc- 

 cessful growers, men who do not complain about alfalfa 



