282 ^HE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



J. P. Nelson of Monmouth county has had a very suc- 

 cessful experience in the growth of alfalfa, since he has 

 observed all of the recommendations made as to methods 

 of seeding and after-treatment. The following is a de- 

 scription of his method and the results obtained from a 

 seeding made August 10, 1904. The surface soil is a 

 medium clay loam, underlaid with a gravelly clay subsoil. 

 The crops preceding were grass and corn, and the ma- 

 nures used were barnyard manure and 600 pounds per 

 acre of ground bone. The corn preceding the alfalfa 

 was limed at the rate of 1,000 pounds per acre, and 1,400 

 pounds per acre were applied just previous to the seed- 

 ing of alfalfa. Thirty pounds of seed were used per acre, 

 and lightly harrowed in and the land rolled. The ger- 

 mination and early growth were good, and the first crop 

 was harvested June i, 1905. The yield was two big, 

 two-horse loads of cured hay per acre. 



E. T. Gill of Camden county has a sandy loam, under- 

 laid by a subsoil varying from sand to clay. He has an 

 area of 24 acres, ranging from two to six years in age. 

 The first seeding of about two acres is still growing 

 profitable crops, though not uniform in stand. The later 

 seedings show an excellent stand and large and profitable 

 crops are annually harvested. Usually four cuts are 

 made each year, which are used both for soiling and for 

 hay, with splendid results. The practice on this farm 

 is to top-dress with manure during the winter at the 

 rate of about eight tons per acre. Mr. Gill's experience 

 leads him to believe that the stand is often injured, par- 

 ticularly during the first year, by allowing the crop to 

 reach too great maturity and then cutting when the plants 



