3IO THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



have been a success, and 68 per cent of these were located 

 in the Champlain valley. Only lo of the 56 alfalfa 

 growers appear to have sown more than an acre. It 

 should be noted that success with a fraction of an acre 

 does not of necessity imply that an equal degree of suc- 

 cess would be attained with plantings on larger areas. 

 The preeminence of the Champlain valley in alfalfa grow- 

 ing seems to be due to the character of the farming in 

 that section and to the nature of its soil. Failures may 

 generally be ascribed to one or more of several unfavor- 

 able soil or weather conditions, to weeds, to disease, or 

 to seed which either is inferior or from an unsuitable 

 source. There seems to be a sufficient proportion of 

 successes in the state to justify the encouragement of 

 further trials. It is equally clear, however, that anyone 

 planting alfalfa for the first time should not only give 

 careful heed to the needs of the plant and to the methods 

 of culture outlined later, but should begin by experiment- 

 ing in a small way. The most significant thing developed 

 by the analysis of the returns to date is that the crop seems 

 to succeed best in the Champlain valley. Why is this? 

 Probably one factor, not apparent on the surface, is that 

 the men who have succeeded in Addison county are 

 largely sheep breeders who value the crop so highly in 

 their special industry that they are willing to give more 

 attention to its culture than are the dairy farmers. It 

 should be recalled in this connection, however, that the 

 evidence reviewed indicates practical success with alfalfa 

 at Plattsburgh and in adjacent Canadian territory. 

 Without pressing the matter to a definite conclusion, we 

 consider two things to be at least strongly suggested and 



