98 FARM CROPS 



surface soil will have already germinated and the 

 weeds will have been destroyed by the early cul- 

 tivation. The cultivation also causes some of the 

 latent fertility of the soil to develop and become 

 available, and with the abundant moisture supplied 

 should usually insure a good start of alfalfa. 



The firm condition of the soil beneath the seed 

 and a good connection with the subsoil not only 

 offers favorable conditions for supplying the seed 

 with moisture, but the mellow covering over the 

 seed allows the air and heat to reach the seed from 

 above, and these three moisture, heat and air are 

 the essential factors in seed germination ; but if any 

 of these are lacking the seed will not germinate. 



Time to Sow. Alfalfa may be successfully seeded 

 either early in the spring or early in the fall. It 

 may be destroyed by a hard frost just after the 

 young plants have appeared, showing their first 

 leaves, but when the plants have thrown out a few 

 leaves and have made some growth they are not 

 likely to be destroyed by frost. Thus very early 

 seeding is perhaps more apt to be successful than 

 medium early seeding, while late seeding is most 

 apt to suffer from heavy rain packing the soil and 

 from the effects of hot, dry weather. Here is a 

 general rule which may be practiced with success: 

 Prepare the seed bed early, either in the fall or 

 spring, and seed when the soil is in a fit condition 

 to germinate the seed. There is little use of sow- 

 ing alfalfa unless the soil conditions are favorable 

 to germinate the seed at once, for the seeds are 

 much more apt to be injured and lost if they must 

 lie for any considerable time in a seed bed which 

 is not in fit condition to germinate seed. 



