G&ASS AND BAY 39 



Mix the seed thoroughly and count out 100 or 200 seeds just as 

 they come, making no selection. Put them between a fold of cotton 

 flannel or some similar cloth, taking care not to let the seeds touch 

 one another. Lay the cloth on a plate, moisten it well, but do not 

 saturate it, cover with another plate and keep at a temperature of 

 about 70 F. Every day count and take out the sprouted seeds. In 

 from four to six days all of the good seeds will have sprouted, and 

 the percentage of seed that will grow is known. (B. P. I. Bui. 97.) 



Not only should alfalfa seed be of good quality and strong in 

 vitality and germination, but it should be clean and free from foul 

 weed seeds. It seems hardly necessary to enlarge on this point, yet 

 many farmers are careless, much poor seed is sold and sown, and 

 many costly failures result. Alfalfa seed costs so much, and the ex- 

 pense of a failure to get a stand is so great, that many farmers are 

 discouraged by an unsuccessful trial, while others hesitate to make 

 the venture. Those who are familiar with alfalfa seed can usually 

 recognize seed of low vitality. Seed of good quality has a character- 

 istic bright, clear color, while seed which has received injury from 

 wetting or heating has a dull dead color, indicating its impaired 

 vitality. Seed which is badly shrunken is also apt to contain a large 

 percentage of seeds of low vitality which will not germinate and grow 

 under ordinary soil conditions. 



A good, simple and handy test is to use a cigar box ; place sev- 

 eral folds of wet paper in the bottom of the box, over it sprinkle the 

 seed and cover with several folds of wet paper; close the box and 

 set it in a favorably warm place. Examine the seed in four or five 

 days and count the germinations, remoistening the paper if neces- 

 sary. At the end of eight or ten days the test may be discontinued 

 and the percentage of germination calculated. A large percentage 

 of germination the first three to five days indicates a strong, vigor- 

 ous seed, while a slow, weak germination indicates seed low in vital- 

 ity, which may not germinate when planted except under the most 

 favorable soil conditions. For the best seed the percentage of ger- 

 mination should be eighty-five per cent or more. A low percentage 

 of germination, and fairly quick: and strong, indicates a mixture of 

 good and poor seed, and such seed may be sown, but more seed will 

 be required per acre to insure a stand. 



Carefully examine the seed for impurities, and if weed seeds 

 are present the alfalfa should be carefully cleaned before seeding. 

 The parasite dodder is now appearing quite extensively in alfalfa 

 fields in some parts of the West. This is a most dangerous pest, and 

 it is usually unsafe to sow seed infected with dodder, even after 

 thorough cleaning; but dodder seed is only about one-half as large 

 as alfalfa seed, and by careful cleaning, using a "dodder sieve," 

 which will also remove many of the smaller alfalfa seeds, the dodder 

 may be removed, leaving only the choice, plump, clean alfalfa seed 

 to sow. 



Amount of Seed to Sow. The amount of alfalfa seed to sow 

 will depend to some extent upon the quality and vitality of the seed. 

 The general practice has been, and perhaps still is, to sow about 



