40 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



twenty pounds of seed per acre, but many of the oldest and most suc- 

 cessful alfalfa growers are now using much less seed. Good stands 

 have been reported from sowing as little as six pounds of good 

 seed per acre. The seeding trials at the Kansas Experiment Station 

 also prove that ten or twelve pounds of good seed per acre, sown in 

 a well-prepared seed-bed, will produce an excellent stand of alfalfa. 

 With alfalfa, as with clover, doubtless the season has much to do 

 with securing a successful catch, but even in an unfavorable season 

 it is possible, with an average amount of good seed sown at the right 

 time in a properly prepared seed-bed, to secure a good stand of 

 alfalfa. (Kan. E. S. Bui. 155, 1908.) 



Alfalfa seed is about the size of the seed of red clover, but is 

 easily distinguished from it by its uniform light olive-green color, as 

 contrasted with the purple and yellow of clover seed. Unlike red 

 clover, it varies considerably in shape. The best grades of alfalfa 

 seed contain comparatively few weed seeds. The low grades, how- 

 ever, which are mostly screenings, often carry large numbers of 

 weed seeds, as was the case with one sample. This sample contained 

 6.8 per cent of weed seeds, or nearly 32,500 per pound, of which 

 5,490 were dodder. (Bu. Pit. Ind. Bui. 97.) 



Methods of Seeding. The manner of seeding varies consid- 

 erably in the different sections, but the various methods agree in 

 that it is necessary for the seed to be covered and not sown on the 

 surface of the ground, as is sometimes done with grasses and clovers. 

 Alfalfa may be planted with a drill or seeded broadcast with a hand 

 seeder or wheelbarrow seeder, or by hand. It is usually best to sow 

 half the seed one way across the field and the other half at right 

 angles to the line of the first sowing. 



The depth of planting depends on the soil conditions. Cover- 

 ing from three-fourths to 1 inch deep is usually sufficient on clay 

 soils, but an inch and a half is necessary on sandy soils or in the 

 semiarid sections, where deep covering is required to insure suffi- 

 cient moisture for the germination of the seed. When seeded broad- 

 cast, a light harrow, weeder, or brush is used to cover the seed. In 

 case the soil is light it may be rolled, but this is not usually advis- 

 able, as the soil is more apt to become dried out before the plants 

 can become established. A smaller quantity of seed is used when 

 it is drilled. If a grain drill is used, the amount seeded may be reg- 

 ulated by the use of leather thongs to reduce the feed. 



Rate of Seeding. The quantity of seed required per acre is 

 much greater in the humid sections than in the semiarid and irri- 

 gated sections of the country. In the West fair stands have been se- 

 cured with as little as 1 to 5 pounds of seed per acre, but this has 

 been under perfectly ideal conditions. Good stands from 5 pounds 

 of seed to the acre are not unusual in the West. Twenty pounds per 

 acre is the amount usually recommended, however, and even this 

 must be increased where the danger from weeds is serious and it is 

 necessary that the alfalfa plants cover the ground from the start to 

 prevent the weeds from becoming established. A pound of ordi- 

 nary alfalfa contains about 220,000 seeds. As there are 43,560 



