44 



each season. Disking, however, is apt to be destructive to the alfalfa 

 in sections where the alfalfa does not thrive. 



If there is a considerable growth of fall weeds or grasses these 

 may be burned off the following spring before the alfalfa starts. 

 The field should be burned before a strong wind to avoid injury 

 to the alfalfa crowns. In sections where soils require liming, it is 

 sometimes advantageous to make an application of lime either in 

 the spring or after the first cutting. Slaked lime may be used, but 

 ground unburned limestone is preferable, as this will not injure the 

 alfalfa plants. A top-dressing of well-rotted or weed-free barn- 

 yard manure mav be made during the early winter with advantage 

 on most of the soils in the eastern half of the United States. 



Drawbacks of Alfalfa. Valuable as alfalfa is, it is not without 

 its drawbacks and weak points. It is difficult to establish, especially 

 in the Eastern States, where red clover is generally successful. The 

 methods customary for the raising of red clover, however, do not 

 apply to alfalfa and much has to be learned by experience as to the 

 special requirements of the alfalfa plants. 



On farms where the production of alfalfa is a side issue, the 

 three or four cuttings of hay procured during the season are apt to 

 come at a time when the normal work of the farm is directed along 

 other lines. In such cases attention can not be given to the alfalfa 

 work at the proper time without handicapping the major lines of 

 farm work. Furthermore, when pastured by cattle and sheep, bloat- 

 ing is likely to occur, with the possibility of the loss of valuable ani- 

 mals. The seed is expensive and the cost of getting the ground in 

 satisfactory condition is quite considerable, thus working a hardship 

 if the stand is not a success, as is too often the case. 



Need of Experimenting at First. Perhaps no other crop re- 

 quires such a variety of different treatments, depending upon the 

 special locality in which it is grown, as alfalfa. For this reason 

 early attempts are likely to be failures, and consequently should be 

 made upon a very small scale. Many have succeeded in producing 

 profitable crops of alfalfa only after sowing it for several years in suc- 

 cession. It is suggested that the area seeded at first be small, and 

 that it be divided into a number of subdivisions, each receiving a 

 different treatment ; for instance, in the humid sections in regard to 

 the application of fertilizers and lime. The accompanying diagram 

 (Fig. 1) indicates an experiment adapted to the eastern half of the 

 United States. A more simple form of this experiment is shown in 

 figure 2. This calls for the application of lime to the northern half 

 of the area and no lime to the southern half. The eastern half 

 should then receive manure and the western half no manure. This 

 will make 4 plots to the experiment, instead of 9. The strips re- 

 ceiving lime and manure may well be wider than the strips not re- 

 ceiving such treatment. This will reduce the size of the check plot 

 which receives neither application and is thus less apt to succeed. 

 The method, however, is the important feature, and can be modified 

 to suit the prevailing conditions. The idea is to try on the same 

 field at the same time all the different treatments that are likely to 



