GRASS 'AND HAY 57 



ther of these can be used, commercial fertilizers can be applied. A 

 good formula is muriate of potash, 75 pounds; acid rock, 250 

 pounds; and nitrate of soda, 50 pounds, to the acre. Inoculation 

 with nitrogen-fixing bacteria is almost always essential to success. 

 The seed should be sown without a nurse crop, and at the rate of 

 from 20 to 30 pounds to the acre . 



Spring seeding is generally unsatisfactory, as the plants are 

 very likely to be choked out by the weeds of midsummer. Late fall 

 seeding is open to the same objection and to the additional draw- 

 back of being likely to cause winterkilling. The ideal time of seed- 

 ing is in the late summer after the greatest danger of weeds is past. 

 Repeated harrowings for six weeks preceding the sowing time will 

 destroy the successive crops of germinating weeds and put the land 

 into an ideal, well-settled, finely pulverized condition for the alfalfa 

 seed. The date of the seeding will vary as one passes from north to 

 south. In the latitude of Washington, D. C., August 15 is usually 

 best; in North Carolina, September 15 is recommended; and in the 

 extreme South the seeding may be delayed until the middle of Octo- 

 ber. In the south the danger of fall drought sometimes makes it 

 necessary to postpone the seeding until February. 



Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Eastern Kan- 

 sas, and Eastern Nebraska. Throughout this section late summer 

 seeding is giving the best results, although spring and fall seeding 

 are usually successful in the western part of this section. Liming 

 and inoculation are advisable, except in Kansas and Nebraska. The 

 seed should be sown alone at the rate of about 20 pounds per acre. 

 If sown in the spring the soil can not usually be put into proper 

 condition before the middle of May. 



Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wis- 

 consin. In the North Central States it is necessary to seed alfalfa in 

 the spring or early summer, owing to the inability of the fall-seeded 

 plants to make sufficient growth to prevent their being winter-killed. 

 A month or six weeks should usually be allowed for freshly plowed 

 land to settle. If spring seeding is practiced, fall plowing is usually 

 necessary. Corn-stubble land may, however, be disked in the spring 

 and settled firmly enough by two or three harrowings. In the less 

 arid eastern portion of this section early summer seeding often gives 

 the most satisfactory results. In the semiarid portions of this section 

 care must be taken to conserve the soil moisture by proper methods 

 of culture previous to seeding. 



Inoculation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria is usually necessary 

 and should be used unless the soil is known to be well supplied with 

 the germs. The seed should be sown at the rate of about 20 pounds to 

 the acre, generally without a nurse crop, although in Wisconsin a 

 nurse crop with spring-seeded alfalfa has frequently been successfully 

 used. In all cases the alfalfa should be allowed to go into the winter 

 with at least a month's growth, as this will hold the snow and tend 

 to protect the crops from injury during the winter. 



Irrigated Sections. Alfalfa is especially adapted to the irri- 

 gated sections of the United States. The dry climate is apparently 



