150 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



of seed, 30 pounds to an acre, so as to have the stems thick 

 and fine. After it gets to a certain height the weeds will 

 be higher, and we cut the weeds down. In a season with 

 plenty of moisture we are sometimes able to get two good 

 crops of alfalfa the first season. Last year our old .alfalfa 

 fields were absolutely killed out, — our first experience in 

 twenty j^ears. We cut of green alfsilfa from 20 to 30 tons. 

 It is e(|ual in an average year to al)()ut 5 tons of hay. We 

 use it largely for summer feed for our dairy cows. It is sur- 

 prising how small a piece of good alfalfa it takes to keep ten 

 cows. We cut it in long strips, and begin at one end, and 

 by the time we reach the other end we can begin back on 

 this end. I remember one year when we cut five good 

 crops, although four is more nearly what we generally do. 



Question. What seemed to be the trouble last year? 



Dr. Jordan. We had an unusually severe winter, and 

 we found the roots sticking out of the ground. I don't 

 know how the frost ever lifted an alfalfa root, but it did ; 

 it was a strong frost. When we put on a couple of horses, 

 the roots were pulled out, and as they turned it over, it 

 looked like a field of little sticks. 



Mr. Waters. The second question was, if it was possible 

 to raise soy beans and have them come to maturity without 

 this bacteria. 



Dr. Jordan. I know this, that in the State of New York 

 and other places the soy bean has responded very uniformly, 

 and the chances are you will get benefit from inoculation in 

 growing soy beans in the State of Massachusetts. I should 

 think you would get it with sufficient maturity to use as 

 corn and ensilage. I think it would be well for you to tr}^ 

 cow beans on your land. We get a better growth of cow 

 beans at Geneva, and we grow it without any inoculation. 



Professor Brooks. I will answer in a very small way. 

 A year ago I solved one or two rows of soy beans, and they 

 stayed out all winter ; they came up and sprouted this last 

 spring. 



Mr. Waters. I would say that we raised between five 

 and six acres of soy beans this past season, and inoculated 

 the seed. They came to maturity, and we got a good growth. 



