Grains and Forage Crops 119 



in San Joaquin county, and can it be dissolved by irrigation, or can any 

 good be accomplished by blozving holes at different places to allow the 

 water to pass to loiver levels? Are other crops affected by hardpan being 

 so close to the surface f 



You can grow alfalfa successfully on land which is from four 

 to six feet deep if you irrigate rather more frequently and use less 

 amounts of water each time, so that the plant shall be adequately 

 supplied and yet not forced to carry its roots in standing water. 

 The Eastern alfalfa grower is fortunate when he gets half the depth 

 you mention, although it does seem rather shallow in California. 

 Shallow lands are distributed over the valley quite widely. A deep- 

 ening of the available soil is usually accomplished by dynamiting, 

 especially so if the hardpan is underlaid by permanent strata. Al- 

 falfa will penetrate some kinds and thicknesses of hardpan when it 

 is kept moist, but not too wet, to encourage root growth. 



Winter-growing green crops are less affected by shallow soil 

 because they generally make their growth while the moisture is 

 ample, if the season is good. 



Curing Alfalfa with Artificial Heat. 



It is current rumor that "out in California they are hauling alfalfa 

 green and curing it by artificial heat," thus reducing loss through bad 

 weather and producing a superior hay for feeding or milling purposes. 



It is true that alfalfa is being cut green and dried by artificial 

 heat, but this is only being done in preparation for grinding. No 

 one thinks of doing it for the making of hay for storage or for feed- 

 ing. This method is undertaken, not because the alfalfa hay does 

 not dry quickly enough in the field, but because after drying in the 

 field so many leaves are lost in hauling to the mill. We have no 

 trouble sun-drying alfalfa for ordinary hay purposes; in fact, we 

 have to be very careful that it does not get too dry. 



Cheap Preparation of Land for Alfalfa. 



/ am about to put a piece of land into alfalfa, and zcant to use the 

 most economical system of preparing the land for irrigation. My neigh- 

 bors tell me that it will be necessary for me to have the land leveled; 

 at a cost of $6 to $10 per acre. Now I am informed that in Alberta, 

 and some places in California, they do not go to the expense of leveling 

 land, but use a system of preparing laud for irrigation at a cost of about 

 60 cents per acre. 



Nothing except a highly educated gale of wind, with discrimin- 

 ating cutting and filling ability of a very high order, could do it for 

 that price. The cheapest way to prepare land for irrigation is the 

 contour check method, which is largely used, or the flooding in strips 

 between levees at right angles to the supply ditch; but neither of 

 these could be put in properly for that money, even if the land was 

 naturally in such shape that a minimum amount of soil-shifting is 

 necessary. 



