124 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 



ability. The admixture of rye grass will reduce the danger from 

 bloating. Red clover will not have that effect, because red clover 

 is a pretty good bloater on its own account. This seems to be the 

 function of all the clovers according to the rankness of their growth 

 at the time that they are grazed. 



The Time to Cut Alfalfa. 



What is the best period to cut alfalfa hay for coiv feed and the best 

 method for curing? 



The best time to cut alfalfa is just when new shoots are starting 

 out at the crown. This will give the greatest yield of hay during a 

 season, and the hay will be much more palatable than if the alfalfa 

 is permitted to get well into the blossoming period. The leaves, 

 which are the best part of the hay, also remain on better than if the 

 stems are older. If a person does not care to take the trouble to 

 find out whether the new shoots are coming out or not, he can ap- 

 proximate the time to cut fairly well by waiting until a blossom 

 here and there appears, cutting immediately. It would be difficult 

 to tell on paper exactly when alfalfa was properly cured, as that is 

 a matter of individual judgment. It is usual to cut in the morning 

 and rake into windrows in the afternoon. With the usual weather 

 in interior California that stage of the curing is completed by that 

 time. The next da}' it can be gathered into cocks and gotten ready 

 to move. That is about all the curing that is done. The size of 

 the windrows depends upon the amount of hay, as thick hay should 

 be put up in small windrows to give plenty of circulation of air. It 

 is considered better also to build the cocks on raked land, otherwise 

 the hay lying flat at the bottom will not cure properly and cannot 

 be gathered up clean. 



Which Crop of Alfalfa for Seed? 



Which cutting of alfalfa should be left for seed bearing!' 



Which cutting is best for seed depends, of course, on the way 

 the plant grows in your locality. Where it starts early and gives 

 many cuttings in a season with irrigation a later growth should be 

 chosen for seed than with a short season where fewer cuttings can 

 be had. The second cutting is best in many places, but O. E. Lam- 

 bert of Modesto after threshing about 30 lots in one year tells us 

 that some growers had left second, some third and some fourth 

 cuttings for seed. He found the second cutting very poor both in 

 yield and grade, much of it not being well filled and the seed blighted, 

 as the growth of hay was too heavy. The seed on third cutting 

 was good both in grade and yield. Much of the seed on fourth cut- 

 ting was not matured. For good results the stand should be thin. 

 Our drier, heavier lands give the best results, sub-irrigated lands not 

 seeding. All irrigation should stop with the previous cutting for 

 hay. 



