Grains and Forage Crops 125 



Siloing First Crop Alfalfa. 



Hozu about (cutting first cutting of alfalfa and foxtail into the silo? 

 Do you think there is a»_v danger of fire in a wooden silo, and do you 

 add salt and zvater r^'hen filling, and how long after it is cut zuould you 

 advise putting it into the silol^ 



Put it through the silo cutter as soon as you can get it from 

 the field. Do not let it cure at all, and be sure to cut and pack well. 

 If at all dry, use water at the time of filling, and some salt then 

 also, if you desire. There is no danger of firing if you put it in 

 with good moisture, and by short cutting and hard packing you 

 exclude the air. If you do not do this you will get a silo full of 

 manure, and possibly have a fire while it is rotting. 



Soil for Alfalfa. 



What kind of soil is best for alfalfa on a dairy ranch? 



An ideal soil for alfalfa is a deep well drained soil into which 

 the roots can run deeply without danger of encountering standing 

 water or alkali. Still we are finding that alfalfa is very successful 

 on soils which are not strictly ideal, providing the moisture is sup- 

 plied in such a way that the soil shall not be waterlogged nor the 

 water be allowed to remain upon the surface during the hot weather, 

 because this kills the plant. 



Handling Young Alfalfa. 



/ have alfalfa that is doing very well for the first year. My soil is 

 sandy loam with light traces of zvhite alkali, although it does not seem 

 to be detrimental to the groivth tlius far. I am in the dairy business and 

 will have by winter enough manure to top-dress the field. Would it be 

 good policy to use the manure, or would if be more satisfactory to top- 

 dress zvith gypsum? Would it injure alfalfa to pasture lightly after the 

 last cutting? 



Presumably your soil contains enough lime, and therefore the 

 application of gypsum at this time of the year would not be neces- 

 sary. It may be desirable to top-dress with gypsum near the end 

 of the rainy season to stimulate the growth of the plant. Gypsum, 

 however, has no efifect upon white alkali. So far as alkali goes, 

 gypsum merely changes black alkali into white, thus making it less 

 corrosive. 



There would be no objection to pasturing liglitly this fall. Be 

 careful, however, to keep ofif the stock while the land is wet and 

 not to overstock so as to injure root crowns by tramping. The 

 manure can ])e used as a top dressing during the rainy season, un- 

 less you think it better to save it for the growth of other crops. 

 Alfalfa is so deep rooting where conditions are favorable that it does 

 not require fertilization usually on land vvliich has been used for a 

 long time for grain or other shallow-rooting plants. 



