126 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 



Alfalfa Sowing with Gypsum. 



/ intend sozuing alfalfa this fall on land that has some very compact 

 hard spots. I aim to doctor these spots zvith gypsnm at the rate of about 

 1000 pounds per acre and cultivate the gypsum in thoroughly tivo or three 

 weeks before sowing the alfalfa seed. Would this be all right? Is there 

 danger of injury to seed by coming in contact zvith gypsum f 



Gypsum will not hurt the alfalfa seed. It is not corrosive like 

 an alkali. Whether it will have time enough to ameliorate the soil 

 in the spots in the period you mention depends upon there being 

 moisture enough present at the time. 



Red Clover for Shallow Land. 



What can you say of red clover on shallow soils in the Sacramento 

 valley under irrigation f Hozv many crops, etc.? 



Red clover is fine under the conditions you describe. We could 

 never understand why people do not grow more of it on shallow 

 land over hardpan which is free from alkali and not irrigated too 

 much at a time. It is good on shallow land over water, where alfalfa 

 roots decay, etc. Though we have no exact figures, we should ex- 

 pect to get about two-thirds as much weight from it as from an 

 equally good stand of alfalfa. 



Clovers for High Ground- Water. 



Where, in California, is alfalfa being raised successfully above a 

 water-table of, say, 4 feet or less, and are any unusual means used to 

 accomplish this? 



Over a high water-table, the alfalfa plant will be shorter lived 

 according to the shallowness of soil above water. One could get 

 very good results at from 4 to 6 feet, whereas at 2 or 3 feet the 

 stand of alfalfa would soon become scant through decay of its fleshy 

 root. Where the water comes very near the surface, a more shallow 

 and fibrous rooting plant, like the Eastern red clover, should be sub- 

 stituted for alfalfa in California. It is a very vigorous grower and 

 will yield a number of crops in succession although the water might 

 be very near the surface, as in the case of the reclaimed islands in 

 the Stockton and Sacramento regions and in shallow irrigated soils 

 over bedrock in the foothills or over hardpan on the valley plains. 

 In this statement, freedom from alkali is presumed. 



Vetches in San Joaquin. 



In Michigan I zvas familiar zvith the use of the sand vetch as a forage 

 plant, for hay, for green manure, and as a nitrogen producer. In zvestern 

 Michigan, on the loose sandy soil, I sozved in September or October 20 

 pounds per acre for a seed crop and 40 pounds per acre for pasture, hay, 

 or green manure. Can I expect good results in Fresno and Tulare coun- 



