ALL ABOUT ALFALFA. 329 



ever neglec^ls to do this will, when too late, have 

 abundant and unceasing cause to repent his folly. 

 The labor and cost of grading land at the outset are 

 infinitesimal compared with the aggregate labor and 

 loss incurred in irrigating rough, uneven land twice or 

 thrice each season for an indefinite term of years. In 

 leveling the land for the economical distribution of 

 water by the flooding system, the writer has preferred 

 to use the Shuart land grader, and has completely 

 leveled ten acres a day with this indispensable 

 machine. 



After grading, and immediately before sowing the 

 seed, the land should be floodea. A good irrigation at 

 this stage serves a threefold purpose. First, it reveals 

 the high spots, if any remain, and these should at 

 once be worked down and irrigated. As soon there- 

 after as the ground will bear working, the seed should 

 be sown. Secondly, irrigation before seeding insures 

 the prompt and complete germination of the seed. 

 This is a point of* vital importance, for without a 

 dense and uniform stand of plants it is not possible to 

 make a high quality of alfalfa hay. If the stand is 

 thin on the ground the stalks will be coarse, woody, 

 and indigestible, and in curing the leaves will dry and 

 fall off before the stems are sufficiently cured. But 

 if the stand is thick the stems will be fine and the 

 foliage will be so abundant that the curing process 

 can be effected evenly and without perceptible loss of 

 leaves. 



Seeding. — Of the different modes of seeding with 

 alfalfa, the most common method, when the conditions 

 are favorable, is to scatter the seed over a surface 



