334 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



become more woody, and the leaflets are more likely to 

 fall off. In Europe, Stebler and Schroter recommend 

 that it be cut some time before flowering. 



In humid regions, alfalfa sometimes blooms but spar- 

 ingly. In such climates the best rule is to cut for hay as 

 soon as new shoots appear at the crown. If cutting is 

 delayed longer, the new shoots are apt to be cut off, thus 

 injuring the second crop. This difficulty does not arise 

 during periods of drought, and in arid regions can be con- 

 trolled by withholding irrigation. 



Late cuttings may also be at the expense of total yield. 

 At the Utah Experiment Station, three plots of alfalfa 

 during five seasons were cut respectively when the first 

 blossoms appeared ; when in full bloom ; and when half 

 the blossoms had fallen. The first two plots produced 

 three cuttings annually, the third but two, except one 

 unusually favorable season when three were harvested. 

 The average acre yields for the three plots were respec- 

 tively, 4553, 3554 and 1776 pounds, or a relative propor- 

 tion of 100 : 78 : 39. 



At the Kansas Experiment Station, four plots of J acre 

 each duplicated were cut respectively when in first bloom, 

 in one-tenth bloom, in one-half bloom and in full bloom. 

 The respective acre yields for the first cutting were 

 1.36, 1.76, 1.81 and 2.04 tons; for the whole season, 

 4.69, 5.35, 4.52 and 5.99 tons. In this case the late 

 cuttings gave both the greatest yield to the cutting and 

 the largest total. 



The question of the best time to cut alfalfa for hay 

 has also been much studied from the viewpoint of chemical 

 composition and digestibility. Thus, Willard, in Kan- 

 sas, compared alfalfa hay cut at three stages - 

 namely, when about 10 per cent in bloom; when about 



