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wet with dew or rain, they have been taken with bloat. The danger is 

 greater, as is well known, when cattle are suddenly turned into a "rank 

 growth and allowed to eat all they will. If cattle are hungry < have 

 not been accustomed to green food they should not be allowed in such 

 a pasture more than half or three-quarters of an hour. In the dry re- 

 gions of the West there is less danger in the use of alfalfa for pasture 

 than elsewhere, and it is largely used there for that purpose, especially 

 in the fall after a crop or two of hay has been cut. There is consul - 

 eruble danger, however, of the plant becoming killed out by close or 

 continued pasturing, as it does not stand grazing as well as the ordi- 

 nary grasses and clovers. For hay, the cutting should be done as soon 

 as the blossoms appear, otherwise it becomes hard and woody. Con- 

 siderable care is required to cure it properly and prevent the loss of the 

 leaves in drying. The yield is so large and the plant so succulent at 

 the time that it must be cut, that unless there is good weather it is dif- 

 ficult to cure ; on this account it is used less for hay, except in dry cli- 

 mates, than it otherwise would be. The increase in the cultivation of 

 alfalfa has created a good demand for the seed, which has thus become 

 one of the most important items of profit in its cultivation. For clean- 

 ing the seeds, F. C. Clark, of Alila, Tulare County, Cal., says: 



In tiiis part of the State the ordinary grain-thrasher is used. Some extra screens 

 it re used and a few changes made in the arrangement of the cylinder and concave 

 teeth. It is the opinion of some of the experienced alfalfa thrashers that a machine 

 combining the hulling process and some of the machinery of the ordinary thrasher 

 would do better work. 



The seed is usually taken from the second crop, and the yield is greater than that 

 from red clover, frequently amounting to 10 or more bushels per acre. 



The following reports are given from persons who have grown al- 

 falfa in various parts of the country : 

 J. E. Page, professor of agriculture, etc., University of Virginia : 



I have cultivated alfalfa for forty years, both in the tide-water and Piedmont 

 regions of Virginia, and I regard it as the most valuable forage plant the farmer can 

 cultivate for soiling. It is ready to be mowed by the 1st of May and may be cut 

 three or four times during the season. Grazing kills it out. It should be top-dressed 

 with manure every fall and plastered in the spring and after every mowing. 



Thomas S. Stadden, Clarke County, Va. : 



Alfalfa is grown here to a limited extent. It does well in favorable localities, but 

 is hard to get set. It lasts four to six years. 



H. C. Parrot, Kiustou, K C. : 



Alfalfa is adapted to rich, open soils in all the Southern States. It is excellent 

 food either green or cured. It should be sown in drills 18 inches apart and cultivated 

 the first year. After it is well rooted it will stand drought well and crowd every- 

 thing else out. It will last from eight to sixteen years, according to soil and location. 



J. G. Knapp, United States statistical agent, Limona, southern 

 Florida : 



Many persons in Florida have experimented with this plant, so valuable in other 

 regions, but nearly all have failed. Sometimes a plant which has come up in the 



