1912.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 31. 11 



extent, though in most cases this occurred on poorly drained 

 portions of the field, and in some instances it was due to 

 standing water and ice. Under such conditions it would 

 naturally be expected to winter kill, since it is a crop which 

 demands good drainage. Standing water and ice during the 

 winter are fatal to it. Most of the growers reported about 

 the middle of May. At that time the crop was from 8 to 12 

 inches in height. 



The experiments have been classified under three headings: 

 successful, partially successful and failures. The number 

 under each heading follows : — 



Successful, 13 



Partially successful, 9 



Failures, 7 



Total, 29 



Causes for Failures. — From the reports of the 7 experiments 

 which failed entirely, one or more of the following conditions 

 are given as the cause of failure : — 



1. Winter killing. 



(a) Due in most eases to poor drainage, standing water and ice. 

 (6) Planted too late so that there was not sufficient gi-owth for 

 winter protection. 



2. Excessively dry weather so that the crop did not get a good start 



the first season before winter set in. 



3. Weeds and grasses have come in. (This occurred mainly on fields 



that did not get a good start in the beginning and in places 

 that winter killed.) 



Condition as affected hy Drouth. — The growing seasons of 

 1910 and 1911 are noted as excessively dry. The crop in 

 many instances was affected by this long-continued drouth. 

 Alfalfa, however, stood this excessive drouth well, and in 

 several instances better than other farm crops. During this 

 extremely dry time a grower on Nantucket wrote : " It is prac- 

 tically the only green thing on my farm." Another grower 

 said : " It has stood the drouth fully as well as timothy, redtop 

 and clover." 



