ALFALFA 141 



been growing. Care must be taken in gathering and scat- 

 tering the soil not to allow it to be exposed to sunlight, as 

 this will kill the bacteria. It is better therefore to secure 

 the soil and spread it over the new field on cloudy days 

 or in the late evening. The alfalfa seed should be sown 

 immediately and harrowed in so that the bacteria may be 

 covered, and be thus secure from the sunlight. 



Time for seeding. Late summer has been found the 

 best time for seeding alfalfa in the East and the South, while 

 in the West spring seeding is the rule. Spring seeding has 

 also been found to work better in Minnesota, Wisconsin 

 and the Dakotas. No general rule as to the time of seed- 

 ing can, however, be given. The chief thing necessary is 

 to seed as long as possible before the time of year that will 

 be hardest on the plants. In the North this requires spring 

 or early summer seeding in order that the plants may get 

 sufficient growth before freezing to withstand the winter. 

 Alfalfa plants less than six inches high do not ordinarily 

 live well through the hard northern winters. 



In some regions there is trouble in getting the plants 

 started before drought comes on to check their growth. 

 Throughout the corn belt late summer seeding should us- 

 ually be practised. Alfalfa sown during August and the 

 first week of September will have the best chance through- 

 out this region. 



6. Harvesting the Crop 



Time for cutting. Alfalfa makes the best hay if cut 

 while in early bloom. A better means of determining the 

 time for cutting is, however, to watch the start of the new 

 shoots from the base of the plant. These shoots make the 

 growth for the succeeding crop. When they are from one 

 to two inches in length is the best time to harvest. In this 

 way the new growth goes on without interruption. 



