,30 LUCERNE CULTURE. 



.as fertile as the best land in the Cape Colony on which lucerne is 

 .grown Such land is very limited in Natal, and is bound to com- 

 mand a high price in the near future, wherever it is within prac- 

 ticable distance of a railway. 



On any other land which can be irrigated, lucerne will pro- 

 bably be found to be one of the most valuable forage crops which 

 can be grown. 



Bi t it must be remembered that lucerne is not a crop which 

 demands irrigation, as it is claimed for it that it sends its roots 

 down far enough to reach permanent water, and so becomes inde- 

 pendent, to a great extent, of rainfall ; this point is largely over- 

 looked in South Africa generally, and so farmers look to irrigation 

 .as absolutely necessary to the successful culture of lucerne. The 

 point of course is, that without rainfall at the proper time while 

 the plants are establishing themselves, where irrigation is not 

 practicable there may be disappointment and failure to get a good 

 stand, as a hot wind after sowing, or a few days of very dry wea- 

 ther may prevent the germination of the seed, and so the season 

 may be lest, but it is worth persevering in, to ultimately get a full 

 field, and there are many stretches of deep rich soil, where irriga- 

 tion is impossible, but where the rainfull is sufficient, if only the 

 initial difficulty of establishing the lucerne can be got over. 



So far as climate is concerned, I consider it probable, 'from 

 the great range of temperature under which the plant is grown all 

 over the world, that it will grow anywhere in the Colony where the 

 soil conditions are favourable. It grows well on the coast, on hill 

 sides without irrigation, but is, as might be expected, difficult to 

 establish. 



The following! 'remarks by Professor C. A. Zavitz, of the 

 Experiment Department of the Ontario Agricultural College, 

 -Guelph, Canada, will.be found to be of use to intending lucerne 

 farmers : 



" It is found that in some localities and on some farms the 

 alfalfa proves successful, while in others it is sometimes a 

 total and sometimes a partial failure. The causes of the 

 failure seem to be pcor seed, killing out the first winter, 

 and unfavourable conditions of the subsoil. The character 

 of the top soil does not seem to exert as much influence as 

 that of the subsoil ; the best results are generally obtained 

 where the subsoil is a gravelly or sandy loam, and is natur- 

 ally well under-drained." 



It is impossible for anyone to say what lands will suit lucerne 

 other than the class cf land already experimented upon, and I 



; should therefore advire, where it is proposed to cultivate lucerne, 

 that the land be tested by digging small pits to ascertain the 

 character of the subsoil which, according to the authority quoted 



.above, is such an important factor. 



