PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 99 



better way of putting it into the soil than by sowing 

 it with a seed drill of proper construction. But 

 oftentimes it is broadcasted. When thus broad- 

 casted, it may be advantageously covered with a light 

 harrow, with the teeth straight or aslant, with the 

 roller alone, or with the roller followed by the 

 harrow, according to the nature of the soil. When 

 sown with a nurse crop, as, for instance, a thin seed- 

 ing of oats to be cut for hay at the earing stage, the 

 alfalfa seed is likely to be sufficiently covered if it 

 has been sown by any process in front of the drill 

 tubes. And the same is true of other seeds, as clo- 

 ver and timothy, sown along with the alfalfa. But 

 sometimes it is further necessary to roll the land, 

 and, it may be, to harrow it with a light harrow, the 

 teeth being set at a backward slant. When sown 

 on some of the weedy lands of the south, it has 

 been found profitable to deposit the seed in rows 

 and to keep the plants clean the first year by 

 cultivation. 



To provide pasture, alfalfa is sometimes sown 

 in short rotations along with one or more varieties 

 of clover and timothy. The author has thus grown 

 it with no little success in Ontario, And there may 

 be other combinations in which it can be successfully 

 grown under some conditions. 



When alfalfa is grown to furnish hay, thick 

 seeding is recommended, not less than twenty pounds 

 per acre, and in some instances more than that 

 amount, that the stand of the hay may be of fine 

 growth. This will reduce the waste in feeding the 

 hay. To provide seed or winter pasture, it should 

 be sown less thickly, about fifteen pounds per acre 

 is considered sufficient. When sown along with 



