300 THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



4.15 pounds of cured hay. In the upper portion of the 

 state, alfalfa is grown with considerably greater diffi- 

 culty. At Anderson, the county seat of Anderson county, 

 there is an alfalfa field that was sown 65 years ago and 

 it still affords some return. 



SOUTH DAKOTA 



Prof. James IV. Wilson, Director South Dakota ex- 

 periment station. — Experience shows that a good stand 

 of alfalfa can be secured, if ordinary care be exercised 

 in preparing the seedbed. It is not a plant that does well 

 when sowed on the native prairie sod after disking. On 

 the college farm during the spring of 1904 a small area 

 of native sod was disked five times; part was sowed to 

 alfalfa and part to clover. The next spring only a few 

 scattering plants of alfalfa could be found, while a fair 

 stand of clover was secured. Good results have been ob- 

 tained with both the Turkestan and the American varie- 

 ties. Neither has winterkilled during the time, and the 

 yield per acre in each case has been good. A field sowed 

 to Turkestan alfalfa in 1899 at Highmore Forge testing 

 station still produces good yields. The quantity of seed 

 to sow per acre depends largely on the way it is sowed, 

 requiring more if broadcast than when drilled. We sug- 

 gest 20 pounds when drilled and 25 pounds when sown 

 broadcast. The time to sow depends upon the con- 

 dition of tilth. Contrary to what is sometimes supposed, 

 alfalfa does not require a wet soil, but one that is well 

 drained, with a loose subsoil. The plants will stand cut- 

 ting several times during the first year. This method 

 should be resorted to when sown on a field badly infested 



