PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES 3O5 



a depth of eight feet. Small grain was raised on the new 

 land for one or two years, after which the ground was 

 plowed in the fall, and again in the spring, harrowed, 

 and well pulverized. Seed was put in, 12 pounds to the 

 acre, two inches deep, with a press drill. The time for 

 sowing is about the same as for corn, in April or May. 

 If there is plenty of water, it is well to sow the alfalfa 

 with oats, and then cut for hay the first season. Some 

 of my land is irrigated, by flooding, three times in the 

 season, by means of a large canal from the river. The 

 more water is used, the more alfalfa there will be, but the 

 hay from unirrigated land is less sappy than that which 

 has been watered. The plant is not liable to winterkill 

 here, and on sandy loam and gravel soils the full yield is 

 attained the second year, while, on heavy soils, it requires 

 three or four years. I have some that is 20 years old, and 

 cannot say how long it will yet continue vigorous. There 

 is difficulty in ridding land of the plant, unless it is 

 flooded in the winter time. We have usually two cut- 

 tings each season, with an average yield for each of about 

 two tons to the acre, although some parts of the land 

 yield four tons at each cutting. I have found it more 

 profitable to raise seed than hay, and for this purpose I 

 prefer the second cutting, using the self-rake, allowing 

 the alfalfa to lie in small piles until dry, then hauling, 

 stacking, and threshing, the same as wheat. The hay lies 

 about 22 hours in the swath, 24 hours in the windrow, 

 and one or two days in the cock, after which it is stacked 

 in large ricks with a horse fork. If properly cured, it 

 will not mold or heat, as it will if damp. On land valued 

 at $30 an acre, the cost of the alfalfa, in the stack, is 



