alfalfa culture in new england 35 



Fertilizing. 



In the preparation of the field for seeding, it is not always pos- 

 sible to use sufficient stable manure and so fertilizer chemicals are 

 used. It has been found profitable to use a fertilizer containing 

 available nitrogen at the time of seeding because of the great 

 benefit to young legumes by having soluble nitrogen present as 

 demonstrated by the late Professor Hellriegel of Germany. The 

 alfalfa plant is no exception to this rule, for no matter how sturdy 

 it may become in its maturity, in its earlier stages it is weak and 

 tender. 



The fertilizer should be further made up of from 300 to 500 lbs. 

 of acid phosphate or better Thomas basic slag and 200 to 300 lbs. 

 of potash salt, preferably the sulphate, for according to Doctor 

 Brooks the yield of hay from sulphate exceeded that from muriate 

 by 18 per cent. After the field is well established, it is good practice 

 to annually top dress each spring with 300 to 500 lbs. of acid phos- 

 phate or basic slag and 200 to 300 lbs. of sulphate of potash. 



Seeding. 



After the inoculation and fertilizers have been sown and thor- 

 oughly harrowed into the soil, the seed bed levelled and smooth, 

 it is ready to sow the seed. There are two times in a season when a 

 field may be successfully seeded. One is very early in the spring, 

 say by April 10, and the other is after an early crop of potatoes or 

 grain, that is, from July 15 to August 15. The thing to be desired 

 in seeding is to sow at such a time that the crop may make a success- 

 ful growth ahead of the weeds. 



The variety and amount of seed to use per acre is important. 

 There is no better variety that we know than the Grimm, spoken 

 of earlier in this talk, although there are numberless varieties 

 being grown and studied at some of the Experiment "Stations. 



Any northern grown seed like that of the Canadian variegated, 

 Sand Lucern, Baltic, Minnesota or Dakota grown seed ckn be used 

 with safety and usually found reliable. 



A pound of alfalfa seed contains approximately 220,000 seeds, 



