No. 4.] ALFALFA GROWING IN MASSACHUSETTS. 125 



would do if a very severe attack of leaf blight struck your 

 alfalfa, — whether you would cut it or leave it. 



Mr. Wing. Dr. Wheeler, I would never cut it, even with 

 leaf blight, until the shoots appeared. By the way, the leaf 

 blight, in my experience, comes very little if a man has his 

 soil chemically right and if he hasn't been trespassing on it 

 in some way. I found some places where the fishermen had 

 made a path through the alfalfa, as they went down to fish, 

 and the leaf blight followed along where they went, and 

 where the teams turn around in the alfalfa, where the corn 

 fields join onto it, it also appears ; but in the 100 acres we 

 have in alfalfa at Woodland Farm we have no blight except 

 in spots like these. But even if I did have it, I would not 

 cut the alfalfa until the little shoots come. I might feel 

 awfully sorry, but I wouldn't cut. 



Professor Wheelek. In the case of long protracted 

 drought, with, say, three weeks of no rain, it becomes woody 

 and the leaves drop. 



Mr. Wing. I believe even then, even with the long 

 drought and the leaves dropping off, I would wait for the 

 little shoots. I would be afraid to cut before they appear. 



Mr. Palmerton. Why do you recommend muriate of 

 potash instead of sulphate ? 



Mr. Wing. Because it is cheaper with us, that's all. T 

 should think one would do almost as well as the other, would 

 it not. Professor Wheeler ? 



Professor Wheelee. I think the muriate has the ad- 

 vantage of being the more soluble, and if you put in enough 

 lime you will be ahead of the game by using the muriate 

 instead of the sulphate. 



Secretary Wheeler. I would like to ask what kind of 

 seed you use ? 



Mr. Wing. That is very important in New England. In 

 New England I would not use the imported seed, because you 

 are likely to get the Turkestan, which is not very productive 

 under your conditions ; and may even get something worse, 

 such as that from Algeria, which will not stand the winter 

 here ; and you might get various kinds of weeds. I would 

 rather get the seed for here from Montana, the Dakotas or 



