No. 4.] ALFALFA FOR NEW ENGLAND. 151 



then go ahead again. When the dirt was again piling near the 

 rear end of the spreader, I would again shovel or crank it back 

 to the front. You will do well to make a big load cover a half 

 acre. But jou can give an acre two loads with less labor and 

 bother than vou can putter around with 200 pounds, if you 

 have to sift it and use a hand seeder. Three or 4 tons of soil 

 are not too much. The soil should be spread on a cloudy day, 

 and it should be harrowed in at once. I do not need to say 

 that you run the risk of sowing plant diseases. Hence it is 

 necessary to be very cautious to get soil for inoculation from 

 land free of disease. 



We have found that the commercial cultures give us better 

 results and cost us less than the soil inoculation. Of course I 

 think both are better than either alone. You can get enough 

 culture for an acre of seed for $2, and you can hardly take a 

 man and team and spread your own soil for less than $2 per 

 acre. The inoculating of the seed is a simple process. The 

 directions that come with each batch of the culture give one 

 ample information as to just what to do to inoculate the seed. 

 We have had good results from the use of the commercial cul- 

 tures. The United States Department of Agriculture at Wash- 

 ington is very liberal with their cultures, and hence most of 

 you can get the cultures free by asking for enough to inoculate 

 seed for the number of acres which you intend to sow. Again 

 I wish to tell you that I think you should sow something like 

 4 square rods the spring before you sow your field. Give the 

 seed for the little patch double inoculation. You may sow a 

 few square rods in the corner of some pig or cow lot. What 

 you want is a rich well-manured plot in which you may get 

 the bacteria to grow. You may seed this with a little oats to 

 help keep down the weeds. Mow the oats for hay. Of course 

 you will select some place where you can well spare a few 

 inches of the soil and where the shoveling w^ill not be hard. 



Your main crop should be planted in August. This enables 

 you to kill the weed seed. It enables you to s'et a crop of oat- 

 hay or oat and Canada pea-hay or a crop of early potatoes. 

 Now, if you have your little patch in which you have been 

 growing the bacteria, and if you seed in August, you have 



