1 90 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



Soil and Planting. The soil should be in excellent tilth at planting 

 time with a fine top for the seeding bed. The soil should be neutral and 

 well drained with an open sub-soil permitting the penetration of the al- 

 falfa roots. The seeds should be carefully selected with perfect vitality 

 and clear of weed seeds. Southern-grown seeds should not be used in the 

 north as there is a danger of winter-killing. The time of sowing alfalfa 

 varies in the different sections of the country, but late summer seeding is 

 usually best in the east and south. Spring seeding is the rule in the irri- 

 gated and semi-arid sections of the west. The seeds should be covered and 

 not sown on the surface of the ground. Alfalfa may be planted with a 

 drill, or seeded broad-cast with a hand seeder, or wheel-barrow seeder. 

 It is usually best to sow half the seed one way across the field and the other 

 half at right angles to the line of the first sowing. The quantity of seed 

 required per acre is greater in the humid sections than hi the semi-arid 

 and irrigated regions. Twenty pounds of seed per acre is usually recom 

 mended, although in the west fair stands have been secured with one to 

 five pounds. A pound of ordinary alfalfa contains 220,000 seeds. 



Treatment. If seeded in the late summer or early autumn, alfalfa 

 will require no treatment that fall unless it grows a foot long before winter 

 arrives. Then it should be clipped back to about eight, or ten inches. 

 The first cutting of hay should be secured in the late spring. Ordinarily, 

 no treatment is required during the second season, except to cut the plants 

 when they are about one-tenth in bloom. No pasturing should be al- 

 lowed during the first and second seaspns. As alfalfa lasts about twelve 

 years, the subsequent care of the crop should be governed by the appear- 

 ance of weeds and bare spots. A disk harrow may be used advantageously 

 in loosening up the soil and destroying weeds. 



Harvesting. The methods of harvesting hay vary considerably. The 

 ideal should be to get the alfalfa into the loft with the least possible hand- 

 ling and exposure to the weather, as its leaflets readily drop off. This 

 results in a serious loss, as three-fifths of all the protein in the plant is 

 contained in the leaves. The hay may be stacked, or baleVi, or converted 

 into ensilage. Alfalfa is an ideal soiling crop. Grazing of the plant 

 should be done sparingly. 



Use as a Feed. Alfalfa can be used in the feeding of dairy cows, as 

 roughage for beef cattle. Alfalfa is an ideal hay for sheep, but it is apt 

 to cause bloat, if the sheep are turned into alfalfa pastures. Hogs may 

 be fed cut alfalfa hi the green state, or in pasture and horses too may be 



