CHAPTER VI 

 ALFALFA 



Adaptation to Eastern Needs. The intro- 

 duction of alfalfa into the eastern half of the 

 United States will prove a boon to its depleted 

 soils, encouraging the feeding of livestock and 

 adding to the value of manures. It will affect 

 soils directly, as does red clover, when farmers 

 appreciate the fact that its rightful place on their 

 farms is in rotation with grain. Under western 

 conditions, where no other crop can compete with 

 it in value, as is the case in semi-arid belts, its 

 ability to produce crops for a long term of years 

 adds much to its value, but in eastern agriculture 

 this characteristic is not needed. On most soils 

 of the east it will not remain productive for more 

 than four to six years, and that fact detracts 

 little from its value. It should fit into crop-ro- 

 tations, adding fertility for grain crops. When 

 grown in a six-years rotation with corn and oats 

 or other small grain, it furnishes a rich sod for the 



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