this disking must be done in the spring, just as the plant is 

 beginning to grow, not in the fall. 



On dry farms I would advise the disking of the alfalfa in 

 the spring, and after the first crop is cut each year. Such 

 disking pulverizes the surface soil, which thus acts as a mulch 

 to preserve the moisture. 



Out in this Western country, and particularly on the dry 

 bench farms, we find hired help very expensive, so our prac- 

 tice is to use a four or six-horse disk. This is a factor in 

 economic production, and we find the wide disks do just as 

 good work as the narrower ones. As on much of the soils 

 some packing as well as a cutting effect is desired, we find that 

 the best work is done with the 14-inch or 16-inch disk wheels. 



