146 ALFALFA 



will conserve moisture and warm the soil. The alfalfa seed 

 is then sown without any nurse crop, using twenty pounds 

 of seed per acre. If the land is known to be weedy, it is 

 best to continue the cultivation through June and a portion 

 of July and then sow the seed. If conditions are favorable 

 and seed is sown June i, one cutting of alfalfa hay may be 

 secured the same season. Alfalfa can be cut with safety 

 any time previous to the first appearance of frost. In the 

 Northern States the last cutting of alfalfa should be made 

 not later than September 10, regardless of the cutting 

 stage. Sufficient growth will then be secured before 

 freezing weather to protect the plant through the winter. 



The practice of sowing alfalfa with a nurse crop is being 

 displaced by the method of sowing the seed alone, and 

 much better results are obtained if the land is free from 

 weeds. The tiny alfalfa plants should have a chance to 

 take full possession of the ground, which they cannot do 

 to advantage if crowded by a nurse crop. While experi- 

 ments show that good catches of alfalfa are occasionally 

 secured by the use of a light nurse crop, yet much better 

 catches and a more lasting seeding can be secured by sowing 

 the alfalfa seed alone. The seed can be sov/n either with a 

 hand seeder or a grain drill with a grass seeder attachment. 

 When sown with a hand seeder, or when broadcasted with a 

 seeder attachment, a slant-tooth harrow should be used 

 to cover the seed slightly. 



On clay soils the seed should be sown less than an inch 

 deep, or the tiny plants will not be able to push their 

 way to the surface. Land plowed in the spring for alfalfa 

 should be dragged as soon as plowed to prevent drying out 

 and the planker or roller should be run over the land before 

 and after seeding, and finished by using a fine-tooth harrow 



