INTRODUCTION. 35 



At the present writing (1909) we are feeding some 

 1,450 lambs, with about 150 ewes and lambs, and we 

 could as readily feed 2,000 or more if we had more 

 shelter for them. 



Woodland Farm is larger now; the alfalfa has 

 crowded the line fences back a little. It contains 

 320 acres and is devoted mainly to the growing of 

 corn and alfalfa. During the summer of 1908 corn 

 was grown on 90 acres of alfalfa sod. This field had 

 been twice sown to alfalfa, with intervals 

 when it was planted in corn. The last pe- 

 riod of alfalfa was a 6 year period for part 

 of the land and a longer period for the remain- 

 der. During the 6 years there were taken off at least 

 20 crops of hay, certainly 20 tons of hay to each acre. 

 During this time no manure was put on the field, but 

 on parts of it phosphorus was applied in the shape of 

 acid phosphate, about 300 Ibs. per acre or maybe a 

 little more. The great crops of hay taken continually 

 off of this field disturbed our mother, who finally 

 spoke in sorrowing tones to the writer, thus : "Joey, 

 I am worrying about that alfalfa field. " "Why, 

 mother?" "Because you do not manure it. You 

 haul off hay and haul off more hay and it seems to 

 me you actually have hollowed the land out so that 

 it is lower than it used to be. I think of what your 

 father would say if he could see it. Why don't you 

 put some manure on it, boy ? ' ' 



I assured her that I could not believe that the land 

 was really getting poor, and that we were putting 

 the manure out carefully on land that we knew was 



