156 



ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 



yield that year was about 90 bushels. Again with 

 a light coating of manure it was put in corn. This 

 time the yield was 85 bushels. For the corn crop a 

 dressing of 400 pounds per acre of raw Tennessee 

 rock phosphate was applied. Just what effect this 

 had we do not know, as we left no test strips. It 

 probably was of material benefit, however. 



Once more a light application of manure was 

 made. In truth the applications of manure were all 

 light except on certain spots of exceptionally poor 

 white clay. The land was plowed again and seeded 

 (in April, 1908), to alfalfa with a nurse crop, as 

 usual, of beardless spring barley. With the seeding 

 was sown fertilizer, plain acid phosphate, analyzing 

 about 16 per cent available phosphoric acid, at the 

 rate of 250 pounds per acre. 



1908 proved a very dry summer yet a splendid 

 stand resulted over the whole field. A crop of bar- 

 ley hay was cut and later a light crop of alfalfa 

 hay, probably not quite one ton to the acre. From 

 the window where I sit I look out afield across this 

 very stretch of land. It is (May 5, 1909,) a glorious 

 sight. Aside from a few wet pond holes there is not 

 a square foot of the land that is not covered with 

 green and growing alfalfa plants. That field should 

 make near 5 tons of hay this year. And every year 

 since the manure spreader started over the tiled 

 fields the land has paid well. 



It is not probable that alfalfa would have made a 

 strong growth on this field without this slow bring- 

 ing-up process. The land was too run down, too de- 



