186 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 



phosphate is about the most soluble of the phos- 

 p'hatic fertilizers and thus is best for top dressing 

 when there is abundant lime in the soil. When there 

 is suspicion that there may not be lime enough then 

 basic slag or bone meal should be used, unless lime 

 also is applied. Acid phosphate dissolves away a 

 part of the lime in the soil. That is its one bad 

 feature. 



As has been stated the alfalfa meadows on Wood- 

 land Farm get an annual dressing of phosphorus 

 young and old alike, and this practice pays well. 



Fertilizer Distributer. On Woodland Farm we 

 own a wide and large fertilizer distributer. This 

 machine sows a strip 8' wide and the box holds 1,000 

 pounds of fertilizer. It simply sows the stuff broad- 

 cast on the surface. There are various types of 

 these machines. The American Seeding Machine 

 Co., Springfield, Ohio, makes one, and another is 

 made by the Peoria Drill and Seeder Co., Peoria, 

 111. With such a machine a man can go rapidly 

 over his old meadow, or sow his phosphorus over 

 his land preparatory to seeding his alfalfa. Time 

 is the thing hardest to command on most farms in 

 the spring; many would fertilize their meadows if 

 they were not otherwise too busy. With these large 

 wide sowing machines a man can rapidly get over 

 his fields. No one should hesitate to buy the fer- 

 tilizer, since a dollar so invested will usually re- 

 turn three or four in the crop of hay. 



Adding to Fertility. There is here a striking 

 thought. Since pur farms east of the Missouri 



