SEEDING AND GUTTING. 



About 15 pounds of alfalfa seed are sown. We 

 have used more and have used as little as 8 pounds. 

 In the long run there seems little difference in 'the 

 yield of hay, but on the whole we prefer to use 15 

 pounds of seed. 



Work After Seeding. If the land is very dry, 

 we follow the drill with a roller. We seldom do 

 this, however, since there is always danger that rain 

 may follow and further compact the land, making 

 it hard for seeds to get up. We very much prefer 

 to get the under part of the seedbed firm before 

 putting on the seed. We sometimes follow the drill 

 with the plank drag again. We aim always to leave 

 the land quite level and smooth, so that the mower 

 will run nicely. 



Inoculation. With us no inoculation is needed, 

 nor was it ever needed seriously on Woodland 

 Farm. Just why this was true we can not imagine 

 except that our father had allowed some few clumps 

 of melilotus to grow and that he had always used a 

 good deal of manure. For some unexplained rea- 

 son manured land is nearly always inoculated with 

 alfalfa bacteria, illogical as the statement seems. 

 Inoculation comes in about a month, little nodules 

 by that time appearing 'on nearly every rootlet. 



Further Treatment. It is seen how easily we 



(199) 



