SUMMARY OF ALFALFA SOWING. 517 



over the field without touching the main crown. While in 

 the case of the exposed crown, disking or even harrowing will 

 wound the crown, which causes rot to set in, the result being 

 weakening and consequent death of the plant. 



"Fifth, that by the buried crown method, alfalfa culture 

 can be carried to a successful issue in sections of the United 

 States where heretofore, under the common practice, it had 

 proved a rather uncertain speculation, owing to climatic ex- 

 tremities and heaving by ice, both being guarded against by 

 a four-inch soil cover. 



"Sixth, that by the buried crown method, never more 

 than five pounds of seed are required per acre, if seeded 

 broadcast, and considerably less if planted with some kind of 

 a drill. The thin planting gives the best results both in dry 

 and wet seasons. In wet seasons, the plant will throw out 

 several hundred stems and completely take up all the avail- 

 able space. In dry seasons, the plant not only adjusts itself 

 to the amount of available moisture, but owing to its stronger 

 root development, is enabled to collect more moisture and 

 thus produce a crop where thickly planted fields fail." 



There must be great merit in the Bierwagen sys- 

 tem for the dry and cold plains of the Northwest. 

 It seems hardly worth while for the region east of 

 the Missouri, although it may well be worth testing 

 even here. 



Hardy Alfalfa. Alfalfas vary immensely in 

 hardiness, depending on the variety and whence 

 they come. Thus Arabian and Peruvian alfalfas 

 winterkill in the northern states ; seed from Arizona 

 is not hardy in Nebraska, and the new alfalfas 

 brought by Prof. N. E. Hansen from Siberia are 

 hardy almost everywhere. Unhappily some of the 

 hardiest alfalfas are not the most desirable in char- 

 acter of forage. There are, however, new alfalfas 

 coming that are far hardier than the common ones. 



