SUMMARY OF ALFALFA SOWING. 521 



square foot. Instead of that every plant should have several 

 square feet. 



"The parasitic vine known as dodder is a serious menace 

 to the alfalfa industry, as many fields are infested with it. 

 In Europe such fields are put out of commission by the 

 government. Plants in hills could easi-ly be kept clean. 



"The drouth resistance would be increased by giving the 

 plants more room. 



"The growing of plants on well-inoculated soil would pro- 

 vide perfect inoculation. 



"A very important reason is that it would avoid injury 

 from disking. Splitting the alfalfa crowns by the usual discs, 

 harrows and spike-toothed renovators affords easy access to 

 the soil fungi and the plants soon become black-hearted and 

 decayed at the heart. This may have some bearing on the 

 root rot, which is reported to be quite destructive in Arizona, 

 and the Texas root rot, which has been very destructive in 

 Texas since 1892. 



"I am fully aware that this is contrary to all the present 

 teachings of the experiment stations, farm papers and farm- 

 ers' institute lecturers, but why should we mutilate or maim 

 a plant that should last several centuries? Alfalfa fields in 

 the orient are shown 400 years old, but the orientals do not 

 mutilate their plants as we do. The heart of an alfalfa plant 

 should be held as sacred as the heart of an oak tree. 



"Alfalfa is a poor fighter the first year, as the strength 

 goes below ground, hence it is often choked out by weeds, 

 which make more top than root. But by setting out a good- 

 sized alfalfa plant, often as big as one's middle finger, they 

 can hold their own better against the weeds. 



"All this has come from studying the individuality of the 

 alfalfa plant. I think it will be the best method for growing 

 pure seed, and that it will work out from the forage stand- 

 point also. If transplanting proves to be a good thing, no 

 doubt men of mechanical genius will soon invent machines 

 with mechanical feeds and using four horses instead of two, 

 so as to do the work more cheaply. But even at this present 

 preliminary stage I believe that the method will greatly hasten 

 the spread of the hardy Russian and Siberian alfalfas through- 

 out the prairie Northwest. The plants are grown the first 



