THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



689 



from the air. Alfalfa will live without the presence of 

 these bacteria, but it does not do well These bacteria 

 produce little nodules or tubercles on the roots, take the 

 nitrogen gas of the air and change it into nitric acid, 

 which in turn becomes valuable plant food, and the kind 

 most needed in the West. Where alfalfa plants do not 

 thrive, look yellow or appear tc be in a dying condition, 

 it is usually due to the absence of nitrogen bacteria. 

 Artificial inoculation material has been on the market, 

 but it has so generally failed that farmers should not 

 spend good money for such cultures. A practical method 

 of inoculation is to take soil from an old alfalfa field 

 or from a place where sweet clover is growing and sow 

 it over the field to be inoculated. A thin sowing of a 

 few pounds per acre will get the bacteria started, after 

 which it will increase and spread. We have sent such 

 alfalfa soil in four-pound packages by mail to farmers, 

 who have changed their success with alfalfa by sowing 

 upon and harrowing it into their fields. 



ALFALFA MIXTURES. 



On many farms of the West sowing some grass with 

 alfalfa is giving excellent results. Four grasses are used 

 lor this purpose, and we recommend a fifth. The four 

 commonly used are timothy, broine grass, orchard grass 

 or meadow fescue. In places, no doubt, the slender wheat 

 grass will give as good or better results than any of the 

 foregoing. The method is to sow the ordinary amount 

 of alfalfa seed and then put on from ten to twenty pounds 

 of the grass selected, and harrow it in. These grasses 

 which grow tall enough will head just above the alfalfa, 

 and it is claimed fields produce as large crops of both 

 alfalfa and the grass used as would be grown if each were 

 planted alone. Such alfalfa and grass mixtures make ex- 

 cellent stock feed, especially for fattening, as the grasses 

 widen the ration. Mixtures of this kind are not recom- 

 mended for dry farming. Grass sod in alfalfa shortens 

 the life of the alfalfa plants and prevents thorough har- 

 row cultivation. 



IRRIGATION OF ALFALFA HAY. 



Irrigate the ground before planting. Do not irrigate 

 the seed up if it is possible to avoid it. Do not irrigate 

 alfalfa when too young, unless vou know it is burning. 

 Many practice irrigating old fields early in the spring be- 

 fore the alfalfa starts, but this is probably not the best 

 practice. Fall or winter irrigation is better. Alfalfa may 

 be winter killed if irrigated so late that the water freezes 

 around the crowns of the plants. If the water is absorbed 

 by the soil so that it does not stand and freeze, no damage 

 will be done, or if the ground is thoroughly frozen and 

 the water merely forms ice over the surface, it does not 

 harm the plants. Usually the first crop can be produced 

 without irrigation; but alfalfa should be irrigated for each 

 of the second, third and fourth crops. Some farmers 

 practice irrigating just before cutting the hay. Irrigating 

 at that time leaves the ground damp, which interferes 

 with mowing, makes the hay more succulent and delays 

 curing, which may cause injury to the hay. It does, how- 

 ever, put moisture in the ground, where it produces a 

 quick and vigorous start from the crowns for the next 

 crop. Alfalfa should be cut, cured and removed from 

 the ground as quickly as possible. Then irrigate after the 

 cutting. It is easier to spread water on the stubble. The 

 irrigation can be done better and does not interfere with 

 making the hay. Alfalfa does not stand well in water. 

 The irrigations should be as short as possible. Some of 

 the best farmers in the West now practice furrow irriga- 

 tion for alfalfa. The furrows are made with a corn 

 marker or something of the same kind. They are usually 

 shallow furrows, four or five inches deep, and made two 

 feet apart. Running water through these furrows pre- 

 vents flooding the crowns, and on many soils better crops 

 are produced. 



HARVESTING HAY. 



Alfalfa for hay should be harvested when it first be- 

 gins to come into bloom. The best haymakers rake their 

 alfalfa either immediately after mowing or as soon as it 

 is slightly wilted. Some keep their hay in wind-rows; 

 others bunch with a rake. Undoubtedly the best method, 

 although it takes more work, is to put the hay in cocks 

 with a fork, as it saves much waste and insures the best 

 curing. The hay should be stacked when it is sufficiently 



dry, but not too Tmttle. Do not put in stack when there 

 is dew, rain, or other moisture on the outside of the stems 

 and leaves. If perfectly dry outside, it may be stacked 

 when there is considerable moisture in the hay, providing 

 the stacks are not made too large or stack ventilators are 

 used. Always use some kind of stack bottom, even if it 

 is no more than a layer of straw. On large fields many 

 use the common go-devil, or rickef, to haul the hay cocks 

 or bunches to the stackers. Mr. Wilcox has called atten- 

 tion to the Lockhart drag as an advanced method of haul- 

 ing hay from the fields to the stack. This drag is made 

 of nine 1x6 boards placed six inches apart and bolted at 

 each end to 2x4 crosspieces laid flat. It is simply dragged 

 over the field and a ton or more of hay tipped onto it 

 with forks and then dragged to the stack, where the hay 

 is delivered to the stacker. New stacks, especially where 

 the wind blows, should be anchored by wires over the 

 tops and fastening weights to them. 



HARVEST AFTER ANY INJURY. 



Do not hesitate about or delay the cutting of alfalfa 

 at any time if its tops are injured severely by frosts, or 

 hail, or insects, or drouth. It never pays to leave such 

 injured alfalfa with the hope that it may recover, because 

 the plants always make a second growth from the crowns, 

 and the injured tops both spoil the hay and interfere with 

 the growth of the second crop. 



STORING GREEN ALFALFA. 



Green alfalfa may be stored either in the silo or by 

 a new method recommended by the Kansas Experiment 



Blooded Rams on Alfalfa Pasture. 



Station. We do not recommend silos for the West, be- 

 *cause dry alfalfa hay is such a perfect food that there is 

 no necessity of putting it up green. The Kansas method 

 of storing green alfalfa is of interest. The alfalfa is 

 hauled in as soon as possible after cutting jrnd stored on 

 floors two to three feet above ground, made of poles or 

 slats, which supply openings through which the air from 

 beneath can pass up through the hay. These sheds are 

 covered with some kind of roof. The alfalfa is piled from 

 three to five feet deep on the floors, and if the weather is 

 dry and there is no outside moisture on the stems or 

 leaves, it is claimed it will cure perfectly without heating. 

 Such hay contains all the leaves and retains a perfect 

 green color, which gives it the highest value. Care must 

 be taken not to compact the hay after it is put in. 



ALFALFA AS A FERTILIZER. 



Any one who has had experience or who has studied 

 alfalfa in its relation to western soils becomes most ap- 

 preciative and enthusiastic about its unparalleled value. 

 Through the agency of the bacteria on its roots, alfalfa is 

 one of the strongest nitrogen gathering plants. It grows 

 from a large, strong tap root, which reaches the lower 

 depths of the soil, bringing up plant food from the sub- 



