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SOILS ADAPTED TO ITS GROWTH Alfalfa does not grow 

 well on any soil that has a hard pan or on thin soils. It is a deep rooted 

 plant and must have a deep soil. Wherever the roots find a permeable 

 soil they will descend to a great depth and on river banks they have been 

 traced to the depth of 60 or 70 feet. On the rich sandy soils of the South 

 it is invaluable, and will grow luxuriantly and make enormous yields of 

 hay. Underlying rocks or impervious subsoils, or sour, marshy soils, or 

 crswfishy soils, or stiff, clayey soils are fatal to its growth. So is stagnant 

 water. It will grow on favorable soils at almost any height from sea 

 level up to an elevation of 7000 feet. 



Alfalfa is not affected so much by altitude as by the depth and 

 warmth of the soil and the depth of the water-table beneath the surface. 

 A rich, sandy loam, limy with a porous subsoil suits it best. A region in 

 which the rainfall is excessive is not favorable for the growth of alfalfa as 

 the plants are quickly killed even by surface water. Nor is the presence 

 of a large proportion of iron in the soil favorable to the growth of this 

 plant. Soils that have a large content of lime, phosphoric acid, potash 

 and magnesia are those best adapted to its growth, but lime seems to be 

 the most essential. A considerable amount of sand in the soil is not 

 objectionable. 



HOW TO PREPARE THE SOIL The soil should be prepared in 

 the most thorough manner. It must be finely pulverized; it must be 

 broken deeply and subsoiled and it must be free from any trash or weeds. 

 It is better to sow alfalfa after some hoed crop, as tobacco, cotton, pota- 

 toes and root crops such as beets, carrots, turnips and rutabagas. In 

 the middle South the seed may be sown in the fall or spring. October and 

 March are the best months. It is best to sow the seed in drills from 15 to 

 20 inches apart. Twenty to twenty-five pounds of seed per acre will be 

 required. When the plants have come up and grown high enough a small 

 cultivator should be run between the rows so as to destroy any grass or 

 weeds that may have made their appearance. Many persons sow the 

 seed broadcast but if this is dene it must be upon land that has been kept 

 free from any noxious weeds by crops or clover. 



Alfalfa when young is an exceedingly delicate plant and requires much 

 nursing. It is sown by some persons with oats or wheat but in the cli- 

 mate of Tennessee when so sown the young plants rarely survive the 

 summer heat. No crop requires more extraordinary preparation to se- 

 cure a good stand than alfalfa, but it should be remembered that one 

 preparation will last for a generation, for if it is planted upon suitable soil 

 and a good stand obtained it may yield luxuriant crops for thirty or forty 

 years. It rarely happens that alfalfa will grow tall enough the first year 

 or will be sufficiently free from weeds to be mowed for hay, yet if it has 

 been sown broadcast in the spring it will be wise management to run the 

 mower over the land as often as weeds and grass may grow high enough 

 to cut. It reaches its best growth during the third year. When properly 

 managed up to that period the number of cattle which can be kept in 

 good condition on an acre by soiling throughout the whole season sur- 

 passes belief. It is no sooner mown than it pushes out fresh shoots, and 

 wonderful as the growth of clover sometimes is, that of alfalfa is far more 



