rapid. Upon soils suitable for it it will last for many years, shooting its 

 roots tough and fibrous almost as those of liquorice downward for 

 nourishment, until they are altogether out of the reach of drought. In the 

 dryest and most sultry weather when every blade of grass droops for 

 want of moisture, alfalfa will hold up its stems as fresh and green as in a 

 showery spring. 



Alfalfa has been fully tested in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and 

 Kentucky, and has given great satisfaction. Horses are very fond of it, 

 and it is claimed by many that they require no other food, except when 

 they have been at work. Five tons of good hay may be made to the 

 acre. It is estimated that five horses may be supported during the entire 



CUTTING AI,FAI,FA. 



year from one acre of alfalfa in full growth. It is ready for the mower a 

 month before red clover, and springs up long before the usual pasture 

 grasses. 



ALFALFA FOR PASTURE Alfalfa is indifferently suited for pas- 

 ture. The tramping of stock upon the land compacts it so much that 

 the plants rapidly deteriorate. It is often pastured in the west but rarely 

 when it is intended for making hay, as, when once pastured, so many 

 roots are destroyed as to greatly diminish the yield of forage. It is, how- 

 ever, extensively used as a pasture for hogs and they do not seem to injure 

 it as much as heavier stock. One acre of alfalfa will furnish abundant 

 forage for ten to twenty hogs throughout the season. It is a great pork 

 producer. 



