FiEivD e;xpe;rime;nts. 37 



Treatment in 1905. The spring seeded broadcast plot (i) 

 was badly choked with weeds. It is doubtful if many alfalfa 

 plants were winter killed. Because of the weeds, the seeding of 

 1904 was abandoned and the plot was plowed, summer fallowed 

 with frequent harrowing and it is planned to re-seed in 1906. 

 The spring drilled plot (2) came through the winter without 

 loss. The following notes were taken May 31. The plot 

 presents very marked peculiarities. All over it are occasional 

 plants that are very dark colored and exceedingly vigorous. 

 These vigorous plants are the most numerous on the part treated 

 with ashes; less numerous on that with lime; and quite scat- 

 tered on the part that had neither lime nor ashes. All over the 

 piece there are plants of sickly appearance, seemingly nitrogen 

 starved. These, of course are most numerous on the plots that 

 have the least of the very vigorous plants. Specimens of both 

 the luxuriant and poor alfalfa were dug and the roots were 

 found to be about equally stocked with root tubercles. At this 

 date, May 31, the best plants were about 16 inches high. The 

 poor were about 6 inches high. 



The field was tested in a number of different places with litmus 

 paper and found to be acid. As the ashes were applied with a 

 manure spreader they would be somewhat unevenly distributed, 

 and it might be that the places where the plants were the most 

 vigorous received a more liberal application and that the acid 

 was neutralized in these spots. This explanation would not 

 apply as well to the lime which was applied by hand in finely 

 powdered form, and would not at all explain the presence of 

 clumps of thrifty plants on the part that had no alkali. The 

 alfalfa was cut in July. Because of the drought in July and 

 August the plants made but little growth until September. They 

 went into the winter in good condition. 



Plots 3 and 4 (August seeded) did not come through the 

 winter in good shape, and the 1904 seeding was abandoned. 

 The piece was thoroughly harrowed, smoothed and seeded May 

 31, 1905, with Montana grown alfalfa seed at the rate of 25 

 pounds per acre. This seed was applied broadcast with the 

 Massey seeder. No fertilizer was applied this year. The 

 eastern part of the piece, rather more than half an acre, was 

 seeded with " scratched seed," — i. e. seed that had been passed 

 through a machine that scratched the seed coats, with the 



