ALFALFA 141 



manure and abundant growth in a'lialfa is so marked 

 in all, or nearly all, soils west of the Mississippi 

 River that in many instances better crops will be 

 obtained from poor soils well manured than from 

 good soils unmanured. The relation between abun- 

 dant manuring and soil inoculation is worthy of 

 more careful study, in the judgment of the author, 

 than has yet been accorded to it. 



Fine pulverization of the surface soil is advan- 

 tageous when sowing alfalfa, because of the influ- 

 ence which it has upon the retention of moisture 

 near the surface, and upon the exclusion from the 

 soil of an overabundance of light. It is in clay soils, 

 of course, that this condition is most difficult to se- 

 cure. The agencies in securing it are the cultivator, 

 the harrow and the roller, and in many instances the 

 influences of weather, after the land has been 

 plowed, especially when plowed in the autumn prior 

 to spring seeding. 



Moistness in the seed-bed sufficient to promptly 

 sprout the seed is a prime essential, but it is very 

 much more important where the seasons are dry 

 than where the lack of rain is but little feared. When 

 the seed is sown after summerfallow or cultivated 

 crops, it is usually considered preferable to make the 

 seed-bed without using the plow, but to this there 

 may be some exceptions. If sowing is deferred for 

 a few weeks in the spring on such lands, or on other 

 lands autumn plowed or early spring plowed, a free 

 use of the harrow ought to be made in the interval, 

 because of the favorable influence which this will 

 have on the retention of moisture. In preparing 



