A GOOD ALFALFA SHED $9 



to the soil at the same time that large quantities are 

 being removed in the hay crops. These badteria cannot 

 do good work unless the soil is porous and well 

 serated. The judicious farmer in preparing his soil 

 for alfalfa will provide an open, porous subsoil, in 

 order that the badteria may have access to large quan- 

 tities of air from which to draw that most important 

 element of plant-food, nitrogen. 



AIvFALFA-ROOT ROT 

 This is a fungus disease which attacks the alfalfa, 

 and from a bulletin of the Texas Experiment Station 

 it appears the same as the cotton-root rot. It is not 

 widely spread and little injury is reported from it. 

 The fungus succumbs to any treatment that destroys 

 ordinary plants, such as salt or kerosene; but the appli- 

 cation of these over any extended area would not be 

 pradlicable. Rotation is pra(5ticed in cotton regions to 

 avoid this, and is the only alternative with alfalfa. 



A GOOD ALFALFA SHED 



" We do not believe a stack was ever built in the 

 United States that did not waste from twelve to twenty 

 per cent, of the hay, and in many cases from twenty- 

 five to thirty," says the editor of the Iowa Homestead. 

 "While all this loss is not avoided by sheds, for noth- 

 ing short of a barn will prevent some exposure, the 

 greater per cent, of the loss will be avoided by the 

 construdtion of sheds. We have found 26 x 40 and 

 sixteen feet high to be a very convenient size. We 

 have xised 6x6 and 8 x 8 for the posts, and prefer the 



