lo6 ALFALFA 



out constant and judicious irrigation. After the first 

 season we make two cuttings a year, and consider two 

 tons to the acre each time a good yield. . For hay we 

 cut when the first crop is well advanced — say, nearly 

 in full bloom; the second crop and any later ones are 

 cut when the bloom first shows; otherwise the lower 

 leaves will drop off. The first crop is generally pref- 

 erable for seed, provided butterflies and other insedts 

 have not injured the bloom, as they often do. If the 

 second crop is used for seed, it should ripen longer 

 than the first. The crop for seed is mowed, windrowed 

 as soon as possible, allowed to dry in that state, gath- 

 ered with a hand-fork, loaded on hay-wagons, and put 

 in stack as gently as possible. We find a good crop 

 of seed a rare thing, but use the ordinary thrashing 

 outfit, and turn out 800 to 1,000 pounds a day; in rare 

 instances double that quantity, with a cost for thrash- 

 ing and cleaning of about five cents a pound. The 

 hay we never put in barns, but stack in small, narrow 

 ricks, to avoid danger of heating, endeavoring to get 

 it in the ricks as dry as possible, gathering in the fore- 

 noon. When we use our own press and men the 

 cost of baling does not exceed $1 per ton. The 

 weight of the bale depends on the kind of press used. 

 An average handy bale weighs about 150 to 175 

 pounds, and we never have any trouble about the hay 

 keeping perfectly in bales of that size. I^ike all rank 

 growths, alfalfa will produce double under irrigation, 

 and the quantity will greatly overbalance any possible 

 improvement in quality without irrigation, for I have 

 found little difference in quality between that grown 

 by irrigation and under natural moisture." 



