IN THS DIFFERBNT STATES II9 



tion of the state, reports something of his operations 

 tnus: 



' ' We began sowing alfalfa eight years ago, and now 

 have 265 acres, and intend to put in one hundred acres 

 more next spring. The land is largely ' bottom ' and 

 'second bottom,' and the sandy loam and 'gumbo' 

 produce well if the plants get a good start. If, after 

 seed is sown on the ' gumbo,' a rain falls, it is liable to 

 form a crust that prevents the plants coming through. 

 In digging our wells we find the ground moist, and the 

 water supply in gravel or sand at a depth of sixteen to 

 thirty feet. When the ground is thoroughly pulver- 

 ized we sow thirty pounds to the acre, and harrow; 

 though if the weather happens to be dry after sowing, 

 better results are obtained by drilling it in as wheat is 

 drilled. We have had the best results from seed sown 

 between the middle of April and the first of May, but 

 good stands have been secured after seeding the first of 

 June, and even the last of August and first of Sep- 

 tember. Much depends on the weather after sowing. 

 During the first season we mow to keep the weeds 

 down, and I have known seed sown the first of April 

 to yield one and one-fourth tons of hay per acre on 

 'bottom' land, but we do not cut for seed the first 

 year. For hay we cut when in bloom two or three 

 times, with a yield of about two and one-half tons per 

 acre the first time, one ton the second, and one and 

 one-fourth the third, though on some bottom-land there 

 is not more than one ton per acre for each cutting.. 

 The second crop is usually best for seed, though some- 

 times the first crop is well filled. As soon as the pods 

 are about half colored, the crop should be cut with a 

 binder and dropped off in bunches, not bound. It 



