124 ALFALFA 



persistent in our state, and it is necessary to give 

 several years' preparation to the land before seeding, 

 or else to keep the alfalfa weeded for about the first 

 half of the growing season, or until it gets a fair start. 

 Doing this is expensive. 



' ' It has been started with partial success by seed- 

 ing with some other crop, such as oats, and cutting 

 about the time the oats headed out, so as not to allow 

 the oats to take the moisture or smother the alfalfa. 

 The soil which seems best suited to alfalfa is well- 

 drained light loam, although we have grown it here on 

 the station farm in a comparatively stiff clay; even in 

 such soil the roots penetrated more than two feet. 

 We generally cut when in full bloom, and the yield has 

 been from a ton to a ton and a half per acre of the air- 

 dried hay. One piece we have was seeded in 1893, 

 cut the first time in 1894, and has been cut from three 

 to four times every season since. We use it green 

 and as hay. In curing we treat it exadlly as we do 

 clover. We regard it as having the greatest value for 

 us as a soiling crop, as it gives a large quantity of 

 green feed from a comparatively small area, and is 

 particularly valuable, as it comes very early and also 

 gives us a cutting very late in the season. 



" It seems fairly permanent after being well started, 

 but we have experienced trouble in top-dressing it 

 with manure which contained orchard-grass seeds, as 

 these came up and crowded considerable of the alfalfa 

 out. We have not given alfalfa very much of a test 

 in the way of pasturing, but used it one season for 

 ewes with lambs, and it appeared to endure the pastur- 

 ing very well. 



' ' The only enemy we have had trouble with was 



