140 Al,FAI<rA 



row, or it may be cocked and left for a day or more. 

 However, if it is dry enough it is stacked or baled, as 

 the case may be. It is always best to rake in the fore- 

 noon, because the leaves stay on better. After being 

 well started alfalfa lives for a long time. There are 

 fields in this vicinity that were seeded fifty years ago, 

 and to-day they are producing as heavy crops as the 

 newer fields. It endures pasturing well if frequently 

 irrigated. Dry and hot weather does not affedl it 

 when there is sufficient water to irrigate with. We 

 have but very little wet weather, and it has no notice- 

 able effedl on growth. Cold weather stunts the alfalfa 

 very much, especially in the spring, after it has started 

 to grow. Aside from cold spells in the late spring, 

 the cold weather does not injure the alfalfa. So far 

 the alfalfa has no serious enemies. The grasshopper 

 is the only one mentionable for its depredations, and 

 these invaders are infrequent, and nothing is done to 

 check them. Alfalfa is considered the most highly 

 valued and economical forage for the farmers of the 

 territory." 



NEW YORK 



Alfalfa does not appear to be as yet much of a 

 fadlor in the agriculture of New York. Prof. I. P. 

 Roberts, of Cornell University, says: "The attempt 

 to raise alfalfa in New York has not always been suc- 

 cessful. It seems that in some localities it thrives well ; 

 in others it appears to be a failure, and its failure is 

 apparently due to uncongenial conditions of the sub- 

 soil. During the last five years many farmers have 

 tried small areas. Some speak very highly of it, 

 others have not been successful. The experiment 



