156 AI,FAI,FA 



twenty-five to thirty pounds to the acre; then cover in 

 light soil from one to two inches, and in clay soil less. 

 During the first season it should be mowed, so that the 

 weeds cannot choke it out, and then there will be 

 about a ton of hay to the acre to be cut in August. 

 I irrigate with water from streams, thoroughly in the 

 spring and after each cutting, using enough water to 

 to soak the ground for a few days. New land requires 

 more water than old, but the quantity needed is about 

 the same every year. At three years the plant attains 

 its best yields, and with proper care will not need 

 reseeding. There are usually three cuttings each sea- 

 son, with an average of one and one-half tons to the acre, 

 and I have known five cuttings. It is mowed for hay 

 when it commences to bloom, and for seed anytime be- 

 fore the frost conies, the second crop being best for the 

 latter use. The seed is mowed, thrashed, and dried as 

 any other clover is. The hay should lie before raking 

 until it is thoroughly wilted, then cure in cock two or 

 three days. We stack in ricks sixteen to eighteen feet 

 wide and any desired hight or length. The hay will 

 not heat if well cured before stacking. On land 

 valued at $40 an acre the cost of hay in the stack is 

 about $1 . 50, and to bale this costs $2 a ton. The yield 

 of seed is five to ten bushels to the acre, and it sells 

 for $4.50 to $7.50 a bushel, while hay brings $4 per 

 ton. For thrashing, a clover-huUer is better than a 

 common machine. The alfalfa straw is of double the 

 value of any other straw for feeding. The hay grown 

 without irrigation is not so rank as that which is 

 watered, and is consequently more valuable as a feed; 

 any is better than timothy, and equal to clover for 

 cattle, but the seed must form in it to make it valuable 



