AS A 

 FEBTH^IZEB 



AEID AGEICULTUEE. 141 



hay contains all the leaves and retains a perfect 

 green color, which gives it the highest value. 

 Care must be taken not to compact the hay after 

 it is put in. 



AX.TAi.TA. Any one who has had experience or who has 



studied alfalfa in its relation to western soils be- 

 comes most appreciative and enthusiastic about 

 its unparalleled value. Through the agency of 

 the bacteria on its roots alfalfa is one of the 

 strongest nitrogen gathering plants. It grows 

 from a large, strong tap root, which reaches the 

 lower depths of the soil, bringing up plant food 

 from the sub-soil, loosening compacted soils and 

 adding vegetable matter through their own 

 decay when the soil is used for other crops. In 

 growing several crops in a season, which are 

 harvested as hay, there is a considerable deposit 

 on the surface of broken off leaves, small stems, 

 and more especially of stubble, which dies each 

 time from the place cut by the mower to the 

 crown of the plant. These things add much veg- 

 etable matter to the surface of the soil. Our 

 studies have convinced us that growing alfalfa 

 on any soil from three to five years adds from 

 thirty to forty dollars worth of available fertil- 

 izer when it is plowed up for the production of 

 other crops. By using alfalfa in rotation the 

 raising of intensive crops, like potatoes and 

 sugar beets, is made possible, and rotation with 

 alfalfa in parts of the West has increased the 



