LEGUMINOUS CROPS 79 
Sotls: An ideal alfalfa soil is a deep rich sandy or clay 
loam. Alfalfa will not thrive in a sour soil. Alfalfa bacteria 
can not live in an acid soil and these bacteria are absolutely 
necessary to the successful growing of the crop. The appli- 
cation of two thousand pounds of limestone will ‘‘sweeten”’ 
acid soils for the growing of alfalfa and all farm crops. If 
the soil is only slightly acid, less lime will be necessary. We 
have not found it necessary to use limestone on our soils. 
If the land is very flat, it should be well drained before 
seeding to alfalfa. Superfluous water will drown out alfalfa. 
The soil must be full of air spaces and if these are filled 
with water the alfalfa will smother and turn yellow. 
Inoculation: Alfalfa bacteria are seldom found in the 
soil east of the Mississippi. These bacteria must be arti- 
ficially supplied before alfalfa can be profitably grown. Since 
sweet clover bacteria and alfalfa bacteria are identical, soil 
from the roadside, where sweet clover is growing, will serve 
to inoculate the alfalfa field. We use a manure spreader to 
scatter inoculated soil, although it can be done very well by 
hand. If sweet clover soil is not available, ‘‘pure alfalfa 
eulture’’ can be obtained from reliable seedmen. This alfalfa 
culture is satisfactory though rather expensive. 
Preparation of Seed Bed: As before stated, the ground 
should be plowed deep, preferably in June. The ground 
should then be disced or harrowed every week or two, (in 
order to kill all weeds), until about the first or middle of 
August, when it should be worked repeatedly until a very 
fine mellow seed bed is secured. The field should then be 
inoculated as suggested above and clean seed, free from weed 
and other seeds, should be sown at the rate of fifteen pounds 
to the acre. 
The seed bed must be moist from the very top surface 
down. We sow broadcast with a horn seeder and sow both 
ways to insure an even distribution. The seed should be 
6 
