102 FARM CROPS 



son the alfalfa may be regularly cut for hay, and 

 with a good catch will often produce three or four 

 cuttings the first year, yielding three or four tons 

 of good hay an acre, although on foul land the hay 

 is apt to be a little weedy. 



Lime for Alfalfa. — When the soil is acid alfalfa 

 will not succeed until the acidity has been corrected 

 by the application of lime in some form. This acid 

 condition in soil is apt to prevail in old, worn land. 

 It is not usual to apply lime directly to the crop. 

 In fact, if quicklime is scattered in alfalfa it is prob- 

 able that some of the plants will be injured or 

 destroyed by the lime. Lime in the form of car- 

 bonate of lime may be applied in small quantities 

 directly to the crop without danger of injuring the 

 plants. A good plan in liming soil for alfalfa is to plow 

 the field several weeks or months before the alfalfa 

 is to be seeded, scatter the lime soon after plowing 

 and mix it with the surface soil by harrowing or 

 disking, and continue the disking or harrowing at 

 intervals until the time of seeding. On soil that would 

 be benefited by applying lime, the application of 

 lime before seeding will greatly improve the chances 

 for getting a good stand and a good start of alfalfa. 



ALSIKE CLOVER.— This plant, compared with 

 common red clover, is characterized by a pinkish 

 rather than a bluish red tinge of its blossoms. Its 

 roots are smaller. It produces less pasture after a 

 season of maturity and also matures later than the 

 common red varieties. It has a perennial rather 

 than a biennial habit of growth. It feeds some- 

 what near to the surface and therefore does not 

 possess drouth-resisting qualities of the stronger 

 varieties of clover. For bee feeding it is very popu- 

 lar. Its range of distribution is much more limited 



