248 DRY-FARMING 



insufficient supply of moisture for the thickly planted 

 crop. The alfalfa field does not attain its maturity 

 until after the second year, and a crop which looks 

 j ust right the second year will probably be much too 

 thick the third and fourth years. From four to six 

 pounds of seed per acre are usually ample. Another 

 main cause of failure is the common idea that the 

 lucern field needs little or no cultivation, when, in 

 fact, the alfalfa field should receive as careful soil 

 treatment as the wheat field. Heav>-, thorough 

 disking in spring or fall, or both, is advisable, for it 

 leaves the topsoil in a condition to prevent evapora- 

 tion and admit air. In Asiatic and X(jrth African 

 countries, lucern is frequently cultivated between 

 rows throughout the hot season. This has been tried 

 by Brand in this country and with very good results. 

 Since the crop should always be sown with a drill, it 

 is comparatively easy to regulate the distance between 

 the rows so that cultivating implements may be used. 

 If thin seeding and thorough soil stirring are practiced, 

 lucern usually grows well, and with such treatment 

 should become one of the great drv-farm crops. The 

 yield of hay is not large, but sufficient to leave a com- 

 fortable margin of profit. Many farmers find it more 

 l^rofitable to grow dry-farm lucern for seed. In good 

 years from fifty to one hundred and fifty dollars may 

 be taken from an acre of lucern seed. However, at 

 the present, the principles of lucern seed production 

 are not well established, and the seed crop is uncertain. 



