106 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 



with, the timothy grass practically crowded out. And 

 on one farm of 160 acres near this spot, at a place 

 close to Billings, Mont., a farmer sold his one year's 

 cutting of alfalfa hay, amounting to 1,000 tons. 

 Now, what was the nature of that soil? And what 

 of the climate? 



First, the climate did not have very much to do 

 with it. At least there are thousands of counties 

 in the United States with as good climate for alfalfa 

 growing as this special one, though it is true that 

 there is plenty of sun and heat in summer, 

 but an extraordinarily cold winter climate. Water 

 for irrigation was in abundant supply and never 

 fear of rain to cause blight or spoil haying. The 

 soil, then? This is a semi-arid region and the soils 

 have not for thousands of years been leached by 

 excessive rains. Thus they are filled with all sorts 

 of mineral salts. They are alkaline soils; that is, 

 filled with salts of lime, potash, magnesia and 

 sodium. Some of these salts are injurious to vegeta- 

 tion, at least When present in excess; others are 

 favorable. 



The one salt in this soil that especially favors 

 alfalfa is carbonate of lime. This exists in great 

 amounts in this soil, probably at least 1%% of this 

 substance being present. One and one-half pounds 

 of carbonate of lime to each hundred pounds of soil ! 

 How much would that mean in an acre? Taking 

 only the top foot of soil it would amount to about 30 

 t,ons of carbonate of lime present. That lime is 

 doing something in that soil ; can we discover what ? 



