196 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 



It is not SO necessary to get a perfect seedbed in 

 spring sowing as it is when sowing in the fall. There 

 is much more moisture in the spring and heavy 

 rains will probably come to compact the seedbed, 

 yet drouths are to be looked for at any time, so 

 one should do his part well in any case. ' 



Example of Spring Sowing. — Take Woodland 

 Farm, where always of recent years seeding has 

 been done early in April. This farm is about on the 

 40th parallel, in the latitude of Columbus, 0., Phila- 

 delphia and Springfield, 111. Spring seeding is done 

 here because of the climate and soil. Singularly 

 enough at this point on the curve of the earth there 

 seems more fighting of the elements than either 

 north or south of us. At "Wooster, 0., some 80 

 miles north of us, snow and frozen ground prevail 

 during a much longer time in winter than with us. 

 Thus at AVooster they find fall seeding of alfalfa a 

 better thing than spring seeding, while we have had 

 very poor success indeed with fall seeding, which 

 usually lifts out of the ground during the repeated 

 freezes and thaws of winter. 



Disk, Harrow and Drag. — ^Land destined for al- 

 falfa is almost always planted to corn the year be- 

 fore and given very clean and careful cultivation. 

 For the corn crop as much manure as was available 

 was applied. The land is plowed in the fall or win- 

 ter if there is time and the soil is found fit. The 

 plows are set to run as deep as practicable. In this 

 practice we are reforming steadily year by year, 

 deepening our soil as fast as we well can. As soon 



