350 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 



after sowing, fed down close and tramped. Then tlie stock should 

 be taken off for a few months and the alfalfa will grow splen- 

 didly. If alfalfa and wheat are sown together cattle can not he 

 put on till a year after, hut if sown alone cattle can be put on 

 permanently when it is six months old. 



The opinion seems general in Argentina that more 

 or less feeding is good for alfalfa when it is y-oung, 

 certainly by the time that it is five or six months 

 old as the tramping is beneficial, and the plants 

 should not seed the first year. Sometimes it is grazed 

 with sheep, a shepherd keeping them moving so that 

 it will not be grazed too closely. They do a good 

 job of weed eradication and also tramp the land well. 

 In the spring it is not possible to put . on stock 

 enough to keep the alfalfa down because it grows so 

 fast and the arrangements for watering the cattle 

 are not sufficient for the numbers that would be re- 

 quired. Mr. "Williams, already quoted, had at one 

 time two head of cattle to the acre and was at the 

 same time cutting some for hay from the same field. 

 Later in the season when the weather became very 

 dry the alfalfa would keep fewer, or no animals for a 

 time, then recourse would be had to stacks. 



Seeding in Argentina. — From 9 to 35 lbs. of seed 

 per acre are used, usually from 11 to 18 lbs. Seed 

 is harvested plentifully in many parts of Argentina. 

 In some places the alfalfa is allowed to re-seed itself. 

 The usual price is from $3.50 to $8.00 per bushel 

 (60 lbs.). 



Life of Argentina Alfalfa. — It is said that in some 

 parts of Argentina alfalfa will endure for 25 years" 



