INTRODUCTION, 35 
At the present writing (1909) we are feeding some 
1,450 lambs, with about 150 ewes and lambs, and we 
could as readily feed 2,000 or more if we had more 
shelter for them. ; 
Woodland Farm is larger now; the alfalfa has 
crowded the line fences back a little. It contains 
320 acres and is devoted mainly to the growing of 
corn and alfalfa. During the summer of 1908 corn 
was grown on 90 acres of alfalfa sod. This field had 
been twice sown to alfalfa, with intervals 
when it was planted in corn. The last pe- 
riod of alfalfa was a 6 year period for part 
of the land and a longer period for the remain- 
der. During the 6 years there were taken off at least 
20 crops of hay, certainly 20 tons of hay to each acre. 
During this time no manure was put on the field, but 
on parts of it phosphorus was applied in the shape of 
acid phosphate, about 300 lbs. per acre or maybe a 
little more. The great crops of hay taken continually 
off of this field disturbed our mother, who finally 
spoke in sorrowing tones to the writer, thus: ‘‘ Joey, 
I am worrying about that alfalfa field.’’ ‘‘Why, 
mother?’’ ‘‘Because you do not manure it. You 
haul off hay and haul off more hay and it seems to 
me you actually have hollowed the land out so that 
it is lower than it used to be. I think of what your 
father would say if he could see it. Why don’t you 
put some manure on it, boy?’’ 
I assured her that I could not believe that the land 
was really getting poor, and that we were putting 
the manure out carefully on land that we knew. was 
