154 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 
then from the manure of that field spreading to an- 
other, can a man succeed. It is easy once you get 
started. The farther you go the faster the work 
proceeds. I write now of rather poor eastern 
soils. Of course there are soils already so rich in 
all needed elements of plant food that it is idle to 
add more. Men owning such soils are more blessed 
than they probably realize. 
Soils Devoid of Humus.—wWill not alfalfa grow in 
soils devoid of humus? It is an interesting ques- 
tion. I feel that it will, under certain conditions. 
There are desert soils that would seem to be almost 
devoid of vegetable matter, yet fully charged with 
mineral salts and in these I have seen the most tre- 
mendous alfalfa that I have ever seen. Perhaps 
there was more humus in that gray-colored lime- 
impregnated alkaline soil than I thought, but it 
certainly was as hard as brick when dry and of the 
color of lime mortar. It is sure, however, that in 
eastern soils humus is most desirable; how indis- 
pensable it is remains to be worked out. 
An Example of Farm Practice—On Woodland 
Farm there is one 60-acre field commonly called the 
Gill field. It has not long been a part of the farm. 
The soil was clay, some of it white and some of it 
black. A part of the field was low and peaty. For 
many years it had probably not paid the cost of cul- 
tivation. It had had little or no manure since the 
forest was cleared away. 
The first step was to get rid of surplus water and 
miles of ditches were laid, one of them to give out- 
