516 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 
“First, that in order wholly to overcome winterkilling, 
caused either by extreme cold or heaving by ice gathering 
around the crowns, and also to overcome sun scalding dur- 
ing extreme summer heat after the first crop is taken off, 
the farmer must plant his seed in open trenches which are 
from 4” to 6” deep and from 14” to 18” apart. Care, how- 
ever, must be taken that the trenches are not run down steep 
grades, which would cause the water to run in the trenches. 
The covering of the seed must be left to the rains and the 
wind. After the plants are about 6” above the surface of 
the ground, then the final leveling process must be begun by 
means of a common harrow by frequent harrowing. This 
harrowing should be continued until the field is leveled, and 
the crowns well buried to a depth of at least 4”. 
“Second, that by the buried crown method, the farmer 
can easily gain an extra crop, for the reason that the buried 
crown will throw out, late in the fall, a large number of 
sprouts, which will remain below the surface of the ground 
and thus keep alive, waiting for spring that they may start 
growing again at the first call of growing weather; thus often 
making a growth of from 6” to 8” before the exposed crown 
recovers from the rigors of the past winter. 
“Third, that the covered crown method is the only way 
by which an alfalfa field can be made permanent or ever- 
lasting; thus is explained and established, the truth em- 
bodied in the German name for alfalfa, which is Ewiger Klee, 
or Eternal Clover. By the buried crown method, that part 
of the top growth which is covered with soil, never dies. 
Frost does not affect it. It lives through the winter, and 
not only lives, but develops independent small roots; if any 
injury befalls the main tap-root or the crown, these little 
feeder roots become independent tap-roots, and a new crown 
is developed just above the old crown; so it often happens 
that where one crown is destroyed by a mole or other rodent, 
as many as 20 new crowns take the place of the one dead one. 
“Fourth, that by the buried crown method alone, soil cul- 
tivation and moisture conservation can be practiced continu- 
ously without material injury to the crowns. A field, under 
this method, can be disked or harrowed with a spring-tooth 
harrow, as often as a crop is taken off; or, if only a top mulch 
is desired to retain moisture, a common harrow can be run 
