526 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 
ality for the method except that this is the first time where 
a machine has been used for transplanting alfalfa. I have 
combined an old oriental method with an American machine, 
one of the standard transplanting machines used for tobacco, 
cabbage, tomatoes and many other plants, which used a nine- 
inch shoe slightly widened at the back by a local blacksmith 
to allow more space for the alfalfa roots. 
‘My alfalfa studies indicate that transplanting is an an- 
cient practice, reported from India, France, England and 
South America. Under certain conditions in intensive agricul- 
ture it- would naturally come in for such a long-lived plant as 
alfalfa. I have used the method since the spring of 1907 
with the new alfalfas I brought over from Russia and Siberia 
as Agricultural Explorer sent out by the Secretary of Agri- 
culture. I have been much pleased with the wonderfully 
vigorous growth of these alfalfa plants and with the good 
results obtained by the many farmers who have set out these 
one-year plants. When set in good garden soil 2’x4’ we get 
plants with over 100 shoots to the crown, and bearing as 
much as 3 ounces of seed per plant the third year, on plants 
transplanted the first year from seed. This means 1,029 
pounds of seed per acre. The variety was the one secured in 
Russia, which I have named the Cossack. From present pros- 
pects they will yield much more the present season. Some 
farmers report obtaining 7,000 to 8,000 seeds per plant the 
first year, and one North Dakota farmer reports raising one 
pound of seed in 1911 from eight plants set in the spring of 
1910, which means 25,000 seeds per plant. 
“At present I give this out simply as an item of agri- 
cultural news and do not advise the method until its value has 
been demonstrated. However, here are some of my reasons 
for undertaking the work: 
“That 20 pounds of seed per acre means 106 seeds per 
square foot. Instead of that every plant should have several 
square feet. 
“The parasitic vine known as dodder is a serious menace 
to the alfalfa industry, as many fields are infested with it. 
In Europe such fields are put out of commission by the 
government. Plants in hills could easily be kept clean. 
