40 



daily for two weeks during the heat of summer. The United States consul at Lam- 

 bayeque, Peru, states (United States Agricultural Eeport, 1877, p. 544) that it will 

 not hear water, an abundant irrigation or inundation causing speedy death to^iihe 

 plant. The result in this country has been the same. Alfalfa has invariably perished 

 during the rainy months. All the clovers are affected the same way. 



Mr. Knapp incloses a letter from Dr. B. J. Taliaferro, of Maitlaud, 

 Orange County, the only person in his knowledge who has been suc- 

 cessful in growing Alfalfa in that region. Dr. Taliaferro says: 



There is no doubt but that Alfalfa can be successfully grown in South Florida. 

 My old patch is now twelve months old, and has been cut rive times. I am so well 

 pleased with it that I have just put in five acres more. The great difficulty is getting 

 a good stand. If the ground is not just right the seed will fail. I have failed several 

 times by sowing when the sun was too hot or not hot enough, or when the land was 

 not sufficiently moist. From my short experience I think September is the best month 

 in which to plant. If we plant early in the spring or summer it is almost impossible 

 to keep the crab-grass from taking it. I sow in drills 1G or 18 inches apart, and wait 

 for a warm moist day for sowing. The plant is very delicate at first, and must be 

 kept clean from grass and weeds. I shall try a small piece broadcast this fall, but 

 doubt whether it will prove a success, as crab-grass is its greatest enemy in my por- 

 tion of Florida. The piece I have growing is on high dry pine laud, such as would 

 be suitable for orange growing. Alfalfa, having a very long tap-root, would not do 

 on low land. It is very necessary to prepare the land thoroughly. My plan is as 

 follows: After getting the land clean of all stumps, rubbish, &c, I plow it deeply 

 with a two-horse turning-plow, then harrow and hand-rake. Early in spring I put 

 on a light dressing of cotton-seed meal, and sow down in cow-peas broadcast, and 

 when the vines are in full bearing I turn them under with a three-horse plow, and as 

 soon thereafter as possible harrow deeply, and broadcast again with some good fer- 

 tilizer (I prefer cotton-seed meal, bone meal, and potash), harrowing it in well with 

 a spring-tooth harrow. It would be well to repeat the harrowing as often as possible 

 before sowing. About the first or middle of September hand-rake perfectly smooth, 

 and put in the seed with a seed-drill, about six pounds per acre. Keep clean of 

 weeds and crab-grass, and cut when in bloom. A top-dressing of land plaster after 

 the first cutting will prove very beneficial. I have experimented with a number of 

 forage plants, but failed with all except Millo maize until I tried Alfalfa. 



J. S. Newman, director Experiment Station, Anbnrn, Ala. : 



I have had it fourteen years in profitable growth from one seeding, and have seen 

 it in Gordon County, Georgia, twenty-five years old, and still in vigorous and profit- 

 able growth. If used for hay, it must be cut before it blossoms, or the stems become 

 too woody. Like other leguminous plants it requires especial care in curing, to pre- 

 vent the loss of its leaves. It may be cut from three to five times in one season, ac- 

 cording to the frequency of rains. It is a mistake to s uppose that becauseof its 

 long tap root it is not seriously affected by drought. It thrives well upon all classes 

 of lands, if fertile and well drained. 



Clarke Lewis, Clifton ville, Miss. : 



It grows readily in this State on poor sandy soil, but best on sandy loam. It will 

 bear cutting year after year without new seeding, if not too heavily grazed. As a 

 permanent soiling plant it has no superior. It must be cut early, when first coming 

 into blossom ; if cut later it becomes woody and makes poor hay. Its introduction 

 has been confined to a few localities. 



Prof. James Troop, La Fayette, Ind. : 



It is naturalized here, but little cultivated. It is perfectly hardy on our black 

 sandy loam, but yields no more than timothy or clover. It will not last here more 

 than three or four years. 



