For the Southern States. 



79 



feeding green, or soiling. Used in the latter way, (for under no circum- 

 stances must it ever be pa^ured) I am able to give my stock fresh, green 

 food fully four weeks before the native, wild grasses commence to put 

 out. I deem it best to cut the day before, what is fed green, in order to 

 let it become thoroughly wilted before using. After a large number of 

 experiments with horses, mules, cattle and swine, I can aver that in no 

 instance from March to November, have I found a case when any of 

 these animals would not give the preference to Alfalfa over every kind 

 of grass (also soiled) known in this region. And, while Alfalfa makes 

 a sweet and nutritious hay eagerly eaten by all kinds of stock, it is as a 

 forage plant for soiling, which is available for at least nine months in 

 the year, that I esteem it so highly. The hay is easily cured, if that 

 which is cut in the forenoon is thrown into small cochs at noon, then 

 spread out after the dew is off next morning, sunned for an hour, and 

 at once hauled into the barn. By this method the leaves do not fall off, 

 which is sure to be the case if the Alfalfa is exposed to a day or two of 

 hot sunshine. 



It has been my habit to precede the Alfalfa with a clean crop, usually 

 Rutabagas, after which I sow clay-peas to be turned in'about the last of 

 July. About the middle of September or later I have the land 

 ploughed, the turn plough being followed by a deep sub-soil plough 

 or scooter. After this the land is fertilized and harrowed until it is 

 thoroughly pulverized and all lumps broken up. The fertilizers 

 employed by me are 500 lbs. fine bone-dust (phosphate of lime) and 

 1000 lbs. cotton seed hull-ashes per acre. These ashes are very rich in 

 potash and phosphates, containing nearly 45 per cent, of the phosphate 

 of potash and nearly 40 per cent, of the phosphate of lime— the two 

 articles best adapted to the wants of this plant. I sow all of my Alfalfa 

 with the Mathew's Seed Drill, in rows 10 inches apart. Broad-cast 

 would be preferable, if the land were perfectly free from grass and 

 weeds ; but, as it takes several years of clean culture to put the land 

 in this condition, sowing in drills is practically the best. No seed sower 

 known to me can be compared with the Mathew's Seed Drill. It's 

 work is evenly and regularly done, and with a rapidity that is astonish- 

 ing ; for it opens the drill to any desired depth, drops the seed, covers 

 and rolls them, and marks the line for the next drill at one operation, 

 It is simple and durable in its structure, and is the greatest labor-saving 

 machine of its kind ever devised for hand-work. 



When my Alfalfa is about 3 inches high I work it with the Mathew's 

 Hand Cultivator. First the front tooth of the Cultivator is taken out, 

 by which means the row is straddled and all the grass cut out close to 

 the plant; then, the front tooth being replaced, the cultivator is passed 

 between the rows, completely cleaning the middles of all foul growth. 

 As often as required to keep down grass, until the Alfalfa is large 

 enough to cut, the Mathew's Hand Cultivator is passed between the 

 rows. 



Alfalfa requires three years to reach perfection, but even the first 

 year the yield is larger than that of most forage plants, and after the 

 second it is enormous. The land must, however, be made rich at 

 first ; a top dressing every three years is all that will thereafter be 

 required. The seed must be very lightly covered and should be rolled, 

 or brushed in, if not sowed with a Mathew's Seed Sower. 



