64 THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



then haul the mantire to the fields and plow it under for 

 the crop to precede alfalfa. It is claimed by those who 

 have done this that a satisfactory stand is well-nigh 

 certain, other conditions being met. It can be said, how- 

 ever, that some high authorities on this crop, men who 

 have experimented on many different kinds of soil and 

 who have succeeded under varying conditions, declare 

 that neither soil nor seed inoculation is necessary. It is 

 altogether probable that if a field has been well farmed 

 for a few years previous to the alfalfa-sowing, with 

 unusually good cultivation the preceding year, a heavy 

 application of stable manure plowed under at least five 

 months before, then given the proper preparation and 

 seeding, using seed raised in about the same latitude and 

 under similar conditions in which the new crop must 

 grow, and with seed testing ninety per cent germinable, 

 there should be little anxiety about the need of inocula- 

 tion. Of course old, worn-out land may require more 

 fertilizers, restoring to the soil not only necessary nitro- 

 gen that has been exhausted by other crops, but also the 

 potash and phosphorus. In eastern states it has been 

 found advantageous also to apply a very light top-dress- 

 ing of stable manure just before sowing the seed. If 

 lime is deficient, that must be applied. An examination 

 of any particular soil will usually be made without charge 

 by the state chemists, and the farmer may thus approxi- 

 mately ascertain just what the soil will need for alfalfa, 

 com, or any other crop he may desire to raise, 



KEEP ON TKYING. 



It is important to say to the eastern farmers, espe- 

 cially, that there is little difference between successful 



