CHAPTER VIL 



CAIiLS FOR INTEIililGENCK AND PAINSTAKING. 



Considerable space in this volume is devoted to the 

 discussion of soil and seeding, but their importance can- 

 not well be over-estimated. Really the whole subject of 

 alfalfa might well be treated under the two heads, 

 "Seeding*' and "Harvesting/' so very inclusive are these 

 two phases of the subject. Without careful seeding one 

 cannot have a crop to harvest, and without careful har- 

 vesting he might almost as well not have a crop. Both 

 call for intelligence and painstaking farming, and much 

 patience and hard work. But the rewards of these vir- 

 tues and labors are heavy yields from the most valuable 

 forage plant. If it is worth nine times as much as tim- 

 othy, it can well demand a little more time and labor than 

 the average crop. 



IjrJiiJliilX V/UmUJc* yjJc XirUAVJG/O. 



The first point to accentuate as we approach the sub- 

 ject of harvesting is the pre-eminent value of the leaves. 

 These contain from seventy-five to eighty per cent of the 

 protein of the whole plant, that valuable compound that 

 goes to produce milk and meat. It has been estimated 

 that a ton of properly cured alfalfa leaves is equal m pro- 



