HARVESTING 89 



To sum up, the points to be emphasized in cutting 

 alfalfa for hay, and its treatment immediately after, are: 



Cut in early bloom. 



Handle as little as possible. 



Prevent its being wet after cutting. 



Cure if possible partly in the swath, in the windrow, in 

 the cock and in the stack or mow. 



Cut as often as it blooms, which will range from twice 

 in New England to nine times a year in southern Okla- 

 homa, southern California, Texas and Louisiana. 



In a region of frequent rains protect with hay-caps. 



HARVESTING FOB SEED. 



The first cutting should not be used for seed for three 

 reasons : First, if that cutting is delayed until the seed 

 has ripened, the second and third cuttings will be very 

 light, and in the extreme northern alfalfa territory there 

 may not be even a second. A stronger reason is that 

 at the time of the first cutting, favorable weather is 

 likely to be much less certain and rains will interfere with 

 the stacking of the seed crop, which, to insure its best 

 value, must be put in the stack or mow without wetting. 

 Another is that the seed pods at that season are not 

 usually so well filled and the proportion of fertile seeds 

 is less because the bees and other insects have not so 

 early in the season had time and opportunity to aid in 

 the pollenation. 



Cutting should be done when the greater proportion 

 of the seeds are hard, but not sulEciently ripe to shell. 

 At this stage a majority of the pods are turned a dark- 

 brown color and the seeds are fully developed. Fre- 

 quently the cutting can be raked into windrows after two 



