244 THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



IT 



and the other I2j^ pounds across it, thus making an even 

 stand. Prefer to sow in the spring, early. After the 

 plant is eight inches high, it may be cut and used for feed, 

 but is not very good. x\fter this there will be no weeds. 

 It matures in three years, and after that is good for seed. 

 I have seen, near the city of Mexico, fields of alfalfa 300 

 years old that had been constantly cropped and never 

 reseeded. It will last 1000 years, and possibly forever. 

 Irrigate from streams, as it is required; when there is a 

 great deal of heat and wind, probably three times. The 

 water must not run too long, or the plant will be killed, 

 and the land should be kept as dry as possible during the 

 winter, particularly in cold climates, as on wet soil alfalfa 

 winterkills. Well water is better than the stream, pro- 

 vided it is pumped into a reservoir and allowed to get 

 warm. Water is brought from the streams by ditches. 

 Less w^ater can be used the first year than after the plant 

 is matured. I am five miles west of Denver, and 500 

 feet above the city, in warm valleys. With plenty of 

 water, I can obtain three cuttings a year. Have raised 

 as much as 3J^ tons to the acre at one cutting, and my 

 highest yield of seed per acre has been nine bushels. Hay 

 is cut when the plant is in bloom, cured until it is dry to 

 the touch of the hand. Stacking by hand makes the best 

 hay, as machinery is likely to pack it in bunches, causing 

 it to heat and become dusty. Hay in the stack costs 

 about $1.50 per ton. Baling costs $2 per ton; loo-pound 

 bales are well esteemed, but it is probable that large bales 

 keep better than small, if properly cured. The seed pod 

 assumes the form of a cornucopia, and, when the seed is 

 c^e, it is of a rich brown or mahogany color. The first 



