264 THE BOOK or ALFALFA 



men have been growing* alfalfa successfully for eight or 

 10 years, and I can see no reason why many others 

 should not succeed with it. The chief difficulty appears 

 to come in getting a start. Alfalfa, thoroughly started, 

 holds its own better than Red clover and yields much 

 more forage. The value of the forage is recognized by 

 everybody, and I expect to see in the course of the next 

 quarter of a century a much larger acreage sown in Ken- 

 tucky. 



LOUISIANA. 



Prof. W, R. Dodson, Director Louisiana experiment 

 station. — ^Alfalfa has been grown by the Louisiana sta- 

 tions since 1887. At the time the stations were estab- 

 lished there was little or no alfalfa grown in the state. 

 From the very first experiments conducted by Dr. W. C. 

 Stubbs, it was apparent that the plant was well suited 

 to the alluvial lands of the Mississippi and Red rivers. 

 Dr. Stubbs never lost an opportunity to advocate its cul- 

 ture, and the great progress made in securing its exten- 

 sive cultivation is largely due to his efforts. Alfalfa is 

 now extensively grown in the Red river bottoms, and a 

 very large percentage of the sugar planters grow it for 

 soiling and for hay for the plantation mules. We get 

 from four to seven cuttings per year. The average is 

 about I J^ tons for the first three cuttings, but less for the 

 last cuttings. The station one year secured a harvest of 12 

 tons of cured hay per acre ; six tons in a season Is a good 

 yield. Were it not that one or more of these cuttings will 

 fall due during a rainy season, when it is difficult to cure 

 hay, we would go into the business very extensively in 

 this state. As to the quality of the hay or forage, there 



