274 THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



a rain, when it is wet, or dew is on, they often bloat and 

 die ; but if turned on in the spring, and kept on continu- 

 ously, have Httle danger of gorging themselves or bloat- 

 ing. No other stock is adversely affected by it This is 

 all that can be honestly said against alfalfa, and this is 

 obviated by a little care by the farmer, while the many 

 good things said about it must certainly recommend it to 

 the intelligent husbandman. Thus we can enumerate: 

 First, its certainty as a crop ; second, its enormous yield ; 

 third, its excellent pasturage qualities; fourth, its nutri- 

 tious qualities, being equally good green or dry; fifth, 

 its yield and price of seed, which is threshed with an 

 ordinary grain separator; sixth, its tremendously rapid 

 growth during the summer season. There are many more 

 attributes that can be credited to alfalfa. 



W. 0. Thompson^ Lincoln county, — I have had 20 

 years' experience with alfalfa, on second bottom and 

 upland. The upland has a clay subsoil; the second 

 bottom soil is three feet deep, underlaid with a bed of 

 sand and gravel Abundant water is found from 8 to 

 23 feet from the surface. If dry soil is found, it is the 

 first three feet below the surface. Land should be tilled 

 several years before seeding, in order to perfectly subdue 

 the sod. Use about 16 pounds of seed per acre, and pre- 

 pare the ground the same as for wheat, sowing in the 

 spring. The first crop will be nearly all weeds ; cut and 

 haul these off the ground. The second crop will produce 

 about one ton of hay per acre. Alfalfa is liable to winter- 

 kill if the winter is warm and dry. I irrigate from a 

 stream two or three times during the season, with sujBfi- 

 cient water to flood all the ground. The first year the 



