PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES 2^5 



ground is soft and porous, and twice the water is required 

 as in the following years. From three to four crops are 

 raised during the season, yielding from ij^ to 2 tons 

 each cutting, or from five to six tons per acre in one sea- 

 son. Cut when in bloom for hay, and let the seed ripen 

 before cutting for seed, using either the first or second 

 crop for this seed. When cutting for seed, it should be 

 pitched out of the way of the mower after each round; 

 then let it dry before stacking, but not enough for the 

 leaves to fall off when handled. Stack in the ordinary 

 way, but be sure the hay is thoroughly dry in the shock 

 before stacking. It is more liable to get moldy in the 

 barn than in the stack. About $2 per ton will cover all 

 expenses of raising, on land worth $50 per acre. The 

 expense of baling is about $1.50 per ton, 100-pound bales 

 being preferred. It should not be baled until perfectly 

 dry in the stack. About six bushels per acre is the aver- 

 age yield of seed, and it costs about 75 cents per bushel 

 to thresh and clean. A clover huUer is the most satis- 

 factory for threshing alfalfa. The hay has sold here at 

 $3 to $10 per ton, averaging $6. The seed has brought 

 from $3 to $10 per bushel, averaging $5. One acre 

 of alfalfa will raise 35 hogs, with the aid of a little grain. 

 Horses thrive on it, but it is unsafe for sheep and cattle. 

 Animals which chew the cud will bloat if pastured on 

 alfalfa. The only way to prevent it is to keep them from 

 the pasture. The best way to cure it is to insert a tube into 

 the paunch, to allow the gas to escape. As to the longev- 

 ity of the plant, I call to mind a patch sown in 1873, on 

 upland, and it is still growing. Alfalfa attains its best 

 growth in about two years. I do not think it can 



