300 THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



for feeding farm animals, my opinion is that alfalfa will 

 fatten quicker, but will not go so far. The pasturage is 

 profitable and satisfactory for horses and sheep ; for hogs, 

 one acre of it is as good as 23^ of Red clover, and for 

 cattle, one acre is as good as two of clover, provided the 

 land is dry. On wet land, the clover is better for cattle, 

 and, as to bloating, the danger is just the same from the 

 two plants. In my opinion, the plant will do well on side- 

 hiUs, where the drainage is good, if the land is plowed 

 deep; and the seed drilled in two inches deep and rolled 

 with a heavy roller. Once started, the plant lives almost 

 forever, on any soil, unless the wrong kind of a winter 

 strikes it, I have an alfalfa root, taken up in digging a 

 well, that is 21 feet long. The roots of alfalfa are sure to 

 find the water, if anywhere at all within reasonable reach. 

 Joh% Jones, Utah county, — I have raised alfalfa 20 

 years, and now have 250 acres, mostly on sandy loam 

 upland; have some on bottom land, where it grows too 

 rank for seed. The subsoil is light clay, with water from 

 15 to 20 feet from the surface. On land with hardpan 

 subsoil, it declines after a few years, unless irrigated 

 often. In digging for water, we find the subsoil begins 

 to get dry at about 18 inches, and continues quite dry for 

 8 or ID feet; then moisture increases until water is 

 reached. We prepare ground by plowing in the fall, drag 

 very fine in the spring, and sow as early as the season 

 will permit, in order to catch the spring rains, using 20 

 to 25 pounds of seed per acre. Our first cutting is made 

 about June 20, and is a little weedy, but there are fewer 

 weeds in later cuttings. We get about two tons the first 

 cutting, if the stand is good, and about the same the 



