308 THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



the surface and ending within two or three feet o£ the 

 water. After plowing deep and harrowing well, I sow 

 in the spring, late enough to miss frost, 25 to 30 pounds 

 to the acre; then cover, in light soil from one to two 

 inches, and in clay soil less. During the first season it 

 should be mowed so that the weeds cannot choke it out, 

 and then there will be about a ton of hay to the acre to 

 be cut in August. I irrigate with water from streams 

 thoroughly in the spring and after each cutting, using 

 enough water to soak the ground for a few days. New 

 land requires more water than old, but the quantity 

 needed is about the same every year. At three years the 

 plant attains its best yields, and with proper care will not 

 need reseeding. There are usually three cuttings each 

 season, with an average oi i^i tons to the acre, and I 

 have known five cuttings. It is mowed for hay when it 

 commences to bloom, and for seed any time before the 

 frost comes, the second crop being best for the latter use. 

 The seed is mowed, threshed and dried as any other clover 

 is. The hay should lie before raking until it is thor- 

 oughly wilted, then cure in cock two or three days. We 

 stack in ricks 16 to 18 feet wide and any desired height 

 or length. The hay will not heat if well cured before 

 stacking. On land valued at $40 an acre, the cost of hay 

 in the stack is about $1.50, and to bale this costs $2 a ton. 

 The yield of seed is 5 to 10 bushels to the acre, and it sells 

 for $4.50 to $7.50 a bushel, while hay brings $4, formerly 

 $8. For threshing, a clover huller is better than the com- 

 mon machine. The alfalfa straw is of double the value 

 of any other straw for feeding. The hay grown without 

 irrigation is not so rank as that which is watered, and is 

 consequently more valuable as a feed; any is better than 



