STOKES SEED FARMS COMPANY 



MOORESTOWN 



NEW JERSEV 



Alfalfa 



Alfalfa has been grown in this country about thirty-five years, and, although its adoption by the farmers has been 

 rather slow, it now holds a very important place in American agriculture wherever dairying and hay farming are carried 

 on It not' only solves the problem of an economical dairy feed (for cheaper milk production is just as profitable as 

 receiving higher milk prices), but, being a legume, it supplies its own nitrogen, and thus greatly improves the soil. In 

 turn, when fed to stock, the nitrogen in the hay enriches the manure. 



PROTEIN CONTENT 



. Five tons of alfalfa have given ten hundred sixty pounds protein, 

 which is approximately two and seven-tenths times the protein 

 content of corn. It not only makes better stock food than corn, but 

 it is cheaper and it takes less from the soil. It will thus produce as 

 much digestible protein as an acre of com and an acre of clover com- 

 bined. It will yield from fifty to one hundred per cent, more hay 

 per acre, and the hay is thii-ty per cent, richer m protein than clover. 

 It should cut three crops a year for at least three years. Clover m 

 turn cuts one crop and possibly two in one year. Certainly timothy 

 hay has no place on a good dairy farm. 



AS A FOOD RATION 



Alfalfa can be successfully substituted for a portion of the grain 

 ration. The general use of ground alfalfa in mixed feeds is an indi- 

 cation of its recognized value. It will equal bran as a feed, and bran 

 at the present time costs over fifty dollars a ton. Alfalfa hay, com 

 silage and com meal, all home grown, have proven to be successful 

 as a balanced dairy ration. Furthermore, it furnishes a maximum 

 amount of protein and mineral matter needed by the young animals 

 to make bone growth. It makes the best hog pasturage, sows eating 

 from the hay in racks in winter. Poultry thrives on it, and fed in 

 moderation it will prove a good roughage for horses. Alfalfa hay is 

 always in demand and at a good price, 



COSTS PER ACRE 



The sowing and harvesting cost of an acre of alfalfa is not in any 

 sense prohibitive, and a close comparison of figures will prove that 

 it compares very favorably with com. Fifteen to twenty pounds of 

 seed per acre is advised. On an average alfalfa seed, marketing 

 cost per acre of sowing, according to Prof. C. G. WiUiams, of Wooster, 

 Ohio, is $10.60. The harvest cost for three cuttings of alfalfa will 

 average $15.60, whereas the harvesting cost of com per acre will 

 be about $25.00. 



PLANTING DATES, QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF SEED 

 REQUIRED 



For the latitude of Northern New Jersey, we advise that alfalfa 

 be planted from March 20th to April 20th. For the latitude of 

 Southern New Jersey we advise faD planting, viz., August 20th to 

 September 1st. The matter of seed is of the greatest importance. 

 So-called Turkistan seed, or the seed from the Southwest, will not 

 stand up in our severe Northern winters, and the farther north an 

 alfalfa crop is grown it is necessary proportionately to secure seed 



wliich has been grown in a similar chmate. One of the greatest 

 sources of failure is based on this point. The importance of securing 

 seed which will produce a crop hardy enough to stand over the 

 winter cannot be overestimated. The New Jersey Alfalfa Associa- 

 tion, after a long series of experiments, offers the following formula 

 as the most desirable for this particular district, and it will apply 

 in part at least to other districts in this same latitude: Sixty per 

 cent. Kansas seed, thirty per cent. Dakota seed and ten per cent. 

 Idaho §eed. That wliich we offer is based about on the above 

 formula, and can be relied upon thoroughly. We take it for granted 

 that it will be of strong germination and as free from weed seed as 

 is possible. 



SOIL REQUIREMENTS 



It is not a serious matter what kind of soil is chosen for an alfalfa 

 crop. However, there must be sufficient plant food present, ferti- 

 lizer or manure being used to advantage. It is important that the 

 ground be properly drained. If the soil is too sour for red clover, 

 alfalfa will not succeed. The free use of lime is essential, and if in 

 doubt as to your soU, send a sample to your county agent, who 

 will test it and tell you how much lime is needed per acre. 

 If the soil lacks over one thousand pounds of burned lime, alfalfa 

 will seldom thrive. Burned, or hydrated lime, lime sand, ground 

 limestone, or shells, give equally good results if applied in equivalent 

 and ample amounts. 



POINTS ON INOCULATION 



Unless the proper bacteria is in the soil, alfalfa cannot secure the 

 nitrogen from the air and thus improve the soil and survive. Such 

 bacteria are seldom found in new fields. They are sometimes sup- 

 plied by broadcasting and harrowing in, from five hundred to one 

 thousand pounds of soil from an old alfalfa or sweet clover field, or 

 the seed may be coated lightly with the dry sifted soil by first moist- 

 ening the seed with thin glue made by dissolving a ten-cent bottle 

 of glue in one and one-half quarts of warm water and then stirring 

 in the soil. Diluted molasses is sometimes used in place of glue. 

 Commercial inoculants have not been found to be reliable, accord- 

 ing to a statement made by the New Jersey Agricultural College. 

 At present there is a law in the State of New Jersey which safe- 

 guards against dead or nearly dead inoculants. However, the method 

 of inoculation, as advised above, wiU, no doubt, prove to be the most 

 satisfactory. 



Price, Northwesterly seed, lb. 60?!, 10 lbs. $5.50, postpaid. By 

 freight or express, at purchaser's expense, 10 lbs. $5.25, 100 lbs. 

 $50.00 (bu. of 60 lbs. $30). These prices are subject to change. 



ALFALFA FIELD IN GALLATIN VALLEY. MONTANA 



83 



We sell only Northwestern grown Seed 



