ii6 



have taken up a considerable amount of time, and if your president 

 thinks it is in order to continue the discussion I shall be glad to do 

 so. 



Mr. Tenny. In a field where potatoes were grown last summer 

 when would you seed to alfalfa? 



Dr. Lipman. We find that between the 15th and the 25th of 

 August is the best time for us under all conditions. We have tried 

 spring seedings and have had success, but on the whole we find the 

 best time in August because we can get our seed bed ready, particu- 

 larly as the growth of weeds is sufficiently retarded by that time. 

 In Wisconsin they get the best results by seeding in the spring. 

 They use 20 pounds of alfalfa seed and about 50 or 60 pounds of 

 barley per acre for spring seeding. The climate will determine 

 the best time to seed. If you go far enough south I dare say you 

 will find spring seeding most satisfactory. In Adams County, I 

 am quite certain that from the loth to the 15th of August would 

 be the best time. I might add here that in Ohio they have been 

 experimenting in various ways. For instance, they have used 

 alfalfa as a catch crop, now and then, with good success. Then they 

 have used alfalfa as we use clover for seeding with oats. There are 

 various ways in which it may be used, and now and then one man 

 will succeed where others fail, but as a general method for southern 

 Pennsylvania or New Jersey and almost all of New York, seeding 

 in August, on the whole, will give the best results. Prof. Hopkins, 

 of the Illinois Station, has made the claim that the bacteria will 

 form nodules on the roots of sweet clover, and will also form nod- 

 ules on the roots of alfalfa. 



R. A, Wickersham. Could you grow sweet clover as success- 

 fully and profitably as alfalfa? 



Dr. Lipman. I do not think so. I think that sweet clover 

 will not compare favorably with alfalfa for yield, but at the same 

 time sweet clover has its uses and will grow on soil too heavy or 

 too wet for alfalfa. Where alfalfa can be grown successfully, all 

 people who have compared the crops will admit that it is a better 

 crop than sweet clover. 



A. W. Griest. For alfalfa started this fall, what would you 

 recommend as a fertilizer, after the first cutting next summer? 



Dr. Lipman. I would recommend 300 pounds of acid phos- 

 phate and ICQ pounds of muriate of potash. No nitrogen. The 

 crop is able to get its nitrogen from the air. 



Question. How would you apply that fertilizer? 



Dr. Lipman. You would want to broadcast your fertilizer. 

 We have taken the matter up in New Jersey now as to keeping al- 

 falfa in for a longer time — possibly about 20 years. If we could 

 keep alfalfa in for 12 or 14 years it might be cheaper to put it in 

 rows rather than broad cast it. We intend to find out whether it 

 would pay to have alfalfa sown in rows. 



