30 A. H. Hoflfman, Inc., Seedsmen, Landisville, Lancaster Co., Pa. 
How to Grow Alfalfa 
Alfalfa From "Northwest" Seed 
1. PLANT IN A DEEP, LOOSE, WELL- 
DRAINED SOIL. Where soils are rather thin the con- 
dition can be remedied by deep plowing. Alfalfa has a 
deep-feeding root system which can not be utilized without 
favorable top soil conditions. When this is furnished the 
roots will soon reach down through rather stiff clay soils. 
Soils that are sandy or lacking in fertility should be cor- 
rected by heavy applications of manure. If the land is 
sour it must be sweetened by liming. See paragraph 5. 
2. THE SEED BED MUST BE WELL PRE- 
PARED. The soil should be thoroughly pulverized to 
considerable depth and then made quite firm by rolling 
or dragging. The land must have a chance to settle. It 
usually takes as much as six weeks for land to settle, 
though in periods of frequent heavy rains the settling 
process may require only four weeks. The disc and 
harrow are the tools needed to follow the plow in soil 
preparation. After the ground is thoroughly prepared it should be harrowed after each rain. If it 
does not rain the land should be harrowed every ten days until the seed is sown ; this will insure 
sufficient moisture for germination and destroy the weed seeds in the soil. Unless the land is thor- 
oughly freed of weeds ahead of seeding there is danger of same making headway and choking out 
the Alfalfa plants while they are young and tender. When you plan Alfalfa seeding long in advance you 
should grow cultivated crops ahead of the Alfalfa, and make every effort to destroy every possible weed 
plant before it reseeds itself. 
3. IF SOIL LACKS HUMUS it is well to supply it by turning under clover sod or cow peas or 
soy beans or crimson clover or sweet clover. This will make the soil friable and with the manure you 
apply will give the Alfalfa the fertility of soil to sustain it in its early growth. Alfalfa when established 
is a strong grower and will look out for its own feed if there is anything in reach. But when the plant 
first starts it is indeed weak and must have plenty of available food in order to make a good growth the 
first year. Then it will build a strong tap root which will enable it to winter well and start vigorously 
to produce growth of hay the following Spring. 
4. INOCULATION IS NECESSARY. This means that you must plant in the soil nitrogen- 
fixing germs or bacteria, without which Alfalfa cannot flourish. Where sweet clover grows vigorously 
by your roadside it is possible your land has naturally the proper bacteria to grow Alfalfa, as these two 
bacterias seem to be the same, and where one grows the other will thrive. Your soil may be full of 
clover bacteria or cow pea or soy bean bacteria, but these germs will not help your Alfalfa. So that it 
will be necessary to supply these Alfalfa germs or bicteria artificially. We believe the very best bacteria 
to buy is that sold under the name of "Farmogerni." We keep it in stock at all times and furnish it to 
our customers,. See about "Farmogerm" on page 32 of this catalog. The manufacturers of "Farmo- 
germ" were the original discoverers and introducers of commercial bacteria and their product is the most 
dependable that can be secured. Their laboratory processes are most elaborate and scientific. We abso- 
lutely know after putting out thousands of dollars' worth of "Farmogerm" that this form of cultures is 
all that is claimed for it. There are other methods of inoculating Alfalfa but we cannot recommend 
them. 
5. USE OF LIME FOR SOIL ACIDITY. Alfalfa must have soil that is sweet and not acid. 
Where crops of grain have been grown successively for many years soils are apt to become acid. You 
can test your soil yourself, as follows: Buy a nickel's worth of blue litmus paper at your drug store. 
Take a knife and cut into the ground you want to test, pressing the earth slightly apart. Then push a 
piece of the blue litmus paper into the opening and press the earth firmly together so that the blue litmus 
paper will be held firmly and leave it there for several hours. The soil must not be too dry. If the paper 
turns from blue to red it is evident that your soil is acid and needs lime to correct it. To insure correct 
results the test should be repeated in several parts of the field. Burned lime should not be used in 
greater quantities than two tons per acre. If ground limestone is used an application of 3 000 pounds 
per acre is recommended. Where agricultural lime is procurable it is safer to use than either of the 
above forms, as it is not caustic. Two tons of lime or more, not caustic, per acre may be used. All 
