6 A. H. Hoffman, Inc., Seedsmen, Landisville, Lancaster Co., Pa. 
FACTS ABOUT ALFALFA 
"There is no State in the Union in which Alfalfa cannot be successfully grown." 
Alfalfa produces from 3 to 7 tons hay to the acre. 
It has as much protein as Wheat bran. 
360 stalks have been grown from one seed. 
It does not exhaust the soil, it enriches the soil. 
It win grow 3 to 5 crops a year. 
Alfalfa in money value is worth 45 per cent, more than other Clovers and 60 per cent more than Timothy. 
One acre will pasture 20 pigs for 6 months. 
Three pounds a day makes a full feed for fattening lambs. 
Four to five pounds makes full feed for fattening aged sheep. 
Thirty-five pounds makes full feed for fattening steers. 
Sheep fed on Alfalfa will gain from 8 to 15 pounds in 75 days and will double with small grain ration added. 
Lambs wintered on Alfalfa will produce one to two pounds more of wool than when on the ranch. 
Fed to dairy cows Alfalfa maintains the flow of milk equal to June Grass. It can be chopped fine with corn meal. 
Such a mixture is worth more a pound than the original corn meal. 
"Its long branching roots penetrate far down, push and crowd the earth this way and that, and thus constitute 
a gigantic subsoiler. These become an immense magazine of fertility. As soon as cut, they begin to decay 
and liberate the vast reservoir of fertilizing matter below the plow, to be drawn upon by other crops for 
years to come." 
ALFALFA 
Many interesting facts in addition to the above might be cited about Alfalfa. Every year sees 
many more acres of this wonderful forage and soil-enriching crop. Here in the East Alfalfa may be 
cut 3 times a year. It will yield 3 to 6 tons of the most valuable hay each season. Alfalfa is rich in 
protein and equal in feeding value 
to bran. The first cost of start- 
ing Alfalfa is considerable, but if 
you divide this between the S to 
8 years that the field will last with- 
out reseeding, it will figure small- 
er than for other crops that have 
to be seeded every year or two. 
Land planted to Alfalfa is con- 
stantly gaining in richness, while 
crop after crop of hay is being taken off. 
Alfalfa doesn't ask the farmer for nitro- 
gen, but gathers it itself from the air, and 
deposits great quantities in the soil. And 
nitrogen, as you know, is one of the most 
important elements in the soil. The Alfalfa 
plant's long roots reach down into the 
subsoil many feet, and bring up phos- 
phorus and potash, and store it near the top-soil 
for the use of succeeding crops. 
When starting Alfalfa follow out every particular 
just right. The Michigan Experiment Station has gone 
into matter of Alfalfa failures very thoroughly, and from 
results of extensive tests, they say that; — 34.4% of fail- 
ures were due to poor preparation of seed bed — 30.6% 
to lack of inoculation — 12.4% to winter killing — 9.7% 
to weeds — remainder of failures due to poor seed, infer- 
tile soils, lack ot drainage. So you will note the im- 
portance of getting off to a start that is just right. 
Very Important to Use Good Alfalfa Seed 
After you have spent much time and taken pains 
to have everything else done just right — don't start this 
crop with the disadvantage of poor seed — Buy the very best 
Alfalfa seed you can procure. There are always inferior grades 
ofTered. There has never been an excess of real good Alfalfa 
Seed. Alfalfa Seed of real merit always sells high in price. 
Permit us to urge the use of this kinti of seed — it is by far 
tile cheapest in the end. Use only highly-cleaned seed — of 
strong vigorous germination — briglit in color — plump as pos- 
sible. Seed grown in the short seasons of the Northern border 
States starts better and stronger and is surer than that produced 
further South. Seed produced on irrigafed land is not equal 
to that from unirrigatcd land. Special attention has been 
given to these Hoffman strains here described. They are se- 
cured from very reliable sources and can be depended upon for 
proper results. 
Read "How to Grow Alfalfa" — pages 30 and 31. 
